Go get some

The idea of nipping down to the shop for a bag of creativity, appealing though the image may be, seems unlikely. Surely people are either creative or they aren't?

Garbage. It's certainly true that there are widely varying levels of inherent creativity, but everyone can improve on what they've got. The techniques to do this have been refined by many people over the last forty years, from the pioneering of Arthur Koestler and Alex Osborn to the popular works of Edward de Bono and Roger von Oech.**

There are many, many techniques available, but most work on the same principle. When you begin to think about a problem or a new idea, you are strongly influenced by a whole rag-bag of experiences and lessons. Often this is helpful. Once you've learned that it's not a good move to stick your hand into a flame, it's sensible to remember that lesson. But when you're trying to be creative, experience is a barrier, not a help. Creativity techniques generally provide ways to break through that barrier.

**Edward de Bono, Serious Creativity (HarperCollins) 1993 Roger von Oech, A Whack on the Side of the Head (Warner) 1983