<p>Limitations, constraints and deadlines, paradoxically help us unlock our latent creativity. They help us try the untested, take the risk and explore stuff we normally would not.</p>
<p><strong>Constraints act as rules and guidelines that work for you in a positive way, whether you understand them or not.</strong></p>

Constraints For Creativity

<p>While too many constraints and rules are counterproductive, <strong>a balanced level of constraints helps creativity</strong>. Clearly stated constraints help us plan our scope of work and the amount of effort that has to be put.</p>
<p><em>Example: A pre-existing constraint with an employer of providing a two-page CV along with the cover letter help us draft the same with the limitations in mind.</em></p>

Freedom From Paralysis

<p><em>“Creativity is often misunderstood. People often think of it in terms of artistic work — unbridled, unguided effort that leads to beautiful effect. If you look deeper, however, you’ll find that some of the most inspiring art forms — haikus, sonatas, religious paintings — are fraught with constraints.”</em></p>

<p>Applying constraints is like stoking the fires of creativity for writers:</p>
<ul>
<li>Embrace some arbitrary rules, and add some more if that doesn’t work. Remove some rules if it feels limiting.</li>
<li>Get some inspiration from other writings, avoiding any real or perceived plagiarism. Even if it is a copy, it will provide you with a kickstart, and can be removed later.</li>
<li>Make up some crazy constraints and go into unchartered territory</li>
<li>Stay calm and let creativity find its way.</li>
</ul>

For All Budding Writers

<figure><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*wq7ic4pGC1h4oT70CG6qcQ.png" width="680" height="374"><figcaption class="ih ii df dd de ij ik ar cm cn at aw" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@lucassankey" class="cr gw il im in io" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Lucas Sankey</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText" class="cr gw il im in io" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><p data-selectable-paragraph="">The blank page is a writer’s worst nightmare. We have all been there. It makes you feel weak and it can corner you into paralysis. When the challenge overpowers you, you need to make yourself bigger… or make the challenge smaller. And there is a very simple trick to do just that: use constraints.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="">In this article, you will learn how constraints work in the creative process. You will see examples where constraints push us to new territories and you will learn how to use them in your writing.</p><h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">How constraints help creativity</h1><p data-selectable-paragraph="">It is counter-intuitive, but constraints can unlock creativity. You would expect that any kind of limit would do precisely the opposite, you would expect it to limit your ideas. But it turns out that balanced sets of constraints help, not hinder, the creative process.</p><BLOCKQUOTE><p data-selectable-paragraph="">When balanced, constraints, help creativity</p></BLOCKQUOTE><p data-selectable-paragraph="">Imagine that you are asked to write something great. That is all you are asked to do. You don’t receive any guidance or requirements. Hard, isn’t it? Now imagine that you are asked to write about your future. Now at least you know what to write about, but the canvas is still vast. What you are asked to imagine yourself 10 years from now, under the assumption that you have two kids, a spouse, a dog and a 9-to-5 job? This should be much easier to imagine.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="">You’ve been provided with a set of rules, or constraints, that do much of the work for you. You may not like those constraints. You may hate dogs, marriage, kids and jobs. But it should be fairly easy to fill in the gaps within those guidelines.</p><h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">Constraints free our minds from paralysis</h1><p data-selectable-paragraph="">You may argue that I gave you too many constraints. That the rules I gave you are too limiting and that you’d need more leeway to come up with a future version of yourself that is truly original.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">The main point remains, it is easier to write <em dir="ltr">something</em>. But it would be fair to say that, too many constraints can also hinder creativity.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="">The lesson, then, is that, when balanced, constraints, help creativity. No constraints can lead to writer’s block, too many constraints can limit creativity, and there is a large middle ground that can foster creativity.</p><figcaption>“The power of constraints”, a TED Ed video by Brandon Rodriguez</figcaption><h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">Pre-existing constraints and constraints by design</h1><p data-selectable-paragraph="">Constraints often are a given. For example, your publisher may want you to write a 2,000-word review of a specific movie. You may have been asked to prepare a speech about global warming in 18 minutes. Or you may have to present the status of a project using a pre-defined template for one PowerPoint slide.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="">In all those cases, constraints are pre-existing and clearly stated. But pre-existing constraints can also be implied. For example, if you write a cover letter for a job opportunity, you may not be told to use a formal style and to keep it to one or two pages, but you know what is appropriate and what is not.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="">Pre-existing constraints — explicitly stated or implied — are generally fixed, non-negotiable. There’s nothing you can do about them. Rather than getting frustrated about pre-existing constraints, it is more productive to recognize that they may very well make the task easier and think about ways to leverage them.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">But you can also make up your own constraints<strong dir="ltr"> </strong>and use them to your advantage.</p><h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">Constraints by design</h1><p data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">I discovered the power of constraints in my late teenage years when I was writing a lot of <a href="https://byrslf.co/i-published-my-first-book-and-i-did-it-all-wrong-but-you-dont-have-to-a4490c558366" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">poetry</a>. As I developed my style and elbowed with contemporary poets in Madrid, I wanted to do away with traditional rhyme scheme rules and venture into free verses. I wanted to break free from the corset of syllable-counted verses. I expected that free verses would open new doors and help me further develop my style, find my voice. And they did. But it was also harder to come up with ideas, and I found that I kept repeating certain patterns.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="">To keep me from revisiting the same themes, images and formats, I started playing around with rules. For example, I found that committing to a specific meter would help me come up with ideas that I wouldn’t have otherwise thought of. These arbitrary rules were taking me to places that my mind would not go on its own. Once I had come up with a powerful image to work with, I would get rid of the very same rules that unearthed that idea and rework the rhythm.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="">This method works for any kind of writing, not just for poetry. In fact, it works for just about anything outside of writing too.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="">Depending on the creative context, you may use constraints in one way or another. In the field of arts, feel free to go crazy with your constraints. If you find you’ve gone too far, you can always change them or remove them completely halfway through the process, as I did in my poetry writing.</p><BLOCKQUOTE><p data-selectable-paragraph="">“Creativity is often misunderstood. People often think of it in terms of artistic work — unbridled, unguided effort that leads to beautiful effect. If you look deeper, however, you’ll find that some of the most inspiring art forms — haikus, sonatas, religious paintings — are fraught with constraints.”</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="">Marissa Mayer, former Yahoo! CEO</p></BLOCKQUOTE><p data-selectable-paragraph="">In the corporate world, you may need to be more down to earth, but the trick still works.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">This article from <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/11/why-constraints-are-good-for-innovation" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Harvard Business Review</a> even states that “managers can innovate better by embracing constraints”. The author claims there is a stack of 145 empirical studies that support the thesis that “individuals, teams, and organizations alike benefit from a healthy dose of constraints. It is only when the constraints become too high that they stifle creativity and innovation”.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Constraints also play a major role in scrum, one of the most popular frameworks for <a href="https://medium.com/swlh/how-to-master-product-backlog-management-in-agile-b0e390e03b17" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">product development</a> under the agile principles.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">In scrum, the creation cycle is marches to the rhythm of <a href="https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-a-sprint-in-scrum" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">sprints</a>, time-box periods within a useable and releasable product increment is created. Those time-based constraints demand small iterative improvements that can be completed in a maximum of one month, thus ensuring a constant flow of value delivery.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">TED Talks are also limited by a maximum of 18 minutes. In his book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Talk-Like-TED-Public-Speaking-Secrets-ebook/dp/B00F1RE1MK" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr"><em dir="ltr">Talk Like TED</em></a><em dir="ltr">, </em>Carmine Gallo emphasizes how this limit constraint is critical to the success of any presentation.</p><h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">How you can use constraints as a writer</h1><p data-selectable-paragraph="">Here are a few ideas to use constraints to boost your creativity in your writings.</p><h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">Start with arbitrary rules</h2><p data-selectable-paragraph="">When you are struggling to get started, create a couple of arbitrary rules. Once the writing is flowing, you can relax or even remove those constraints.</p><h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">Add more rules</h2><p data-selectable-paragraph="">If that doesn’t work, create a few more rules. Add more constraints when your mind goes blank. Remove them if you feel they are limiting your creative flow.</p><h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">Copy others</h2><p data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">If you feel so blocked that you can’t even come up with a constraint, just copy from others. For example, you could pick up the cue from the opening of Kafka’s <em dir="ltr">Metamorphosis</em>: “One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a...”. Or simply get a few ideas from <a href="https://medium.com/the-book-mechanic/the-writers-cure-for-blank-page-syndrome-955b612e3e62" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">this article</a> by <a href="https://medium.com/u/714cd5b71c2d?source=post_page-----f77ca2026805----------------------" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">August Birch</a>. Remember you can remove those constraints later on, so there is no shame in plagiarizing at this point. You are just looking for the spark that will get you started.</p><h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">Go with the bizarre</h2><p data-selectable-paragraph="">If you want to avoid steering towards common ground, make up the craziest constraints you can think of. Once you feel at a comfortable distance from overused territories, you can relax or even remove those constraints.</p><h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">Stay calm</h2><p data-selectable-paragraph="">Do not get frustrated with existing constraints. Think of ways to use them to your advantage and remember that creating without constraints is even harder.</p><p data-selectable-paragraph="">Whenever you are faced with a creative challenge and you feel paralyzed, you just need to create a few rules that will make the challenge a little smaller. You can design constraints for the very purpose of boosting your creativity.</p>

When the blank page overpowers you, you need to make yourself bigger… or make the challenge smaller. There is a very simple trick to do that: constraints.

Constraints and the Power to Unlock Creativity

Constraints For Creativity

Freedom From Paralysis

MARISSA MAYER

For All Budding Writers

CURATED BY

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