There is a very great TED lecture (here) by writer Elizabeth Gilbert, discussing the creative genius. It is a very real and entertaining look at creativity in general.

That said, when I’m struggling with inspiration, there are a few things I try:

1. Teach myself. If I am trying to get inspired about a piece of music I am preparing, and I have become unfocused or bored in all the technique, I pretend I am teaching it to someone else. Literally, I talk aloud, I give my student (myself) many different ideas of how to play a certain passage. I might ask myself, What emotion does this passage evoke? Can I play it in a different way and get a different emotion?

2. Shift my focus. Rather than focus on my music, for example, I try to learn about something else in the same time period. What art was being produced in the same year and place my piece was written? What novels? What new inventions? Is there any possible way these things would have been known by the composer? Did he or she care?

3. Take a vacation. There’s nothing like complete rest to let your mind become free and open to inspiration. Sometimes I do nothing at all except eat and sleep, and that is the best help there is.

4. Challenge myself to something new. My entire build-a-flute discovery last year was all about finding more inspiration and understanding.

5. Set time frames. This has become a very good one for forcing creativity a bit when it isn’t just flowing. I set a very small time frame in which to do something – for example, I might practice for only one hour one day, but knowing that I only have that one hour creates a bit of adrenaline or some other internal reaction. It usually ends up being very productive.

6. Read biographies. I read Hillary Clinton’s biography a couple years ago, and just seeing what she has accomplished in her life, what she has faced, what experiences she had, what she has chosen for herself….it was all very empowering and inspiring. And it could still be so whether or not you agree with her political ideas.

7. Try new music. I recently had a few concerts on modern flute and so I practiced some music that was almost opposite of what I do on a daily basis (anything written before 1850). I could image that would work in all creative fields. If you are a poet, try something that rhymes (or doesn’t, whatever the case may be), or is in the style of Shakespeare, or uses half English and half Spanish for a change.

Well, these are just a few thoughts. I know that sometimes creativity and inspiration are not always the same thing, and each circumstance warrants a different technique. Best of luck!