The Best Articles in Creativity
The most useful articles and videos in Creativity from around the web—beginners to advanced—curated by thought leaders and our community. We focus on timeless pieces and update the list whenever we discover new, must-read articles or videos—make sure to bookmark and revisit this page.
Top 5 Creativity Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved in Creativity by Refind users in 2023 so far.
Videos
Watch a video to get a quick overview.
Drawing for writers: Procreate 101
Even if you have never drawn before, we'll teach you how to draw and make your articles stand out using Procreate. Salman Ansari (https://letter.salman.io) a...
Tim Ferriss: Why you should define your fears instead of your goals
The hard choices -- what we most fear doing, asking, saying -- are very often exactly what we need to do. How can we overcome self-paralysis and take action? Tim Ferriss encourages us to fully…
The art of paying attention
In an invitation to slow down and look at the world around you, graphic journalist Wendy MacNaughton illustrates how drawing can spark deeply human, authentic connections. Ready to try? Grab a pencil…
4 lessons in creativity
Radio host Julie Burstein talks with creative people for a living -- and shares four lessons about how to create in the face of challenge, self-doubt and loss. Hear insights from filmmaker Mira Nair,…
What is ...?
New to Creativity? These articles make an excellent introduction.
What is a picture?
If we want to understand what a picture is, then we must look at the difference between perception and imagination.
How to ...?
How to cultivate creativity as an adult, according to an expert
Shared by 741, including Ines Bieler, Stephanie A Kowalski, Katja Evertz
«optimism and creativity often go hand in hand, but also that the status quo or ruminating on the status quo can often lead to a type of pessimism»
How To Find A Hobby As An Adult, According To Experts & Women Who’ve Done It
Not sure what to do with your evenings off? Experts and women who've done it share their best tips for finding a hobby as an adult.
How to Find Your Voice: Nick Cave on Creativity
“Your imagination… is mostly an accidental dance between collected memory and influence… a construction that awaits spiritual ignition.”
«Nothing is original because everything is an influence; everything is original because no influence makes its way into our art untransmuted by our imagination»
How to come up with a unique Halloween costume without spending a ton of money
Tap your creativity (and closet) for the best Halloween costume.
How to Develop Any Idea Into a Great Story
Even stories that start with brilliant strokes of inspiration too often fizzle out before we reach The End. Use this four-step method to develop your best ideas to their fullest.
«No matter your starting point—a love story, buddy tale, mystery, quest—you can do like the great innovators do: Bend it. Amp it. Drive it. Strip it.»
Trending
These links are currently making the rounds in Creativity on Refind.
10 Ways Fiction Writers Generate Ideas
And How Celebrated Authors Use Them
5 ways to think like Leonardo da Vinci and unlock your creative code
A psychologist who’s worked with top creatives reveals how disrupting your thinking patterns can inspire novel ideas and unconventional insights.
Creativity is Productivity
Scientists receive fewer citations as they get older. Matt Clancy explains: Pick any author at random, and on average the papers they publish earlier in their career, whether as first author or last…
Inspiration is Everywhere. Literally.
The "We're Not Really Strangers"-ification of social media.
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles in Creativity—all under 10 minutes.
How to Create Luck
Your entire worldview changes when you realize you can *create luck*.
«More precisely, you can actively create optimal conditions for lucky things to happen to you.»
The art of asking the right questions
The art of asking questions isn't dead; it has merely grown dormant. Here are some tips for revitalizing the art of the question.
«because a question can’t be stupid doesn’t mean it can’t be snide, snarky, sarcastic, condescending, disregarding, or downright nasty.»
We all can reach a "flow state." Here's how.
Journalist Steven Kotler offers tips for how to reach a psychological flow state, granting peak mental performance.
«Curiosity can lead you to become passionate about something, which can in turn drive that thing to give you purpose. The activity itself becomes fulfilling. It is the means and the end.»
Minimalism is boring
Unlock your own creative taste, and splatter your experiences into a sea of blank canvases
«Designing from the inside-out starts with exploring what makes us unique. It means extracting the most important slices of our personalities.»
How New Ideas Arise
Architect and poet Paolo Belardi traces the many conditions and situations that have inspired extraordinary ideas across the arts and sciences.
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles in Creativity.
Top 25 Interesting Ideas and Concepts Everyone Should Know
A collection of the most interesting ideas on critical thinking, philosophy and storytelling to help you make better sense of the world.
«Black Swan events are characterised by their extreme rarity, their severe impact, and the widespread insistence they were obvious in hindsight.»
Creativity as a system
Seeing creativity as a system simplifies the creative process & allows for better management of creative energy over time.
You’re Not As Special As You Think You Are: The limits of human creativity and advances in…
When it comes to art, some say that a machine will never be able to replicate the creativity of humans. However, with the advent of…
What Progressive Educators Get Wrong About Creativity
Originality requires both knowledge and technical mastery.
Seven Varieties of Stupidity
(and what to do about them)
«The less you know, the harder it is to learn; the less you can learn, the less you know - the stupider you get.»
Podcasts
On the go? Listen to these Podcasts and audio in Creativity.
TED Business: The unexpected habits of original thinkers
Show TED Business, Ep The unexpected habits of original thinkers | Adam Grant - 28 Feb 2021
Thought Leaders
We monitor hundreds of thought leaders, influencers, and newsletters in Creativity, including:

swissmiss
Here to defend the bright corners of the world with @creativemorning, @tattly, @teuxdeux, @friendsworkhere. My story in 5 mins: http://youtu.be/rUtABHdlAzg

Malcolm Gladwell
Skinny Canadian

Christoph Niemann
Visual storyteller
Ness Labs
The learning community for ambitious knowledge workers. Join us to think better, learn faster, and work happier: http://nesslabs.com/membership 🧠✨

Paul Williams
Turning brains into idea machines! #marketing #branding #creativity #innovation
Publications
We monitor hundreds of publications, blogs, newsletters, and news sources in Creativity, including:
Ness Labs
The learning community for ambitious knowledge workers. Join us to think better, learn faster, and work happier: http://nesslabs.com/membership 🧠✨
UX Collective
Curated stories on user experience, usability, and product design. By @fabriciot and @caioab.
kottke.org
Something interesting every day from one of the oldest & best independent sites on the Web. Est. 1998. Also at https://botsin.space/@kottke.
Ryan Holiday
Author of The Obstacle Is The Way, Stillness Is The Key, Ego Is The Enemy @DailyStoic @DailyDadEmail Preorder my newest book The Daily Dad at http://dailydadbook.com
Aeon+Psyche
Aeon is a magazine of ideas and culture. Psyche is our sister magazine focused on the human condition. Visit http://aeon.co and http://psyche.co for more.
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Which sources does Refind monitor in Creativity?
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Who are the thought leaders in Creativity?
We follow dozens of thought leaders in Creativity, including swissmiss, Malcolm Gladwell, Christoph Niemann, Ness Labs, Paul Williams.
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