Priming The Pump

What do you do when your creative well runs dry? I've got three methods I tend to use.

When I run out of ideas or get just plain stuck, my first thought is to strip whatever I'm working on down to its bare bones basics and go from there. I call this the "What The F#%&?" approach - as in, "what the F#%& is the point of what I'm actually trying to do?"

Take this website for example. I went through lots of different design ideas and kept coming up with a jumbled mess. So then, I said "what's the point?" The point is the writing - obviously - so I stripped the site all the way down to a blank gray page with one post in the middle. Then I added four one-word links as a menu for site navigation.

It's the K.I.S.S. concept: keep it simple stupid.

The hardest challenge was coming up with a unique look for the page. I limited myself to one graphic for the sake of keeping the site's focus on what I write. Hence the bendy guy with the sign pointing at the box. (OK, I cheated here by adding a rollover graphic - scroll your mouse over the bundy guy to see it - but that still maintains the simple look)

I have the same approach for radio. If I'm trying to write a promo and I get stuck, I tend to go back to square one. "What's the point of the promo?" I write a fifteen second version, and I build out from there.

Another thing I try from time to time is the George Castanza "Opposite" approach. On an episode of Seinfeld called "The Opposite," Jerry says to George: "If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right."

It's a funny premise to be sure, but there's some wisdom there too. If what I'm working on isn't working out... I try to figure out what the exact opposite is, and I give that a shot.

Again, using this site as an example... When I first started designing this site, I keps coming up with a jumbled mess. So then I thought: "What if the entire site was text?" Here's what the first version of the site looked like. And though it didn't turn out to be my best work - design wise - it got the job done and put the focus where it belonged: on the writing. Substance, over style. Eventually, the desire to add a little style caused me to redesign the site into what you see now.

And last but not least, if I'm still stuck stuck stuck and out of ideas, I seek inspiration elsewhere. I'll start thumbing through magazines like Cosmo or GQ, looking more at the ads than the articles. I'll surf the web, looking at sites completely unrelated to whatever I'm doing. I love pouring through sites on compilation pages such as design awards sites (webbyawards.com) or blog index sites (NYCbloggers.com). I tend to get my best radio ideas from everywhere but the radio.

That's what *I* do to find a little creativity when my well runs dry, but everybody's got their own way.