I am a writer. I write, and through writing express the nonsense bouncing around inside my head.
If you are reading this blog, it's like that you too are a writer. As such, you use the action of writing as your primary creative outlet.
But it shouldn't be your only creative outlet.
Writing is a slog. Love it or hate it, you cannot deny that it is work. After a good writing session (and an enjoyable one at that) I will feel mentally and physically drained. I usually need a good hour or so to be any sort of pleasant. It is not pretty.
However, it is important to keep those creative juices flowing. Your writing muscle--and in a larger respect your imagination muscles--require daily use. You won't work them enough with wring alone. And that is why, as you may have guessed from the title of this post, you need another creative outlet.
For some of you, that may be painting or drawing. Artistic endeavors stimulate the same portions of your brain [NOTE: Adam is not a doctor, and his medical advice should be taken with a grain of salt...and a shot of bourbon].
Others may read, or sing, or write some poetry.
Wait, writing other things can be a creative outlet too? You bet that sweet behind they can be.
Creative outlets come in all shapes and sizes. For example, I currently work a day job to supplement my writing habit. When I'm in a meeting (which happens far too often. Seriously, humanity, what the F? Can't we all agree that meetings are pointless 99% of the time?) I'll distract myself by playing with my pen.
Seriously. I make believe that my pen is a spaceship. Specifically, it is a new type of freighter transporting liquid fuel from place to place.
Once I have the image in place, I fly that bad boy all over the system. More often than not, they get into danger and have to jettison the fuel tanks to save the crew (resulting in an explosion that, invariably, attracts the attention of one or two coworkers).
Or I doodle. I'm a big ol' doodler. Doodlin' all the dang time.
My point is simple: You need an outlet. You need to find the pressure release for your creative brain, otherwise you will burn out while working on a new project. I know. I've been there. It's not pretty.
You may notice I don't recommend watching TV or movies as an outlet. While this may work for some, I've found it doesn't recharge my creative side quite as well as other methods. Same for (most) videogames. Those tend to activate my motor skills and decision making, but I'm not making creative story choices. The exceptions are games without much in the way of story.
For example, Ghost Recon: Wildlands. I'm able to create some pretty fun narratives in that fun mess of a game. That said, it's still only a 70% solution to the problem.
As an example of an expert in the field, let's look at Mr. Chuck Wendig's outlet of choice: Photography.