The Plan A Group’s Lee Allentuck on how to build your creative muscle

The Plan A Group’s Lee Allentuck shares his top tips for staying ‘creatively fit’.

Here’s the thing no one wants to admit… You’re not born creative. You become creative. And like any muscle, you only  get stronger if you’re willing to feel a little uncomfortable, a little clumsy and a little ‘Who am I to be doing this?’ along the way.

I learned this recently when I started playing the drums. And let me be clear: I was awful. Not ‘give him time’ awful. I mean painfully, embarrassingly off-beat awful. My hands and my brain were actively refusing to work together. Every session felt like a reminder of everything I didn’t know…

But here’s what most people forget: every terrible attempt was a rep. Slow, awkward, humbling reps. And the more I showed up, the less horrible I became. Not great. Not perfect. Just less horrible. And that was enough to keep going.

That’s creativity. Not the polished idea you pitch. Not the prototype that actually works. Not the moment the room lights up. Creativity lives in the messy middle: the ugly drafts, the weird experiments, the misfires, the ‘try again.’

Right now, in a moment when our industry is demanding faster innovation, sharper ideas and constant reinvention, creative stamina matters more than ever. If you work in toys, games, licensing or invention, you already know the pressure: retailers want newness, audiences want surprise and teams are being asked to deliver at a pace that feels impossible. Let’s not even talk about costing…

The only way to keep up is to stay creatively fit. So here’s my simple, no-BS guide to building your creative muscle:

• Practise often. Draw, write, drum, build, carve wood, blow glass, brainstorm, play – anything that forces your brain out of autopilot.

• Expect most of it to suck. 99.8% of creative output is rough, incomplete or unusable. That’s not failure. That’s conditioning.

• Iterate relentlessly. Don’t fall in love with the first version of anything. Twist it, stretch it, break it, rebuild it… In our world, iteration is how ideas sharpen and how good concepts become great ones.

• Share ideas early. A trusted collaborator can help you see angles you missed and push your thinking further.

• Don’t quit when it feels slow. Momentum comes after discipline – never before.

Creativity isn’t a lightning bolt. It’s the daily decision to show up, even when you feel offbeat, out of sync or full of doubt. Keep showing up. Strength comes from the reps.

–

To stay in the loop with the latest news, interviews and features from the world of toy and game design, sign up to our weekly newsletter here

More Recent Opinion

Not All Fun and Games: Deej Johnson explains how you can start to break the Cycle of Depression

What small steps can you take to start to get out of a period of low mood? Deej Johnson explains.

Not All Fun and Games: In mental-health month, Deej Johnson explains the Cycle of Depression

How does depression start? Deej Johnson on anxiety, sleep and Psychological Basic Needs.

A Prickly Plan for Playground Popularity…

Sharp Sharp’s Steve McInerny looks at how three primary school children came up with a trading card craze at school.

Not All Fun and Games: In mental-health month, Deej Johnson looks at every human’s Psychological Basic Needs

Deej Johnson on the nine psychological needs humans must provide for in order to be content…

Play-Doh at 70

Deej Johnson on the amazing origins of the world’s favourite compound.

From Creator to Checkout: SituAction’s Nic Jones on how social commerce is empowering the next generation of innovators

SituAction’s Nic Jones looks at how the next great toy success story could begin not with a pitch, but with a post.