Are you feeling flat, uninspired, or stuck in a rut with your creative work? You’re not alone and you don’t have to go it alone either. Following on from last week’s episode of Now Go Create Claire Bridges chats to improv specialist and storytelling coach Maria Peters for a lively, practical deep-dive into getting yourself out of a creative slump (and why it’s actually normal to have one!)

Claire and Maria open up about the telltale signs of a slump, the difference between external and internal validation, why creative flow is so elusive, and how helpful constraints, a dash of play, and some improv magic can get you unstuck fast. Plus, they explore tools including the ‘artist date’ and an eye-opening exercise they call the ‘jealousy map’, a fresh way of using envy as a creative compass.

If you’ve ever compared yourself to others, felt your creativity wane, or simply wondered how to nudge yourself back toward inspiration, this episode is packed with stories, and practical micro-actions you can try right away.

Here are the highlights:

• Spotting a slump: Why comparison and self-doubt are classic signals
• Internal vs. external validation and how to recentre on your own creative compass
• The magic (and science) of flow
• How limits can jumpstart your ideas (and why improv isn’t as wild as you think)
• “Yes, and”: Using the improv mindset with your own ideas
• Morning pages, artist dates, and creative ‘micro-doses’
• The jealousy map, playful exercise to use envy or jealousy as a signpost for your own creative desires
• Refilling your creative well, why pleasure, play, and tiny nudges matter as much as big breakthroughs
• How to shake yourself out of autopilot (and what to try if you’re in a rut today!).

Schedule an ‘artist date’ with yourself - two hours (or whatever you can manage) doing something just for fun, no output required.

Do your own jealousy/creative envy check: Whose work, life, or output do you wish was yours? What is it specifically you want? Let that guide your next small creative move.

Do you have a creative challenge or dilemma for a future episode? Email [email protected] or join our weekly email for free creativity resources and worksheets at nowgocreate.co.uk

About Claire Bridges:

Claire Bridges is Chief Spark and Founder of leading creative training consultancy Now Go Create, whose philosophy is that everyone can be creative.

Claire worked as a PR agency Managing Director and Creative Director working with global brands including Starbucks, Kellogg’s, Unilever, P&G and Danone in her previous PR career. Upskilling individuals, teams and organisations with practical creativity tools is Claire’s mission.

She’s one of only 250 people globally to hold an MSc in Creativity, Leadership & Innovation, and authored an Amazon best-selling creative handbook In Your Creative Element based on her academic studies.

Claire and her hand-picked team of experts have worked on thousands of creative projects and trained over 40,000 people around the world since starting Now Go Create in 2011.

Connect with Claire:

Website: https://nowgocreate.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nowgocreate/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NowGoCreate

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/claire-bridges-b6205b14

About Maria Peters:

You might have seen her at The Comedy Store in Leicester Square,

guesting with Paul Merton & Suki Webster's Impro Show.

Or as a member of the Yes Queens London West End's first female

lead improv comedy group. As a performer and co-creator of The Playground one of London’s most popular nights. Or improvising musicals in Bristol with

This is Your Musical. You might know her from her critically acclaimed solo show, The Science of Cringe, that played to sell-out audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. On BBC One or heard her writing on BBC Radio Comedy.

Maria has collaborated with Now Go Create to run our storytelling workshops and With her diverse background in comedy, writing, and performance with the BBC, UKTV and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Maria brings a unique and valuable perspective to all of her workshops.

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Connect with Maria:

Website: https://www.mariapeters.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariapetersimprov/

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk