Curry Zawa Kaoru's Creative Counseling - How Can I Get New Ideas? Helping Your Creativity Flow
How can I get inspiration to flow?
I really wish I could pull off a big-dick-move like Kenzo Kitakata when he tries to solve young people's problems with a single phrase like "Just go get laid". Instead of giving a long lecture, I'd say something like, "Just go get high".
However, the idea that doing drugs will inspire amazing ideas seems to be nothing more than a measly urban legend, and any story fueled by that kind of dope often conveys nothing but "I was high when I wrote this".
Whatever you write may seem like a gift from God as long as you're high, but once you come down and go back over it, you'll likely realize it's so bad that you realize that the drugs were definitely a bad idea and that you should take things more seriously. This may be what some people mean when they say that drugs and creators go hand in hand.
What doesn't usually go hand in hand, however, are drugs and the law. So I wouldn't recommend resorting to them if you plan to keep up the creative work as a free human being.
In any case, our go-to drug is perfectly legal, and it's called the One True Pairing.
Getting high on that drug can take you on any kind of journey. It's said you can just close your eyes and envision your OTP exchanging a passionate kiss (with much saliva involved) at their wedding. If your experience differs, it might be that you're just not high enough.
If that's your case, maybe you should go through the original work once again. You might think you know the original by heart now, but let me tell you that one extra round might just give you the punch you need; you might even start hallucinating and seeing that wedding scene happening in the blank space between the panels.
When it comes to fanwork, original work is fuel to the motor that's your pen. When you think of it that way, isn't it just natural to add fuel to a motor that's running low? You might wanna try that before calling customer service and hearing the clichéd, "Is the power switched on?"
Dream of your OTP 24/7
That said, whether it is a job or a hobby, creation is always a painful process.
Anyhow, while having a hard time is one thing, you should be on the lookout for fatigue. Burnout is the ultimate enemy of creation, so don't force your pen if you just don't feel like it.
That sort of punishment should be reserved for those who thoughtlessly entered the writing profession.By the way, if your fantasies tend to lean on the darker side, you might want to get some rest ASAP. Nothing good ever came from wondering "What would it feel like to pierce an eyeball on that loose bed screw?".
Giving yourself the freedom to dream about your OTP and picking the best ideas to develop into fanwork is a win-win situation.
How to help yourself
Be greedy for feedback
I wanted to clear the air about those, like me, who take commissions as a job: it's not like we're constantly in a drought.
One could say good fan feedback is our drug: the more positive comments we get from our readers, the better our ideas flow.
Conversely, we do tend to lose drive when we get less positive feedback, making the creative faucets more difficult to open.
That's why you should be greedy for comments and feedback every time you produce something new.
Be aware that you're bound to get the casual trolls commenting things like, "that's too lewd" or "you're desperate LOL", but you know what? I poured my heart and soul into this so YES, I am desperately looking for people to read it!
You'd probably lose confidence and drive if no one were to read your work anyways, so you might as well get it out there and shove it in everyone's faces.
Think hard about the tags you're going to use when you upload it and come up with a catchy description for social media.
When you post it, don't forget to attach a screenshot or the hottest panel or line. You have to throw all your lures out there.
Don't be afraid to be tweeting too many times, people are never going to notice unless they're on Twitter 48 hours a day like I am. Tweet and retweet your work many times throughout the day to make sure you get early birds, night owls, and any creature in between.
Even if your work was as good as the next Bible, it won't spread on its own.
Be your own prophet. Get the word of your OTP out there.