January Reads: Posts that have inspired and motivated

As you can probably tell, blogging is a huge passion of mine. When people ask me where I get my inspiration from it's simple, blogs. I love what blogging has become and I especially love the amazing business minded young women who have popped up and are taking the internet by storm. 

This month, with the change of focus here on my blog, I've been reading more blogs than ever. Here are a few of the posts that have really inspired me this month, both in my blogging life and in my personal, non-digital life. 

Creating Catchy Headlines by Elle & Co - Such a great post to help anyone struggling to nab those catchy headlines. Your headline is one of the most important aspects of your post, its purpose is to grab your potential readers and bring them into your world. Getting it right can be a little tricky, but Lauren makes some excellent points to help you out. 

7 Signs You're Blogging About Too Many Topics by xoSarah - Something I think all us bloggers should keep in mind as we grow and develop our blogs. I've been guilty of it in the past and all of the signs Sarah pointed out, I can relate to 100%. Now that I've changed my blog focus and narrowed down my blog subject, I've noticed a huge difference in my creativity and ability to come up with post ideas. Sarah really hits the nail on the head and gives you something to think about when planning your next few posts. 

5 Resources For Learning To Code by Alyssa Barnes - I'm all for encouraging people to learn to code and this post from Alyssa lists some amazing resources for those of us that don't have the time, or endless funds to go back to school. I encourage you to give this a look and check out some of the sites Alyssa recommends, especially if you're a blogger or online business owner. 

Calligraphy Beginnings by Teresa Watts - A bit of an odd one out in my list, but a very important one that has had a massive effect on me this month. For 2015 I decided I wanted to spend a little less time on the internet and get back to my more practical, analog creativity. I've always loved drawing and painting (my grandad was a watercolour artist and my sister is an artist and photographer, so you could say it's in the blood) and after finding Teresa's post about learning calligraphy I decided to give it a go. In case you're wondering, it's a lot harder than it looks. Teresa recommended a great beginner book (which I instantly bought off Amazon) to learn copperplate and so far I've been loving it! 

What posts have you read this month that have inspired or motivated you? Have you taken up a new hobby due to an amazing blog post? 

5 Ways To Breakout Of A Creative Drought

Ever since leaving school when I was 16, I have always known I needed to do something creative with my life. Since then, I've gone on to do courses in Audio Production, Media and a degree in Film Production. However, despite always dropping myself into the creative person category, I do have a lot of moments when creativity just isn't flowing like it should. 

It used to rear it's ugly head a lot in college and University, a lecturer would point their finger at me and say 'come up with an idea for...' and I'm sorry, but my brain does not work that fast, it freezes under pressure. One thing is important to remember though, creativity isn't something that just comes to you one day out of nowhere, it's like a river, it is constantly flowing. Your creative juices are there waiting to be released, but sometimes they need a little coaxing.

You may be sat at your computer screens or in front of your tablet or smartphone and not feel creative in the slightest. I'm here to tell you that right this second your brain is being creative, it's always thinking of something, even if you're not conscious of it. 

If you are stuck in a drought and desperate to tap into some of that infinite creativity lurking in the back of your mind, try these 5 ways to turn on your creative tap and get ideas flowing (see what I did there, drought metaphors).

• Create a mood board. Mood boards are a more visual way to brainstorm ideas, they tend to work best for designers, but they can be used for any kind of creativity. It's up to you how you create them, maybe you prefer to do it digitally via tools like PicMonkey or Picasa. Maybe you'd prefer a hard copy, in which case you can get a large sheet of paper and start sticking, or buy a scrap book. 

• Create a Pinterest board. I am forever creating Pinterest boards to inspire me. Not only does Pinterest provide visual inspiration but it's also a great way to find blog posts, a lot of bloggers now post their main post image to Pinterest, so it's definitely worth having a browse and seeing what you can find. 

• Take a trip somewhere new. It doesn't have to be a full on holiday to the Bahamas or Disney Land, it could be something as simple as visiting a new town or landmark. Living in Cheshire, I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by beautiful scenery and in close proximity to loads of landmarks and architecture. I always feel more inspired once I've explored a new location and it get's you out of the house and away from your computer. 

• Watch a visually stunning film. As a Film graduate and lover of beautiful cinematography, I gain a lot of inspiration from movies. It can be anything from Life of Pi (2012) to a more recent discovery The Fall (2006) (thanks to my current Lee Pace obsession). I always get inspired by the vivid colours, wide angles and epic film scores. Put on The Lord of the Rings soundtrack and tell me you don't feel epic.

• Create a calming playlist. Music is another medium that has the power to control mood and really tap into your subconscious. My love of discovering new music has allowed me to find some truly amazing songs and artists over the last few years. I love heading to Spotify to browse through the genre playlists and just listen to whatever pops up. Creating a calming playlist and just sitting and listening helps you to relax and when you are relaxed, your brain is relaxed and things flow more smoothly. 

The worst thing you can do when creativity just isn't flowing, is to force it and get yourself frustrated. By taking some time to yourself and time away from a project, you will find that things start to become a lot clearer. 

How do you get your creativity flowing? Are you guilty of getting frustrated when creativity just isn't playing ball?