My creativity has always arrived like the seasons—often unpredictable, but fortunately, inevitable. Rather than fight myself when the words come slowly, I tend to embrace the lull, taking that time to rest and reset. But after a long, cold Canadian winter, my writing needs a little push to emerge from its hibernation.
The creative process is different for everyone, but it’s never going to be perfectly linear or constant, even if you stick to a habitual practice. Maybe the issue will be that you can’t find the words at all, or maybe the words are there but refusing to blossom into something deeper. When we restrict ourselves to the confines of our writing or to our chosen genre, we can easily begin to feel stuck, and those natural lulls in the creative process begin to feel like the enemy.
So, what can we do to keep our creative selves nourished? How do we cultivate the words when the ground is frozen? How can we help our writing bloom?
In nature, cross-pollination has a lot of advantages over self-pollination, namely adaptation and diversity. Cross-pollinating your writing has a similar effect—and by using it to enrich our creative lives, we can more easily find inspiration and generate ideas. Here are some ways to get that much-needed pollen.
1. Become a fierce art appreciator
I’m of the belief that art creators must also be fierce art appreciators. Not only is this an act of solidarity during an era of endless funding cuts, but it’s also a highly effective way to cultivate creative energy.
Take advantage of what’s accessible to you, both financially and geographically. And make sure you give attention to small and emerging artists. Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll get to gloat that you knew them before they were famous. Live in a big city? Do us all a favour and prove Timothée Chalamet wrong. Go to the opera! Go to the ballet!
By no means do you need to live in some big city to enjoy art. Even small and rural towns have local galleries, public art, theatre organizations, bands, and festivals. And guess what? They are usually more affordable and have shorter lines for the bathroom.
Recommendations from the Glossy Planet team:
Try ekphrastic poetry. It gets me out of my head and forces me to use my senses. If you find yourself overexplaining in your poems, this is a great way to practice relying on imagery. For inspiration, one of my favourite artists is Matthew Wong, and I recently fell in love with the plein air paintings of Rob Pointon (@robpointonartist). –Hayley Clin
Outside of literature for inspiration, I draw from films such as Pan’s Labyrinth, Mulholland Drive, Amadeus, and Anonymous. I also enjoy listening to classical, ambient, or avant-garde music while I write. There’s something about instrumental music that sets my mind on the right path in the writing process. –Erick Mancilla
I’m a big modern art fan because you bring so much of your own experience to interpreting an exhibit. I love to walk through the quiet of a gallery and see what comes to mind. The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in Los Angeles always has interesting pieces, I loved Olafur Eliasson’s exhibit there in 2024 (find more of his work at www.olafureliasson.net). –Ashley Huyge
When I’m in a writing rut, I really lean on books, movies, and TV shows to reignite my spark. I was super burnt out recently and couldn’t resonate with anything I was trying to read — but watching Project Hail Mary in theaters reminded me what’s possible when we lean into our passions and craft. –Rebecca Paredes
2. Do something that isn’t writing
Hear me out. Sometimes the best thing for your writing project is not writing. It probably comes as a surprise to no one that living life is a key part of the creative process. Whether it’s a lifelong craft, fleeting hyperfocus, or casual hobby, these practices help us reconnect with the world, rest our writer’s brain, and nourish our creative selves beyond the dreaded manuscript.
Recommendations from the Glossy Planet team:
I got into sourdough recently. I dabble in dough. When you sling sourdough, you tend to interact with other people more regularly—gifting it, swapping recipes and tips. Few things are as lovely as sharing something you baked with another person you care about. It’s a good reminder that, even though writing is solitary, the rest of our time away from the desk doesn’t have to be. –Rebecca Paredes
I’ve recently gotten into mixed media animations. It’s really a way of doing love letters for my long-distance partner, and I’m enjoying the slow, very involved process. I grab all my arts and crafts materials and go crazy playing with analogue animation techniques, funky colour splashes and doodles which move themselves across the frames. I absolutely adore this part; it’s like hundreds of tiny sketches that can be as messy and silly as I like. The magic of this art form is that once I scan the pages, edit the video, and press play—they are perfect and fun and compelling! –Caitlyn Stone
Try making playlists for your fictional characters. It helps you go beyond external description. –K Roberts
I’ve been really inspired by video games recently. Specifically, I like to use the side quests in games to spark new ideas. Right now, I’m playing Split Fiction with my sister, and it’s been inspiring some new short story concepts for me. –Alicia Caples
3. Move your body
So much of writing is a cerebral and solitary practice that it’s easy to lose sight of the connection between the brain and body. But physical movement can help reconnect us to our senses, calm the mind, and break cycles of thought holding us back. Also, I hear exercise is highly recommended by doctors and scientists. Movement doesn’t need to be hard or complicated, either. It can be a walk around the block, a good stretch, or a solo dance performance alone in your living room—whatever is accessible and beneficial for you.
Recommendations from the Glossy Planet team:
Jiu jitsu is a big creative outlet for me. It requires me to get out of my own head, stay in the moment, and show up regularly—all things that translate to writing. There’s a long history of writers who are involved in martial arts, and I think part of the reason—aside from doing something that is a complete counterpoint to sitting at a desk and writing—is that it’s an endless source of creative inspiration, from the storylines that go into fight nights to the people you meet in gyms. Also, walking! That Thoreau guy really was on to something. I live in an area with lots of trees, and it’s so lovely to go on a long walk with my dogs in the sunshine. –Rebecca Paredes
I bounce a rubber ball. Against the floor, the wall, the ceiling, and then back to me. I do this several times until it clicks in my head where to begin writing and where to go from there. It’s almost like an engine being turned on. The rhythm that comes from the motion of the bouncing ball gets me going. –Erick Mancilla
4. Get out of your genre bubble
Reading books outside your niche can help you find new approaches to writing and spark inspiration. Each genre has its own conventions and techniques for dialogue, tone, structure, and pace. By reading more widely, you’ll expand the devices at your disposal. When you do get stuck or bogged down in your writing, you’ll be glad to have multiple tools to dig yourself out.
Recommendations from the Glossy Planet team:
Get inspiration from old children’s stories. Everybody knows about Winnie the Pooh and Beatrix Potter, but have you ever read them? With the right tone of voice, The Tale of Peter Rabbit is a straight-up horror story. –Jacob Engelsman
Write beyond your usual genre. One of the best poems I’ve written thus far came from a scene I wrote for my novel. I’d also recommend trying shorter-form writing in general. If you’re working on a long manuscript but feeling stuck, finishing a piece of flash prose or poetry can give you that much needed sense of accomplishment and momentum. Get that dopamine! –Hayley Clin
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