When ideas are hard to come by, here are ways to generate new ones

Inspiration is a sneaky thing.

Like a firefly, it can flit in and out of one’s brain in a flash.

If I’m not looking in the right spot at the right moment, an idea can even fly away before I get a good look. Both my husband and I think a lot about where ideas come from and how to nurture fleeting figments into real things, whether that real thing is a newspaper column or a story — or, in my husband’s case, a piece of visual art.

Fortunately, he and I often help each other cultivate tiny filaments of notions into the more tangible and even into a finished form. I seek out his feedback — and may have been known to have offered my thoughts to him without his even asking for them. (He’s generous enough to listen or at least nod agreeingly.)

Being able to bounce ideas around with someone whose opinion I respect, while having no fear of ridicule, makes a huge difference in the quantity of ideas I’m able to generate. In my experience, when it comes to ideas, quantity can matter — the more to cull through, the greater possibility for a winner.

Through the years, I’ve noticed some truths about idea generation and guiding them into the world to share with others.

I have one quirky “idea spouter” that works for me when I can’t think of a column topic, which has happened a time or two in the 1,104 columns I’ve written, every single week since March 2002 (more on that later).

When I’m struggling to find a topic, I fan through a color swatch book (like a Pantone one or one from a paint store). I have no idea why flipping through the array of colors inspires me, but it does. Sometimes when I’m looking through one, I can almost feel little pings firing in my brain. Interestingly enough, individual paint swatches don’t work, and color books that only have one color per page don’t either. But, give me one of those thick books with a series of graduated color blocks on each page, and I turn into an idea machine.

In the same vein, since my husband is an artist, I love to paint the backgrounds of his smaller pieces. I can’t draw well at all, but I’m decent at mixing colors. Even so, he has been known, occasionally, to paint over my artistic contributions — which doesn’t matter an iota to me. Something about standing up, mixing oil paints to create vibrant colors and then slathering said color on a canvas is like magic.

Something else I’ve realized regarding idea generation is that saving a particular idea for a special occasion is rarely a good notion. I’m a big believer in using the idea when it comes and having faith that the well will refill. It’s like the difference between hoarding and sharing — the boomerang of generosity brings back goodness. 

When I think of this concept, I can’t help but remember a special bottle of bubble bath my cousin gave me for my eighth birthday. I decided to save it for special occasions and put it in the bathroom window, where I often looked at it admiringly. When we moved away from my childhood home when I was 16, that bottle of bubble bath was still in the window, all faded. We threw it away. It was a lesson to use it when you have it.

Thirdly, regarding the aforementioned weekly deadline, the constant demand for ideas combined with the creative routine also serves as inspiration. Going through the process every week, knowing that my feet have yet to fail, plays a role in the work of the muses. All in all, a regular rhythm and process that demand idea generation — with minimal deadline forgiveness — is powerful when it comes to idea productivity. 

Fourth, delusional confidence is an incredible fertilizer for the ideation process. Granted, everyone needs an editor and a certain amount of checking in with reality, but the magic of believing that things could all work out just fine goes a long way. 

Lastly, when I’m stuck in the idea department, I believe in shaking things up. I stop sitting at my desk. I go for a walk. I dance, sometimes to a song I love and sometimes to a song in a different language that I can’t understand. I cook something. I knit. I take a shower or a bath or go for a swim, depending on the most practical available way to access water, which almost always is a source of ideas for me. 

I’m curious about what works for you. Have you noticed ways to be more creative or come up with ideas? If so, I’d love to hear from you and, with your permission, will share your ideas with readers — giving you full credit, of course.