HowToDoThings.com Recent Art Articles

How To Eliminate Energy Vampires from Your Creative Life

dangoodwin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:59:05 -0500

To be as creative as you know you can be, there are essentially two elements to be considered. The first is what you can start doing that will help you be more creative.

The second element is what you can STOP doing that's a major hindrance to your creativity reaching its full flow. That's what we're going to focus on here.

In your creative life, there are a number of "Energy Vampires". These are all the things that suck energy and motivation from you, that block you, slow you down and cause you ultimately to question whether you're even creative at all.

Here are 5 of the most common Energy Vampires and how to put an end to their creativity sucking ways:

How To Become A REAL Writer

dangoodwin — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:37:47 -0500

So yes, you write words. Sometimes pages worth of creatively arranged, emotive and descriptive words. But do you consider yourself a "real" writer?

Or do you continually find a hundred and one reasons to convince yourself that you're not a real writer at all, it's just a nice little hobby, or you're just playing around?

What kind of effect do you think this dilettante attitude has on your writing? It certainly won't inspire you to commit more time to the writing you love, and to enjoy your writing without feelings of guilt or inadequacy.

So here are 5 reasons why you're already a real writer. Read and recognise them in yourself:

How To Create Out Loud as an Artist

dangoodwin — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:52:22 -0500

Does the world know you're an artist?

Do only your immediate family and closest friends know? Does ANYONE know you create?

There are many reasons why keeping our creative lights hidden and barely flickering in the darkness makes it harder to be creative. So here's how to stop whispering and create out loud! And the reasons why it's so important that you do:

How To Create Out Loud: Set aside specific creative time. Request that you not be disturbed. We all deserve time to ourselves, however many people we share our homes and our lives with. Many of us though put creative time at the bottom of our priority lists. In fact, it's not even ON most of our priority lists at all!

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How To Generate an Abundant Stream of Creative Writing Ideas

dangoodwin — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:46:33 -0500

Ideas are the starting point for any creative venture. Without an initial idea to develop, your creativity has nothing to get its teeth into, no raw material to shape into beautiful creations.

Here's how to generate all the writing ideas you'll need, an abundant stream that freely flows!

How To Use Creative Writing Exercises To Enrich Your Writing

dangoodwin — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:08:05 -0500

If you've been struggling to write much lately, or if you're looking for ways to inject a bit of energy and freshness into your writing, then using creative writing exercises is a great option.

Here are 5 steps on how to get the most from using writing exercises:

How To Find the Creative Treasures Waiting to be Discovered Within You

dangoodwin — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:03:19 -0500

Each of us has a vast treasure trove within us, full of artistic creations yet to be discovered. But how many of these precious gifts ever see the light of day? Tragically, very few.

So, here are some tips to help you bring forth more of your unique creative riches:

Experiment in different media. We all have our favourite materials and forms of creating, it's part of knowing how you best express yourself as an artist. But all too often, this simply becomes an excuse to play it safe, and just reproduce almost identical versions of the same artwork over and over again. Hmm. How creative is that?

Experiment with different styles and materials from time to time and it has two key benefits. First, you may well find a new media you love creating in, but have never tried before. Second, you can't help but expand your experience in creating, taking back new ideas and perspectives to your more familiar and preferred creative forms.

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How To Politely Ask Your Inner Critic to Leave the Building

dangoodwin — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:27:23 -0500

A creative friend of mine was telling me about when she is in full creative flow.

"I block out all around me, and one of the best things is it's like my inner critic has left the building!" she exclaimed.

So here are 5 of the key steps you need to politely ask (or forcibly eject!) your inner critic from the building that is your mind:

How To Rediscover Your Love of Writing

dangoodwin — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:19:09 -0500

How much do you enjoy writing these days? A major reason why many of us struggle to write more is because we simply don't enjoy it anymore. What was once a carefree creative adventure has become a painful slog, about as much fun as a wet weekend indoors with the in-laws...

So how can you begin to rediscover your almost forgotten love of writing again? Here are 7 steps to get you on your way:

How To Overcome Creative Constipation

dangoodwin — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:53:56 -0500

Ever feel like you're full to bursting with creative ideas and aspirations, but you can never seem to get them out into the world in any useful form? So you mope around with a proverbial aching belly, wondering if you'll ever create freely again...

Help is at hand! Here are 5 steps to overcoming that feeling of creative constipation:

How To Stop Sabotaging your Creativity with Subliminal Messages

dangoodwin — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:27:32 -0500

Do you ever sabotage your creativity and your ability to create?

When you think of sabotage, you might think of obvious ways like not having your materials ready, or not keeping your workspace organised so it's easy to go to and start in creating right away, or not booking clear blocks of time with yourself to spend time creating.

But often the most dangerous and effective ways we sabotage ourselves are those that slip under the radar, the subliminal messages we continually send ourselves without even knowing.

Here are 3 of the most common subliminal messages you may be sending yourself that sabotage your creativity, and what to do instead:

How To Save Yourself From Another Year Lost Without Creating

dangoodwin — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:46:17 -0500

Remember when you were a child, Summer seemed to stretch out forever, and in the Winter the snow fell so deep you were almost up to your chest in its thick white blanket?

As you've got older, the seasons seem to be over so much more quickly. You're just building up anticipation for those long Summer days and suddenly it's Autumn again with chilly morning mists and dark evenings. Another year passes without much happening. Another year lost without any creating.

You begin to wonder if you'll ever regain any kind of creative consistency, or whether instead you're destined to spend the rest of your days wallowing in the nostalgia of those golden days of creativity that seem a lifetime away.

It needn't be like this. Here's how you can save yourself from another year lost without creating:

How To Create Without the Fear of Repeating the Same Work Over and Over Again

dangoodwin — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:30:48 -0500

Sometimes it feels like although you're producing a lot of art, there's not actually much creativity going on, because it all feels so similar.

Maybe you've just written the 12th poem this month about the gracefulness of horses, or the first kiss of a new relationship, or the way you're drawn to visit the ocean. There are many reasons why you've not just become a factory robot churning out identical poems time and time again.

Here are 3 of the most important ones to us artists:

How To Make Sure You Never Have Any New Creative Ideas

dangoodwin — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:08:10 -0500

Looking for a way to guarantee that you never have any good new ideas as an artist? Here are 5 top tips:

How To Come Back to Creativity

dangoodwin — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:05:17 -0500

If it's been a while since you last created consistently, it can feel like a huge challenge to return to creating anything at all, let alone completing a number of creative projects at once. In fact, you might feel you're so far from creativity, and so out of practice, you've lost the map and any hope of ever finding any kind of creative flow again.

However long it's been, and however far away you feel, there are ways we can all come back to creativity. Here's a simple 5-step plan to help:

How To Be Your Own Best Friend

dangoodwin — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:53:41 -0500

However much support you receive from others, being the most creative you can be begins with looking after yourself and being kind and supportive to yourself. Without doing this, you'll not only be locked in an internal mental battle, but you'll also be more likely to reject or dismiss the genuine encouragement of others.

Here then are 5 steps to being your own best friend.

How To Stop the Shoulds and Create with Freedom

dangoodwin — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:58:00 -0500

When you create, how often does the word "should" cross your mind?

I should be doing this perfectly, I should be doing as I was taught, I should be observing the rules, I should be doing what they want me to do...

It doesn't make for a very happy artist. In fact, whatever you create under these kind of conditions (that is if you manage to create at all) will be tainted by an underlying resentment that you haven't created what you heart truly desired.

Here are 3 of the most dangerous forms of "should" and how to shut them off.

How To Create Without Feeling Completely Selfish

dangoodwin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:34:42 -0500

When you create, are you able to do so guilt-free, unconcerned with what else you could be doing with your time?

Most of us struggle to get close to this state, instead being racked with guilt that we're even contemplating spending time on our own doing something as self indulgent as creating when our partners are seeking our attention, our children approach us with some new "emergency" every 5 minutes and there's an ever expanding stack of domestic chores nagging at our conscience. Ever been there?

If you can put all these factors to one side for just a moment though, you'll see that creating is actually one of the best things you can be doing with your time. Not just for you, for everyone. Here are the 3 big reasons why creating is not completely selfish:

How To Swim When You're Drowning in Creative Ideas

dangoodwin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:58:58 -0500

If I asked: "Do you struggle with creative ideas?", you'd probably think I was talking about not having enough ideas and the problems that can cause. Equally debilitating though - and often overlooked - is the dilemma of having TOO MANY creative ideas, and being so overwhelmed with possible creative projects that you COULD start, you end up doing none at all.

So here are 5 tips to help you learn to swim when it feels like you're drowning in creative ideas:

How To Rediscover your Motivation to Create

dangoodwin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:07:09 -0500

Momentum is an important word in the life of a creative person. When you have momentum, when you create regularly and feel fully in the creative flow, then creating comes easily. There's no time to stop and think about the struggles and the blocks--you're too busy creating and having a great time!

Creating with momentum has a cumulative effect and once you're going, it's much easier to keep going.

The opposite state to this kind of momentum is inertia--when you can barely create a word, a stitch or a stroke, let alone a novel, tapestry or painting. And, like momentum, inertia breeds and builds. The longer you stay inert, and the longer you struggle to get creating, the harder that first step feels.

How To Become an Endless Wellspring of Creativity

dangoodwin — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:33:07 -0500

Would you say your creativity was like a bottomless well, an everlasting supply that can provide all the ideas and energy you need, whatever new creative project you begin?

If you're thinking "Bottomless well? More like a shallow puddle!" then read on for 7 steps to becoming an endless wellspring of creativity.

How To Rediscover Your Creative Inner Puppy

dangoodwin — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:25:39 -0500

Have you ever had a new puppy that's absolutely bounding with energy? Each morning it wakes at the crack of dawn, hurtles into your room and jumps all over you with its oversized paws before you've even opened an eye? Then when you do get up, puppy takes YOU for a walk round a few blocks, seemingly having the strength of a small cart horse!

This kind of energy may not be exactly what you need first thing in the morning, but nonetheless it's amazing to see that kind of endless enthusiasm for life.

How does this compare with your approach to creating? Do you have a similar bounding energy, passion and zest for life when you create? Or is it more like a tired old flea-bitten mongrel hoping to be out of its misery?

Here are 5 steps to helping you rediscover your inner creative puppy!

How To Become the Most Creative Person You Know

dangoodwin — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:49:37 -0500

Who is the most creative person you know? What is it that makes them so creative? Is it their outlook on life? Is it the amount of ideas they come up with? Is it the number of new and varied creative projects they take on?

Whatever it is that makes them this creative, their position is about to be under threat. From you! Here are 5 tips to help YOU become the most creative person you know:

How To Create When You’re Feeling Blocked

dangoodwin — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:04:25 -0500

All of us as artists go through phases where we feel blocked, and struggle to flow creatively as freely as we could. When you find yourself in one of these sticky and frustrating periods, here are 5 tips to help get your creativity gushing forth like a mighty river once more:

How To Have All the Creative Ideas You'll Ever Need

dangoodwin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:59:04 -0500

Do you feel like the major reason you're not more creative is because you just don't have enough good ideas? Or that you don't have enough ideas at all, good or otherwise!

Here's 3 steps to having all the creative ideas you'll ever need...

How To Paint Flowers with Acrylic Paints

Cassandra — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:46:36 -0500

Painting can be a relaxing or frustrating endeavor. Starting with flowers can be an interesting way to develop your skill. Follow these steps and you will be able to paint flowers with acrylic paints.

Materials:
Acrylic paints (in a variety of colors)
Canvas

Tools:
Paintbrushes (in a variety of sizes)
Pencil

How To Be Creative: 7 Sure Ways to Greater Creativity

dangoodwin — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:20:47 -0500

If you’ve found creating about as easy as tap dancing knee deep in molasses lately, here are 7 ways to help you get your creativity flowing again:

How To Be Creative: 7 Secrets of Creative Flow

dangoodwin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:11:58 -0500

Being highly creative is all about finding your natural rhythms, and getting into your creative flow so you create without even thinking about it.

Here then are 7 secrets of creative flow you can start putting into action today:

How To Organise Your Creative Space To Be More Creative

dangoodwin — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:37:32 -0500

How you organise your creative space has a major impact on how freely you create. If you’re struck with an idea you just have to start work on, but then rush to your work space only to find a sea of materials, papers and miscellaneous ephemera piled a foot high, and your tools and equipment partially buried underneath and scattered around various other parts of the room, you’re not giving yourself much of a chance to create at your most freely.

Imagine an Olympic sprinter preparing for the final of the 100m. He’s going to want to be fully prepared, clothed, and warmed up physically and mentally so he can be at that starting line in the best possible position to perform at his best for the race.

How To Unlock Your Unique Creativity Code

dangoodwin — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:51:29 -0500

What if there were some secret code you could crack that would allow you to be as creative as you wanted, some way of finding the creative routines and techniques that worked better for you than any others? How valuable would that be to you?

Well, there is a code, your own unique creativity code. It needn’t be such a mystery if you follow these 5 steps to finding it:

How To Rediscover Your Passion to Create

dangoodwin — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:40:57 -0500

However many creative blocks you overcome, if underneath them all you realise you’ve lost the desire and passion to create, it will end in the same result. No creating plus lots of frustration and unhappiness.

What can often happen is because it’s felt like you’ve struggled to create freely for so long, because it’s seemed like you always have a hundred different obstacles to overcome, that creative passion at the core of it all has been reduced to a mere flicker, rather than the roaring flame it once was.

Imagine it as being like a single candle burning on the ground floor of a huge skyscraper. If you’re on top of the building looking down, there’s no way you’ll be able to see the flame or feel its warmth. All you’ll see is a dense mass of concrete glass and steel....even though the candle’s still burning.

So how do you rediscover this passion through all the dissonance? Here are 5 steps to help you on your way:

How To Silence Your Destructive Inner Critic

dangoodwin — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:20:54 -0500

Your inner critic is that destructive voice (or symphony of voices!) in your head that tells you you’re not creative. Here are some of the other common phrases it comes out with:

You’re not a REAL artist, you’re only playing around.
Who ever told you that you had talent anyway?
Why bother starting a new creative project when you’ll only mess it up?
You should be doing something more worthwhile with your time.
Creating is such a selfish act.

How many of those sound familiar?

When you listen to your inner critic and take whatever it says as the truth, it’s unlikely you'll ever get to creating anything. But you needn’t listen to it so attentively.

Here are 5 steps to silencing your inner critic that you can start using right away:

How To Fall In Love With Your Creativity Again

dangoodwin — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:06:19 -0500

If your creativity was your partner in marriage, what kind of marriage would it be?

Would it be a relationship of mutual respect and trust, where you gave your creativity the acknowledgement, time and attention it deserved as such a significant part of your life? Would you spend focused time together regularly to strengthen and build your relationship? Would you explore new things together to keep the relationship fresh and interesting?

Or, is your relationship with your creativity more like one where there’s neglect, even denial that it exists? Do you resent the demands it makes on your time, and when you ever do spend time together it’s doing the same safe old things you’ve done a hundred times before?

Which of these two kind of relationships is most similar to how you are with your creativity? Honestly?

How To Give Up Perfectionism in 7 Steps

dangoodwin — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:40:02 -0500

For creative people, perfectionism is one of the most dangerous and destructive tendencies we can have. In fact, let your perfectionist habits get out of hand, and before you know it, you’re not just obsessing about how to FINISH a creative project, but you can’t even decide which pencil to pick up to start drawing, which shade of green to use for the background of your new painting, or which word to begin the next sentence of your novel with!

So here are 7 steps to becoming aware of, and beating, perfectionism and setting your creativity free once more:

How To Give Your Creativity the Kiss of Life

dangoodwin — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:18:20 -0500

There are probably many times you’ve felt your creativity has left you completely, that it’s dead and buried, and you can only now visit its gravestone and reminisce mournfully at the good times you had when you were younger...

Well, the reality is far from that bleak or final. Your creativity may be in a state of slumber, but it can never die. Here then are 5 steps to giving YOUR creativity the kiss of life:

How To Be Creative: 10 Ways to Reach New Levels of Creativity

dangoodwin — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:26:19 -0500

Each of us who is creative is unique and has his own distinct creative voice. There are, however, common specific elements that we can all build into our creative lives to help us be more creative, more often.

Here are 10 top creativity-boosting techniques you can start using right away:

How To Be More Creative Without Trying

dangoodwin — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:25:25 -0500

Being creative is a natural state of being. So when you wish to be more creative, it’s not actually about learning how to be more creative. It’s about not trying so hard and learning how to remove the barriers that stop you being more creative.

Here are 5 steps to becoming more creative without trying:

How To Be Creative: 3 Steps to Being as Creative as You Can Be

dangoodwin — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:34:06 -0500

How creative are you right now, compared to how creative you COULD be? If 0 is completely uncreative and 10 is creatively alive and thriving every moment of the day, where would you put yourself on that scale? 9? 7? 2?!

Each of us is unique, and that extends to creativity, too. The way you create, what you create and why you create is your own special combination that no one else can replicate.

There are a great number of ways of becoming more creative. The good news is, you already know most of them.

To get closer to living these creative ways takes a little imagination and a little acting to begin with. So suspend all your thoughts of, “But I can’t..!” and, “But I’m not..!” and follow this simple 3-step exercise.

How To Have a Steady Stream of New Creative Ideas

dangoodwin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:38:47 -0500

For us as creative people, everything begins with an idea. Without any ideas, there is no creativity, no raw material to mold and shape into wonderful artistic creations. But often, it feels like we haven’t had a great idea in ages, and we may even wonder if we’re capable of having ANY idea again, let alone a great one.

So here is your 3-step guide to having a steady stream of new creative ideas:

How To Stop Holding Back Your Creativity

dangoodwin — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:24:40 -0500

However much you long to be more creative, there are many common ways you hold back our creativity without even releasing it.

Here are 5 steps to help you remove the shackles from your creativity and start to unleash your true potential:

How To Be More Creative, Here, Today, Right Now

dangoodwin — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:58:50 -0500

If you’ve struggled to create without major struggle or heartache lately, here are 3 steps you can take today to help you begin to enjoy the full range of your creativity once again:

How To Be More Creative: Ready, Take AIM, Create!

dangoodwin — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:20:18 -0500

A great way of becoming more creative is to get in touch with your real feelings about creating certain projects, and what your ambitions and intentions are. If you know vaguely what you want to create, but you’re not sure why, how, or if you can create it, you’re likely to be spending a great deal of time staring at a blank page, screen or canvas in frustration and anguish.

Here then is a powerful 3-step technique--called the AIM method--you can use to follow your creative passions and create what’s most important to YOU:

How To Rejuvenate Your Creativity by Experimenting

dangoodwin — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:02:10 -0500

Sometimes, even though you’re creating plenty of new art, it can feel like a factory conveyer belt line if you’re simply turning out near-identical work time and time again.

So here are 5 top techniques to help you experiment, and give your creativity a fresh boost of inspiration:

How To Find Your Natural Creative Rhythm

dangoodwin — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:21:18 -0500

The secret to being consistently creative is finding your natural creative rhythm. It’s so much easier to keep something moving once it has momentum than to have to start it from a standstill each and every time.

But when you create erratically and don’t get into a creative flow, the majority of your energy is spent just trying to get started in whatever project it is you’re working on. Often you expend SO much energy just trying to get up and running, by the time you do you’re exhausted or have completely lost motivation to continue anyway.

So here are the 5 crucial steps you need to take to find YOUR natural creative rhythm:

How To Overcome Perfectionism in Your Creative Life

dangoodwin — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:10:52 -0500

Perfectionism is one of the biggest creativity killers there is. Constantly striving for perfection in your creative life is a guaranteed route to frustration, and means you'll never enjoy creating anywhere near as much as you could be.

Here are the 5 key elements to overcoming perfectionism and living a happier, more creative life:

How To Declare Your Own Creativity Manifesto

dangoodwin — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:27:19 -0500

One of the biggest stumbling blocks, when it comes to being as creative as you can be, is trying to do it all under a veil of secrecy. You feel that creating, and the work you create, shouldn’t be talked about; it should remain hidden like a dark secret.

It’s one thing to keep your creative work hidden from the world, but the problem is this mentality extends to you yourself. If you’re not open and comfortable about being creative, then how can you hope to create freely and naturally?

It sends mixed messages to your inner creativity about what you want it to be and to do. It’s like you’re planning a huge celebration party but you’ve hardly invited anyone who can make it fun, and have been telling people you’re not even sure it’ll go ahead at all, let alone given them the exact time, date and place they’re invited to come to! It’s hardly a recipe for a wonderful party!

How To Recover from a Crash in Creative Confidence

dangoodwin — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:55:51 -0600

If you haven’t been freely creative for a while, it can seem harder to get back into that flow with each passing day. In fact, you more than likely have started to wonder whether you’ll EVER create anything meaningful or worthwhile again.

When you find yourself in this kind of situation, the worst thing to do is take on loads of complex creative projects at once, struggle to make any progress with any of them, and end up even more stuck and frustrated than you were before.

Instead, here’s a 5 step approach to recovering from that crash in creative confidence:

How To Find Your Personal Creativity Blueprint

dangoodwin — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:27:15 -0600

A blueprint is simply a detailed plan of how something will work. “Hang on, but isn’t that just for scientists or architects,” I hear you asking. “What good is it for me and the way I create?”

Well, yes, it may sound a little technical and structured for someone who wishes to create freely and go where his inspiration takes him. But without your own personal creativity blueprint – an outline of how you can create most freely and deeply - you’ll be creating in the dark in short random bursts, interspersed with long frustrating periods of confusion and no focus.

Here are the 5 elements to defining a creativity blueprint that works for you:

How To Develop the Creativity Mindset

dangoodwin — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:04:34 -0600

Being highly creative begins with having the right creative mindset. What this means is having the outlook, attitude and beliefs that will support you in being as creative as you can be. Unless this is in place, your creativity will always be compromised and you’ll only create at a fraction of the level you’re capable of.

Getting the creativity mindset can be broken down into 7 key steps. Here’s how to develop each one:

How To Be a Happy and Creative Artist

dangoodwin — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:01:11 -0600

Although each of us is different in who we are and what and how we create, there are key elements we need in place to be able to enjoy as creative and happy a life as possible. Here are the 7 most valuable:

How To Stop Making Excuses About Why You Don't Create More

dangoodwin — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:32:39 -0600

If I were to ask you why you weren’t more creative right now, do you think you’d say, “It’s simply because I’m choosing not to be”? Or would you come up with 101 different reasons that all add up to a lot of frustration and very little creation?

I suspect it’d be the latter. That’s OK, we’re not here to cast judgement on how much you create or why you say you don’t create more. We’re here to help you see that you have more choices than you think. Follow the 3 step plan below to rediscover that in fact the only thing limiting your creativity is you, and how you can break through those limitations, starting from today: