creative license

1. Intentional violations of or deviations from traditional forms, standards, or syntax by a writer in order to achieve a particular effect. Don't get hung up on adhering too strictly to iambic pentameter in your poem. You can use a bit of creative license if it means preserving the meaning and rhythm you want. Any two-bit poet can string together a jumble of words and call it creative license. I don't think you can take creative license when the assignment is, specifically, to write a sonnet.

2. Minor changes to or misrepresentations of facts or history in the name of art or for the sake of an agenda. People complain about inaccuracies in historical dramas, but they wouldn't be able to make the movies marketable without using a little bit of creative license. If that's the story she told you, she sure used a lot of creative license—it's only about 40% true! I don't appreciate you using creative license to make me look like the bad guy here. You're not exactly blameless, you know!

get the/(one's) creative juices flowing

To help, enable, or inspire one to think in a creative manner, especially in order to create art. OK, everyone, we're going to do a couple of improv games to get the creative juices flowing. Whenever I'm suffering from writer's block, I start jotting down made-up conversations between my parents. For some reason, that always gets my creative juices flowing. I usually start out slow, but once I get my creative juices flowing, I could work on my novel for hours.