Filling a blank page with great stuff is never easy. It's even harder when you're imaging 3 stations, doing an air shift and trying to run a freelance business on the side. With all of the physical and mental crunch that goes along with that, one thing remains constant. Great creativity rarely happens quickly. You have to give it time. You have to have a clear head and allow your brain to do what it does when it's free of clutter.
Think about the spontaneous creativity that comes from children seemingly without effort. Their brains are clean. Their minds can wander without worrying about deadlines, rules, paying bills, getting to the dry cleaner before they close etc. They are loaded with imagination because the human brain naturally gets funky when you unshackle it.
If you want to get better results in your production, you need to start with your writing, or more specifically, your ideas. Better ideas on paper equal better production pieces.
So, how can you get better ideas? One truth seems to bubble out among a lot of creative types. You have to take the time to craft better concepts. In radio, you often don't have much time to stare into the computer waiting for inspiration but, sometimes that what it takes. Many songwriters want to avoid cliche's just like you want to avoid writing another commercial that says "friendly service and convenient location". They accomplish that by isolating themselves from distractions to endure silent spaces and blank pages. It can be rough but many different types of creative people will tell you that's what it takes.
We get that this isn't realistic for the average imaging/production director. That being the case, we suggest picking a special project now and then to try this. Give yourself time to brainstorm, write, rewrite and punch up your ideas. Make something a little more epic and you'll get a rush from doing it. Also, it will beef up your demo. Cliche production done fast food style will leave you empty when it's time to round up your best stuff to shop around.
