Adam Alter’s article “How to Be More Creative” distills key insights from his research and his book Anatomy of a Breakthrough, offering practical strategies for overcoming creative blocks and fostering originality.
Creativity Is Not Pure Inspiration
Alter challenges the myth that creativity is about waiting for sudden inspiration. Drawing on the artist Chuck Close, he argues that “inspiration is for amateurs” and that waiting for a magical idea rarely leads to productive work. Instead, creativity is a process that can be approached methodically1.
The Power of Recombination
Alter emphasizes that most creative ideas are not entirely new but are novel combinations of existing concepts. He cites Bob Dylan as an example, noting that Dylan’s originality came from merging old ideas in new ways. This approach gives individuals more agency over creativity, making it less about waiting for a muse and more about actively seeking connections between ideas12.
Documenting Ideas
A core habit Alter recommends is maintaining a running document of interesting ideas, observations, or inspirations. By collecting and reviewing these over time, you create a personal reservoir of material that can be recombined in fresh ways. Alter himself has kept such a document for over 20 years, which he uses as a source of inspiration and creative fuel12.
The Creative Cliff Illusion
Alter describes the “creative cliff illusion”-the belief that our best ideas come early in a brainstorming session and that creativity declines over time. In reality, research shows the opposite: initial ideas tend to be obvious and unoriginal, while the most creative ideas often emerge later, after the easy options are exhausted. Persevering through the difficult, less fluent phase is crucial, as that’s when truly novel ideas arise123.
Embracing Failure and Persistence
Alter stresses the importance of persistence and learning from failure. Rather than abandoning a project at the first sign of difficulty, he suggests “inhabiting that failure just for another five minutes,” as breakthroughs often come from pushing past initial setbacks. Failure is reframed as a necessary part of the creative process, providing valuable feedback and opportunities for growth2.
Practical Strategies
Break Big Tasks into Small Goals: Tackling overwhelming creative projects can be made manageable by dividing them into small, achievable steps and celebrating incremental progress2.
Lower Your Threshold: On days when creativity feels elusive, Alter suggests lowering your standards just to get started. Producing something-even if it’s not great-can help break through inertia and lead to better ideas4.
Give Yourself More Time: When brainstorming, extend the process beyond your initial comfort zone. The best ideas often come after the process becomes challenging123.
| Principle | Description |
|---|---|
| Creativity as Recombination | Merge existing ideas in new ways rather than waiting for pure originality |
| Document Ideas | Keep a running list of inspirations to draw from and recombine |
| Creative Cliff Illusion | Best ideas come later in the process, not at the beginning |
| Embrace Failure | Treat setbacks as learning opportunities and persist through difficulty |
| Break Tasks Down | Divide large creative projects into small, manageable steps |
| Lower Your Threshold | Start with anything, even if it’s bad, to overcome creative inertia |
Creativity is not a mystical talent but a skill that can be cultivated through deliberate habits, persistence, and a willingness to push beyond the obvious. By reframing how we approach creative work-embracing recombination, persistence, and learning from failure-anyone can become more creative1234.