In Greek mythology, the Muses were daughters of Zeus who presided over the arts and sciences, helping those fortunate enough to be touched by their inspiration. But what happens when you're fresh out of Muse?

Does this sound familiar? You just landed a great gig that's hopefully going to skyrocket you to creative stardom. You've got a crystal clear brief from your client. You've even got some great background research. You grab your pad and pencil and then ... nothing. Nada. Ziltch. You just sit there staring at this nice white piece of paper desperate for an idea. It's a pretty common problem that we all go through at some point. Here's a few tips for breaking the dark cloud of creative block.

Play 20 questions
Identify the problem at hand and write it down. Maybe it's something like, "Donations are down and the client needs to pump them back up." Pretty straight forward. Now, how about turning the problem into a group of questions? Perhaps, "Why are donations down?" "Is it the local economy?" "Has the client changed services, their message or media?" Or maybe get a bit deeper. "Why do we need donations?" "What do we do with the money?""Who's making the donations?" "How are donations made? Is there an easier way?"

The point is to create a series of questions to help you see different angles to solve the problem. Often the answer to a key question or two will spark a unique concept.

Here are my references
Design annuals, showcase books like the Guild's Directory of Illustration, The Black Books, The Workbook, stock images, along with any number of design books can be just the ticket to get things moving. Going through these tomes will often get your creative juices flowing again. The trick, though, is to use them to generate new ideas, not plagiarism. Maybe you see a neat typographic treatment that you can modify and apply to your project. Maybe you see a photo that gives you a brilliant idea for a core image for your project. Sometimes you'll find a great color palette.

Speaking of books, a trip to your local library is a good idea. But, when you're there, don't just look up design or creative reference books. How about looking at some art books, or architecture, native cultures, history, etc. Looking into other disciplines, cultures, hobbies, etc. is an excellent way to get a new way of dealing with the problem at hand. Oh ... and don't forget museums. They're handy too.

The web is another excellent source for reference and ideas. Sites like coolhomepages.com might be just the medicine to cure your creative block.

Take a hike
Or hit the gym, hop on your bike or whatever type of exercise gets you going. Exercise will get your blood pumping and, hopefully, a generous amount will make it to your brain. For me, hitting the gym is a great way to get my idea factory churning out new concepts.

Shake things up
If you're a hopeless creature of habit like me, changing your routine can help spark new ideas. When you start to do things differently, your brain makes new connections and generates different ideas.

Let music calm the savage beast
After you reviewed all you available material, pull up on the couch and turn on the tunes. I like to listen to jazz or classical and veg out on the sofa. All the stuff in your head blends with the music and lots of ideas start to pop up.

If you're not the couch type, try taking a shower or sit out in the sun. The point here is to fill up your head with all the ammo and then forget it and get away from the desk. While you're away, your brain is processing all that stuff behind the scenes. Next thing you know ... poof! ... a dazzling idea rises to the surface.

Find a kid
Here's one you don't hear about too often. Kids have a beautiful innocence about the world around them. They can provide you with a completely different way of seeing your problem-at-hand. If you don't happen to have a half-pint of your own, maybe tap into a niece or nephew, one of your friend's kids or, if you're really hard up, visit a local school and ask the principal if you could pose a few questions to a class. Make if a fun project for both you and 'lil tikes ... and their teacher too.

In the end, you'll find your Muse isn't on vacation at all. She's just around the corner waiting to slap you with the creative stick. When you ask questions, get some reference material, get some exercise, change your routine a bit and then forget it all and chill with some nifty tunes, you'll find Ms. Muse waiting to extol her primo mojo all over you.