Creating from a Place of Fullness: 5 Ways to Refill Your Creative Well By Steven W. Alloway

You can’t draw from an empty well. In The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron talks about the importance of keeping your creative well filled. Something doesn’t come from nothing, so in order to maintain your creative output, there needs to be periodic creative input. Which means every now and then, your creative well needs to be refilled.

The main way Ms. Cameron recommends for doing that is Artist’s Dates: small, solo adventures and activities that help stimulate your mind and refresh your soul, in order to help the creativity flow. I’ve already done an article on Artist’s Dates, and I may well do another, one of these days, as there’s a plethora of different ideas yet to explore. But that’s not the only way to refill your creative well. So let’s look at some other things you can do to keep yourself creating from a place of fullness.

1. Consume Great Art

We are able to do amazing things because we stand on the shoulders of giants. Who are the great people in your field? Great musicians, great authors, great filmmakers, great painters, great poets… It’s important to seek out their work and immerse yourself in it. Seek out the great people in other fields as well. Seek out whatever you can find and devour it voraciously. 

Seeing what they’ve done will give you a better understanding of what CAN be done: things you never would have thought of on your own. Which can then give you ideas for things that you can do. Will that make your art seem rehashed and derivative? It doesn’t have to. Every piece of art you consume has some influence on what you create. But as you develop your own creative style, the things you experience are refracted through the lens of that style. The influences are clear, but the final product is clearly and undeniably yours.

And how do you develop your creative style? By experiencing as much great art from as many other people as you can. The more sources you have to draw from, the more unique your own art becomes. So seek out new things… But also revisit your favorite things regularly. You never know when you might suddenly find a new perspective on something you’ve seen or heard a thousand times before. Or maybe it will just provide a much-needed reminder of why you started doing what you do in the first place. Either way, it can leave you renewed, inspired, and ready to create.

2. Consume Terrible Media

I saw a post not long ago that said, “No one ever created great art by watching bad television.” And I wholeheartedly disagree. I can’t tell you how many stories, scripts, and other projects of mine have spawned, either directly or indirectly, from watching something terrible.

First, there’s the practical aspect. “This is so lame, so predictable. It would have been so much more interesting if they’d done this other thing instead…” And suddenly, you have a really cool idea, to do this other thing instead. It could be a plot that plays out one way instead of another. It could be a different storytelling style or format, or a different genre. It could be a character making a different decision, or having a different motivation… Or focusing on an interesting side character instead of the boring, mundane main character. Change a few details so it’s not a direct ripoff, flesh it out a bit more, and suddenly you’ve got an awesome project that sprang directly from a terrible one.

But even if it doesn’t directly lead to better ideas, sometimes bad media can help you creatively, simply by allowing your brain to reset. Not everything you read, watch, or listen to has to be some deeply profound experience that stimulates great thoughts and even greater emotions. Sometimes you can just watch something stupid, because it’s fun.

It’s not good, by any stretch of the imagination. It’s not going to win any awards or change your life. But it might just help you to turn your brain off for a couple of hours, after a stressful or challenging day. And then once it’s over, you’re refreshed and ready to start creating again.

Of course, if all you consume is trash media, then what you create will likewise end up being trash. The key is to strike a balance. Today, you can watch Casablanca. Tomorrow, you might watch Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision. In my experience, in order to create from a place of fullness, you really do need both.

In fact, consuming bad media can give you a better appreciation for things that are truly great. There have been times when I’ve spent weeks slogging my way through a mediocre TV show, then when I finished, switching to an old favorite—or even discovering something new, that happens to be really good. It’s like a veil being lifted from my eyes. Like the sudden relief of an air conditioned room after a long journey through the hot desert. “Wow! That’s right! There’s some really amazing art in this world!” And then it inspires me to go create some of my own. Without experiencing that contrast, though, the impression might not have been so profound, and it wouldn’t have been nearly as inspiring.

3. Accept Invitations

I remember a time, a number of years ago, when I was extremely bored. I had spent most of the week working, which meant I’d hardly left the house. Hadn’t really talked to anybody, much less hung out, done anything, or gone to any events. So it was a welcome surprise when a friend of mine, whom I hadn’t heard from in forever, called me out of the blue.

“Hey, Steve! What are you doing this Thursday?”

I didn’t even hesitate. “I’m doing whatever you’re going to invite me to do.” My friend was an actor, so I figured he was inviting me to a play, maybe a comedy show, possibly a concert…

It turned out to be an informational meeting for a multi-level marketing opportunity. So yeah, not what I had in mind. But you know what? I’m still glad I went. I had a chance to catch up with a good friend and meet and talk to some new people as well. The meeting itself was weird, but kind of entertaining. And there were decent snacks. At the bare minimum, it was better than sitting at home doing nothing.

If you want to keep your creative well filled, it’s important to get out of your comfort zone and do things you wouldn’t ordinarily think of doing. And one of the best ways to do that is to go with friends to do the things that they’re doing.

Maybe that means a friend’s birthday party. Maybe it means a group hike. Maybe it means a book club, or an open mic night. If it’s something we don’t normally do, the temptation is often to say no right off the bat, without really paying much attention otherwise. And maybe no is indeed the right answer. But I encourage you to get into the habit of at least thinking about it first. Really give it some thought. Is this something you want to do? Is this something you could do? If not, why not? Will it at least be with friends you enjoy spending time with? Will it be a new or interesting experience? Is there a possibility of getting a good story out of it?

If, after all of that, you’re still not feeling it, and you’d still rather say no… That’s fine. Knowing when to say no is as important as knowing when to say yes (and we’ll cover that in just a bit). But really weigh the options first and figure out what benefits there might be, if they might be worthwhile, and if this experience might be something to help refill your creative well.

But for heaven’s sake, wait until they tell you what the event is before saying yes.

4. Support Your Friends

This ties in with accepting invitations, but there’s another layer to it. It’s about going out and doing cool things, but also experiencing art, connecting with friends, and so much more. If you’re anything like me, you’re constantly bombarded with invites from your creative friends to the shows and other events they’re doing. I couldn’t possibly go to all of them, even if I had the money, and even if I wasn’t busy with projects of my own. There’s just too much going on to make time for it all.

But that’s the key: making time. You can’t do everything. But with a little Schedule Tetris, you might be able to fit in an event that you didn’t think you could go to. And if you can, it really is a good idea to do it, even if your first instinct is to turn it down.

Because when you attend your friends’ shows and creative endeavors, you’re doing more than just getting out of the house and having cool, unique experiences. You’re also building community. You’re being exposed to groups and organizations outside your circle, which is great for your creative well. And you’re showing support for your friends, and for the effort that they’ve put into the projects they’ve done. You’re connecting with them about something that they care about, which is also a great way to fill your creative well as their excitement and passion about what they’re doing spills over to you.

So let’s say, hypothetically, that a friend of yours is a really talented musician. And that friend is going to be doing a concert at another friend’s church, playing, for instance, a scaled-down, acoustic version of Handel’s Messiah, on, just to choose a date at random, the day before Easter, April 19th at 5 PM. Attending this event would be a great way to refill your creative well in a variety of different ways: by consuming great art, by going out and doing cool and interesting things, by connecting with friends and fellow artists, and by sharing in your friend’s passions—and so many other ways as well. So if you should happen to find an event like that… Well, then, I’d say you hit the jackpot.

5. Know When to Say No

Going new places and experiencing new things is great. And it’s invaluable to ensuring your creative well stays filled, so that you have plenty to draw from. However, there’s always a limit.

You can’t do everything. Even if your schedule says you have time, sometimes your mind and your body will tell you that you don’t—and it’s important to listen to them. If you’re forcing yourself to go to every event you can, eventually it becomes overwhelming, and you can find that your well is actually being depleted more than it’s being filled. If you want to continue filling your well, sometimes you just need to stop, take a breath, and just be.

Of course, finding that point can be tricky. There have been times when I’ve been dead tired, and the last thing I wanted to do was go out… But I dragged myself to someone’s event anyway, and once I was there, I was glad I did. It turned out to be something that energized me physically, emotionally, and creatively.

But then there have been other times when that wasn’t the case. I’ve pushed myself too hard, too far, to do too many things, and ended up running on empty.

I can’t tell you when moving forward is the right thing, and when it’s better to step back. I can’t tell you which events will help you feel fuller and which ones will drain you. It’s up to you to feel it out. In the end, just like with great art and bad media, with new experiences and familiar favorites, it’s all about balance. If you can find that balance and maintain it in everything you do, then you’ll always be able to create from a place of fullness, no matter what’s going on around you.