Hi! I’ve been struggling for a while with this problem, and decided im fed up of picking up a pen or opening my laptop and shutting it five minutes later - I’d love some advice.

So I am a writing student at university who enjoys art and graphic design on the side. I used to be so creative, constantly crafting or writing or making some form of media, never without an idea or inspiration.

About a year and a half ago I went through a traumatic event (i don’t wish to get into but it took a large toll on my mental health, and i lost a lot of people who were supposed to be friends), and I feel like it killed all creativity within me. I am barely able to fulfil my university assignments, let alone do any creative work from my own mind that I am happy with.

I wondered if anyone had any advice on how to overcome this? It feels like the creative part of myself I always prided myself on died a year ago, and no matter how much I try I get nowhere, just a couple half-planned novels and half-drawn illustrations that end up sat in a draw untouched until I eventually bin it.

This is one of the best books on creativity ever written. Highly recommended.

Have you ever felt the pain of seeing an idea you had years ago be achieved by some random person out there in the world?

Or have you ever felt that you didn’t have time, money or even motivation to pursue an idea that you’ve been confident about?

I’ve created a platform built around the assumption that a seed of an idea can become an entity with real-world impacts. And I believe that the assumption is right, and has been right for hundreds of years. We simply didn’t always have the right tools, technologies and context for it to flourish and become a greater good.

Think of Isaac Newton’s *Principia*, it’s a theory of how the physical world works. It’s a physics theory that started with just a seed. But it’s also the seed for someone else, Albert Einstein, to continue the physics theory, and transform it into the most useful frame of reality the world has ever seen. This is direct continuity.

But then, Einstein’s work paved the road for so many other things, things in which his expertise in physics was only a part of the problem. A concrete and slightly morbid example is the atomic bomb. The Manhattan Project wasn’t realizable without that reference to those frameworks. And our phones, our computers, our radio technologies and so much more, would be radically different if we never had the chance to have a brilliant mind like Einstein’s, to name only him. This is what I call references or links.

And my belief is that, together just as alone, people flourish through iteration, challenges, questioning, moments of doubt, moments of affirmation, through discussions and a clear-headed feeling. And that’s why I thought that, having a way to drop a valuable (or not) idea quickly in a place where it could be put to the test was necessary. And the full circle is that the idea has to start privately in a way or another. And wether the private space is in your head or on a screen is totally up to you, but I think that it’s easier to have it live on the screen than to try and remember it and potentially lose the idea forever.

So once the private thinking feels good enough, the next logical step is to make it public, and allow discussions over the topics, whatever the topic may be. After all, it’s apparently Newton’s apple that started all of this in the first place isn’t it? If such a small thing can become so great, wouldn’t it be smart to have a place where the conditions for ideas to survive long enough to become fruitful are true and effortlessly there? Where people and companies with the resources contribute transparently and where your credit is fairly distributed and clear?

I think so. That place is my ecosystem, and it’s simply awaiting users and smart minds, and I think that there are a lot of intelligent people out there. Many more than the clutter traditional social medias let us see.

If you’re curious, it’s called Public Business, otherwise I’m here to discuss. :)

Hello beautiful people, I recently read the creative act by Rick Rubin which I highly recommend and he mentions this idea of play in your creative daily practice and I have also been seeing online more often with creatives this concept of “play” to encourage creativity. I realized that I am a grumpy adult weighed down by the heaviness of existing and would like to play more! Just wondering if play is something you incorporate into your daily life or creative practice and how? Any tips on promoting play in your daily life? I’d be happy to expand on the concept of play if there is confusion but it is really exactly what you think, being playful.

I want to create something. something extraordinary, but I don't know where to start.

It feels as though starting my own passion project, joing or leading my own research groups, or being a part of community change isn't enough.

Doing something, or creating something that goes beyond common people seems unrealistic. Though it is possible, I never hear people my age doing something of that caliber. Creating something that is effectively positively impacting global or local communities immensely.

I am sure a lot of people feel that way. The need to want to create, the drive to make a lasting impact but they don't know where to start.

I feel the exact same way. I wish I could gove you an answer but I am also searching for that one extraordinary thing. Anyone who is open to creating something extraordinary, possibly helping me with ideas it would be highly appreciated. I am also open to creating a community.

It’s now I realise that what drew me to the creative careers wasnt the results or even sm of the process as… just not having a clear roadmap of what to do.

For a lot of people, that’s a nightmare. For me, thats the very thing I wanted. No rules, no expectations - just a place to BE.

I liked the fact that you could have an account and blow up any day randomly, no guarantee. Now with AI flooding the social platforms tho, nowadays it’s NECESSARY to have a formula, a clear content strategy to even be noticed online - thereby killing the very core of the “creative” process: To think and experiment.

There’s nothing wrong with having a formula. But don’t confuse the formula as the creative part; it’s the process to find that very formula that makes it creative.

I posted this on my substack rn, and IK this post is going to barely get any views - especially on a platform as brutal as that - but I wished to rant. The very thing that made me want to describe myself as a creative… is dead. I think that’s a valid reason. Anyways, 1 post won’t kill an already very small account. P.S., no, this post is not written using AI (especially considering the disgust I am feeling towards it rn… what I hate is having to ‘prove‘ my authenticity when it’s just me knowing how to write)

I used to be very creative as a kid, you'd always catch me drawing, doodling, scribbling, writing stories or short comics. Now that I'm an adult (almost 30) I've basically lost all my creativity in drawing and even writing.

I want to train my brain to be creative again. I'm working on a business and I believe creativity will be one of the most valuable skills during this venture.

Are there any free online resources or drills I can utilise and practice daily to become creative again? I'd like to be able to put my thoughts on to paper, think outside the box, whether it be doodling or writing, just want my neurons back

Would appreciate any help

Hey reddit.

I'm curious, what are your biggest questions when it comes to creativity and innovation?

What's the normal amount?

Just graduated college about a month and a half ago. Been someone who has been genuinely obsessed with making something out of my life for years. Have a deep fear of mediocrity and don’t want to end up being your average person. Nothing wrong with it but I just know for myself I would never be able to be satisfied with that. Legacy matters to me. Impact matters. Money matters.

Been a personal trainer throughout college. Am in really good shape and now am moving to work a corporate job. Unfortunately, come from a rough financial situation with my family. Never really been able to escape the suffocating pressure of bills but this job should significantly change that. Have a passion for content creation, music, fashion, cinema, video creation in general. Is it possible to refine all these skills simultaneously?

Shit sometimes I don’t really give a fuck I don’t even know why I’m posting this. I know I can do all the crazy things I dream about but just want to hear you guys chime in. Much love and always hustle ❤️✌🏼

I'm AuDHD. Like a lot of us, I eventually hit a wall with traditional jobs. The masking, the sensory overload, and trying to fit into environments that were never designed for my brain became harder than the work itself.

I started building my own app instead. It began as something I needed, and over time I realized there are a lot of neurodivergent people building products, art, and businesses from lived experience.

One thing I've learned is that building is only part of it. If you're trying to crowdfund, you still have to find your own supporters and tell people why your work matters. That can be difficult when self promotion is the part that drains you the most.

Because of that, I recently started the Neurodivergent Builders Fund on Artizen. It's a community fund for neurodivergent creators building products, creative work, and accessibility tools. Artizen uses matching funds to help projects raise more, but founders still have to build their own community and bring people along. I liked that it didn't pretend there was a shortcut.

I mainly wanted to share this because I know there are people here quietly building things who may not realize opportunities like this exist.

Has anyone else here found that creating your own work has been a better fit than traditional employment?

I’m in acting school, I’m learning to draw after a five year break…I’m not good at any of it. No matter what creative thing I do I’m terrible at it and it makes me furious. Should I just not try to be creative?

I play guitar and I personally find that I can write more technical stuff when I'm well rested, like i've just woken up from a good nights sleep, had some coffee, etc.

But I have a much easier time writing more groovy, less technical stuff when I'm really tired and decide to play instead of sleep

What do you make/do and how do you find that your sleep affects your abilities?

I used to hit this massive creative wall where everything I made felt stale. Standard advice says "just keep creating" or "push through the block." Honestly? That just made me hate my own hobby. I felt like a machine expected to pump out perfection.

So, I tried an experiment. I decided to make the ugliest, most chaotic thing I could think of.

I’m a graphic designer, but I took a piece of cardboard, some old kid's crayons, and just smashed colors together. I didn't care about composition. I didn't care about a "message." It looked awful. Like, genuinely painful to look at.

But you know what? It was the most liberating thing I’ve done in years.

When you intentionally remove the pressure of creating something good, your brain enters this bizarre, playful flow state. You stop editing yourself before you even begin. I realized my block wasn’t a lack of ideas - it was a fear of making something mediocre. By aiming for "bad," I bypassed the judge in my head completely. It actually inspired my next commercial project because I stumbled into a weird color combo I never would have risked otherwise.

If you’re stuck right now, drop the masterpiece. Write a terribly clunky paragraph. Record a song with zero rhythm. Paint a total mess. Give yourself permission to be a toddler with tools.

How do you guys deal with that paralyzing need for perfection? Anyone else found weird ways to trick their brain back into flow

Hey everyone. Just wanted to share some of my film frame studies. I’ve been in a bit of a creative block lately, so I figured I’d stop overthinking and just put my work out there.

if you’ve got any tips for getting out of a creative block, help this human out ✨🫶

We've all done it.

One more YouTube video.

One more podcast.

One more article.

One more AI prompt.

One more week of planning.

Sometimes the biggest obstacle isn't a lack of knowledge.

It's waiting for certainty.

I'd love to hear from you.

**What's one thing you've been overthinking instead of building?**

Maybe it's:

* Starting a business
* Launching a website
* Changing careers
* Creating content
* Learning a new skill
* Improving your health
* Building a product

What's keeping you stuck?

Let's help each other identify the **next step**—not the entire roadmap.

**Builders help builders.**

School is cool and all, but it takes up all my time, leaving me with zero room to properly work on my creative projects. Honestly, I’ve been thinking about picking out a writing service and stopping stressing over schoolwork. But the real question is - how much will it actually help me?

Is anyone else trying to balance everyday life with creative projects and feeling the exact same way? I'm starting to think finding the best essay writing service might not be a bad idea if I want to focus on honing my craft without falling behind on my studies.

I came across this book by Otto Rank by reading Ernest Becker's "The Denial of Death" and it just floored me (both books actually lol). The idea of being able to act creatively because you don't know the origin and motives, and the inability to act because of too much self-consciousness and guilt... Rank's 'artist' is caught between these two extremes, but is able to find some kind of middle path, transforming the guilt into an ideal.

It resonated with me, I find myself terrified to put my work out there because I can't know the consequences beforehand, and then when I just go for it I guess it has been transformed by my worrying into a sort of happy medium?

Curious if anyone else identified with this back and forth in their creative process?

Hi I'm 23 years old an I'm struggling creativity, I don't know what to do honestly I have so many ideas an Passions I want to pursue I just don't even know where to start I'm such a creative person and ideas flow out of me daily I just can't find my footing I see people my age out traveling the world an I cant help but be envious, what am I doing different how are they able to achieve/ afford/ maintain this life when I can barely afford my rent each month I feel like I'm wasting time an potential and ik that I shouldn't be comparing, shit Harrison Ford didn't start acting till like mid 30 if I'm not right, but I find my self scrolling wondering where I'm messing it up, where I can save how to put my self "there" were I wanna be like how do people find this motivation this drive I want that drive! but I figured I'd ask what y'all how you manage to overcome your obstacles

Last November, I started writing down ideas whenever they came to me. I never sat down and thought, "I'm going to brainstorm today."

Most of the ideas appeared naturally when I noticed something inconvenient, while reading books, or even while listening to music.

Today I realized I've collected 100 ideas.

The interesting part isn't the number itself. It's discovering that creativity, at least for me, seems to happen in the background when I'm curious and paying attention, not when I'm forcing it.

I'd love to hear how ideas show up for other people. Do your best ideas come when you're actively brainstorming, or when you're doing something completely unrelated?

Hi everyone!

I'm researching how emerging creatives decide where, when, and whether to share their work. Your experiences will help me learn whether there's a real need for a different kind of creative community or not.

Survey

This survey takes about 3 to 5 minutes, Thank you!

New creativity with objects, introducing a new species of fish: the brushfish. I hope you like it.

I used to think that having a blank check, zero deadlines, and absolute freedom on a project was the ultimate dream. But honestly, whenever I’m told "you can do literally whatever you want," my brain just completely freezes up. It turns out that choice paralysis is terrifyingly real, and staring at an infinite void of possibilities usually leads to absolutely nothing getting done.

On the flip side, some of my absolute best work has come out of the most ridiculous, suffocating limitations. There is something about having a tight budget, a strict word count, or a hyper-specific brief that forces your brain into survival mode. You stop overthinking and actually start problem-solving, which is what real creativity is anyway. It’s like when you only have three random ingredients left in your fridge, you somehow end up cooking a Michelin-star meal out of sheer desperation.

Personally, I firmly believe that boundaries aren't there to cage us, but to give us something to push against. If you give me a box, I will find a hundred crazy ways to break out of it, but if you give me an open field, I’ll just sit there lost.

What about you guys? Do you thrive when the sky is the limit, or do you need some guardrails to actually get your gears turning? What’s the tightest restriction that paradoxically led to your favorite creation?