Neurodivergent artists/writers:

If you find yourself overwhelmed by ideas, desires, images, passion, and creative power, but consistently end up with literally nothing - or even an inability to get started at all - you may struggle to synthesize information.

An example to consider:

If I asked you to picture a stove, does one come to mind easily? Or do you have to cycle through a trillion different stoves before settling on one? ...only for it to keep changing on you anyway?

Gas burners or electric? Stainless steel? White? Glass door w/ a clear view or obstructed? No window at all? Broiler drawer or pan holder? Overhead ventilation? Knobs or buttons? Clock? Old school or futuristic?

The stove from my house or from a magazine? Do I create a new one?

This inability alone can cause so many problems when given a directive or being taught information. So many tangents, offshoots, variables, unclear details.

If you're a creative this failure to synthesize can be a positive; the whole world is open to you. Nothing standard. But.

It can make the step from generalized passion/creativity to production nigh impossible.

It may look like indecisiveness, overwhelm, laziness or even disinterest if everything had to shut down. It can legitimately overstimulate or give way to added MH/neuro consequences.

But mostly, it's just an inability to synthesize a broad concept.

Asking others (or finding a way ourselves) to help impose limitations or assert more specificity can actually allow us to be MORE creative bc now we're no longer spinning our wheels or short-circuited by options.

Instead of "do art", "write what you know", "draw a character" or "express your emotions", having someone give you a singular word or theme to create around can help. Or only allowing one medium. Or requiring that you include a certain subj matter.

These can offer anchor points.

But mostly they narrow the scope. They tell you to draw an older, gas stove w/ a window, but then you get to design everything else as you want.

It gives you a starting point, stops the CONSTANT changing of the visual and provides a blueprint or foundation to then flesh out.

It's something to latch onto, focus on. It doesn't limit creativity to add things/concepts/items you wouldn't ordinarily want if the alternative was making nothing.

But also, it's art. Once you start and things take shape, you can opt to ditch the directive if you don't need it.

You can erase the subject, add more media, change the theme, or make it all mean something new if you'd like.

But you can also keep it defined and just let your creativity run WILD within those boundaries. Bc now it can. It won't run too far or wide or shut you down.

Getting started is half the battle (as we know from executive dysfunction), but sometimes there's even a battle before that. Knowing what you want to create before you can work on the challenge of getting started.

This can help. Not just in art, but lotsa things in life.