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What can I play with?

Rechan

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I’m reading a book on overcast Ming writer’s block and it suggests doing something creating be and fun with no goals, to let your right brain wander, mainly something tactile. The problem is everything it suggests doesn’t interest me.

Collages, scrapbooking, sketches/drawing, dream journals, painting, coloring, playdoh, fiddling with a musical instrument, knitting...

I did a bit of coloring and that was okay but wasn’t satisfying. The problem I found was both sketching and coloring I ran out of things to work on befor tone was up. I’d enjoy playing with action figures but all of my old toys are with my parents out of state and I don’t want to buy more.

So I can’t think of anything else a single person can do creatively for 10-15 minutes that requires few supp
 

Lawless

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I'm not sure how fun and creative this is but you can try it if you can't think of anything else:

Take a sheet of paper. Think of a question. Write it down. Keep writing that question time and again. When you feel like writing something else (question or not), write that something else. If you can't think of anything to write, write the original question again.

Generally you're supposed to continue until you have filled the two pages, but if you want to do it for only 15 minutes then go ahead.

After you've finished, throw the paper away.
 

frimble3

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I’d enjoy playing with action figures but all of my old toys are with my parents out of state and I don’t want to buy more.

So I can’t think of anything else a single person can do creatively for 10-15 minutes that requires few supp
You'd enjoy playing with action figures, but yours are packed up at your parents?
Are there any thrift stores, charity shops, etc, near you? Check them out for a bag of used Lego or Playmobil figures. Not quite action figures, but something to fiddle with and act out scenes. Or, repaint and make stuff for.

For that matter, if you want to go hard-core 'maker', get a bag of chenille stems (used to be called pipe cleaners, but 'real' pipe cleaners have little pointy, wiry bits along their length) and make people out of them: one, bent in half with a loop at the top for the head, then the ends spread out for legs, with a half length twisted in under the head for arms - loop hands at the ends. (Doubtless you can find pictures on-line if you google. If you have glue and paper, you can make faces with a patch of paper glued to the front of the head. Decorate to suit. (A similar process will make animals, so your questing hero can have a horse or a dog.)

You can also make cardstock (cereal boxes, etc) houses, furniture, etc. If you need patterns, again, check out on-line.

God luck.
 

Maryn

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We're anticipating a move so I've been going through the boxed-up possessions of the Former Kid who refuses to go through the detritus of her childhood and says I should just throw it all out. I can't, since there are things worth donating (and a little worth keeping for myself if she doesn't want it).

Anyway, I'm finding a great many items that might fit your needs. Most are commercial products, but there are make-your-own recipes and instructions for some.
  • slime with embedded glitter
  • magnetic slime
  • tangrams
  • Legos
  • jigsaw puzzles (she has a solid silver one, no image--and I'm keeping it)
  • bubble blowing, especially huge one (most fun in winter)
  • marble runs
  • magnetic figures (head, ends of arms and legs are magnets) and a metal lunch box they live in
  • Off-bits and similar weird figures
  • Geomagic mosaic pieces
  • K'nex
  • magnetic sculptures using tiny ball bearings or stars
  • puzzles that require logic, from 16-slot sliders to far more complex
A whole lot of these are headed for Goodwill--and I bet your area thrift shop has similar items periodically. Check it out.
 

Brightdreamer

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Echoing the suggestion for hitting your local thrift store. If you're willing to spend more money, see if you can find a nearby independent or higher-end toy store, the kind that sells "educational" toys or kits or other more advanced things, and see what strikes your fancy. Origami, building kits, yo-yos, card games... (Speaking of cards, a deck of cards can kill some time. There are several solitaire variations. You could even get a cheap Tarot/oracle kit for free-association/idea generation exercises.)

Also, have you considered homemade play clays/doughs? You can make frivolous little sculptures or scenes, or squeeze it into molds. Some of them air-dry (though cracking can be an issue) if you want them to last, or you can just smash 'em down and put them back in the fridge (most of the ones I know of keep in the fridge.) If you decide you like playing with clays, hit your craft store for more durable options.

Then there's bubbles. Sometimes I blow bubbles. There's something soothing about watching bubbles float around. (I try to aim them away from the keyboard and monitor, though.)
 

bugbite

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Rubiks cube. You can get them at different levels of difficulty. (I don't know if this is actually creative, but it's a fairly effective distraction.)

https://www.rubiks.com/en-us/

Kind of what I was thinking to. Do video games count as being creative. I don't play anything too serious, but I have a free strategy game on the iPad, it sort of lets the mind wander, I believe its available for free on the PC as well, it doesn't require too much time investment, it's a lot like Sim City. I was playing a lot of chess, against the computer, and online.

Umm, now isn't the season, but have you thought about gardening? There's a creative side to making a yard look nice. Or just growing a single plant near a window.
 
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tiddlywinks

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I'm easily distracted by shiny objects so I bead? And if nothing else, it's fun to sift through and organize by colors or type or whatever strikes your fancy if you aren't in the mood to put an actual project together. However, that requires some supplies, so not quite fitting your bill...

Hmm. Are you near a playground that has some sandboxes? All joking aside, it can be fun to create sand sculptures. Bring a bucket of water with you and have at it. (I suggest playground because I live nowhere near the ocean. If I were near the ocean, I'd say go to the beach.)
 

Sarahrizz

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Fan-fic, the never to be published kind, allows me to fantasize and work on world-building with a pre-established world and pre-created, well flushed out characters. At times I'll take a character and go hypothetical internet shopping/browsing with them and see how they would react. It helps in my character-building skills. I also allow myself to have a couple tangent works, when I have a main work, to write whenever I get stuck on one, I can switch to another for a bit. Another thing I've done is go looking at floorplans online with certain characters/ situations in mind.