5 ways to inspire creativity

I’ve always been a creative person, from the pictures I drew as a kid to the stories and poetry I made up as a teen and now to the stories and blog posts I write on a daily basis. But even being in the creative industry, there are times when it seems impossible to be creative. Thinking up new ideas and fresh takes on the same subject (often the case in publishing) can be hard to do, and sometimes inspiration just doesn’t hit when you need it to.

During those desperate times when it seems that you’ll never have a new or interesting thought again, I’ve found that there are several ways to inspire creativity. Whether you’re by yourself or working with a team, these five things can help you get back into your creative headspace.

9 things I learned from Gilmore Girls

One day a few weeks ago I woke up at 5:35 a.m. from a really strange dream where I was living out Gilmore Girls. The weird part was that I was Lorelai, when most people who know me would agree that I am clearly a Rory. So I woke up from this dream, dazed from sleep, and just felt like I had to write this post. Because Gilmore Girls is a rite of passage — these two showed us a mother-daughter relationship like we'd never seen before. We laughed, we cried, and we definitely chose sides in the Battle of the Boyfriends. That's why I felt it was important to follow my hazy, post-dream thought and write this post. Plus, #TeamLogan forever!

1. Experimenting in fashion is encouraged. One of my favorite episodes of Gilmore Girls is the one where Rory starts school at Chilton and Lorelai wakes up late and wears a tie-die crop top, cut-off shorts and cowboy boots under her coat. But then there are the sequin tops and the feather boas and the time Lorelai wore a belt as a necklace. Fashion comes and goes, but memories are forever.

2. It's okay to be quirky. Lorelai is one of the more strange-but-awesome TV personalities, but I think nothing sums this up better than her fuzzy alarm clock. Wouldn't you like mornings a little more if you had a fuzzy clock to wake you up? (Yeah, it didn't work for her either.)

3. Even if the man seems perfect, that doesn't mean he's perfect for you. Oh, Max. Poor, wonderful, sweet Max. From the very beginning, he seemed like the perfect guy. But he just wasn't the man for Lorelai. This is a very helpful tip, but I would recommend figuring it out before the week of your wedding. Poor Sookie.

4. Weird games make life interesting. Lorelai and Rory always made up games to pass the time, which I think is an awesome habit. My personal favorite was "1, 2, 3, He's Yours," in which you count men on the street and have to choose one of them to be your husband. I only wish I had my own Kirk to make it more interesting.

5. Never get too attached to inanimate objects. The agony Rory felt over losing her perfect study tree on the Yale campus seemed so much more real after I went to college. Not all trees are good study trees, so when you find one, NEVER LEAVE IT.

6. The first step in breakup recovery is wallowing. Lorelai may have given some not-so-great advice in her day, but her incessant efforts to get Rory to wallow after her breakup with Dean show just how wise she really was.

7. Don't try to work for your boyfriend's dad's company. It just won't work out.

8. Don't steal a yacht. For obvious reasons.

9. It's cool to be best friends with your mom. I've always been really close to my mom, and I attribute that to both of us being the youngest in our families and the fact that she and I spent so much time together when I was growing up. When I was in high school, I remember talking to a group of girls about my mom and I told them we had sort of a Gilmore Girls relationship, and they were surprisingly envious of that. (I say surprisingly because high school is typically the time when kids do not get along with parents.) We've had our rough patches — just like Lorelai and Rory — but in the end, I'm always so grateful to know that my mom is my best friend.

Image via zap2it.

My most-used blogging tools

When it comes to blogging, there are so many tools available to help bloggers streamline the process of updating, publishing and promoting content. Many people don’t realize how much work actually goes into blogging (A LOT), so it’s important to find the right tools to help you be successful as a content creator. Even though I’ve been blogging for about 10 months now (crazy how time flies!), I still consider myself “new” to the whole blogging thing because it seems like I learn something about it every other day. The last few months have been a huge learning experience as I’m taking the “Get Noticed” course for bloggers, created by Dana of Wonder Forest, and I’ve started using scheduling apps like Hootsuite and Latergramme — which have made a HUGE difference. So, here are my top blogging tools and why I love them. 

5 blogs to help you become a better blogger

When it comes to blogging, I don't think anyone knows absolutely everything there is to know about it. Even the best bloggers can still learn something new. When I started, I had no idea what I was doing. I searched Pinterest and Google to find articles, tutorials and other blog posts that could help me do different things — anything from coding to creating my own social media buttons.

That's why I think it's really helpful to follow other blogs that share those kinds of tips and tricks, because blogging isn't a competition. We're all trying to make our blogs the best they can be, in our own unique ways, and it's nice when we can help one another to do that. I don't know what I would have done without these resources, which is why I'm sharing some of my favorite blogs for finding tutorials, helpful hints and just plain good advice.

1. The Wonder Forest. Dana Fox is a designer/blogger/business owner/creator who offers an array of content on her personal blog. As a web designer, she knows a lot about creating a successful blog, and you can even purchase complete templates that she's created here. Dana has created a few different businesses, so she really knows her stuff. She also offers online courses — I'm taking one called "Get Noticed" right now and it's really good.

2. by Regina. For anything business-related, by Regina is a great resource to have in your arsenal. Regina is a successful entrepreneur/blogger/girlboss who shares tons of advice for anyone looking to grow their blog, business and/or brand. She's extremely smart and she's funny, so her posts are educational and fun.

3. I Can Build a Blog. This is another blog created by Dana of The Wonder Forest. This blog's purpose is to help other people become successful bloggers, and it offers all sorts of blog-related tips and how-to's. She posts anything from HTML cheat sheets to places to find free stock photos.

4. A Southern Drawl. If you recognize this name, you're probably thinking, "that's a fashion blog, what is she talking about?" But hear me out: Aside from her lovely outfits, Grace also posts photography tips written by her boyfriend Andrew. These are everything from shooting indoors to buying the right lenses to using the right aperture. He really knows his stuff, so if you ever have a question about anything camera-related, I'm sure you can find the answer here.

5. Sweet Electric. Even though it's a beauty and lifestyle blog, Sweet Electric offers a lot of great tips for bloggers as well. Knowing that everyone is different, Zoe offers up advice that has worked for her and that she things could be helpful to others. She also has good beauty posts, which is always fun :)

I hope this post helps you find a few new resources to up your blogging game, or maybe even inspired you to take the plunge if you've been thinking about starting a blog.

What are your favorite blogging resources? I'd love to hear what you've found useful!

For more tips, you can follow my Pinterest board where I Pin all kinds of blogging-related articles.