The Myths of Creativity
“Sing in me, O Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years on end” – Homer’s “Odyssey”.
People want to be inspired. We have an entire myth around creativity that anything artistic in our lives is the “creative spark”, a gift from the gods.
If you hit a roadblock, then something is “wrong” – the internal flame has faded to embers and you will have to wait for it to return. So you put down your pen or clean your brush, and patiently wait for the Muse to speak to you again.
Think of the ways that we frame creativity – “offering” or “performing” a service. These are religious words, even theatrical.
Not discounting the Muse, but maybe we are holding creativity to too high of a standard, and cutting ourselves, and others, off from the benefits of creativity.
Creativity is a skill, a tool that needs to be forged and sharpened.
Maybe it’s all just Formula
Let’s look at progressive rock music. Like Pink Floyd, or Genesis, or more recently, Spock’s Beard. With concept albums where each song in the album tells a story. Some of the best progressive rock are long songs (10+ minutes) with many segments, parts, or episodes. Those parts would not be able to make it as standalone songs. But put together into a 10 minute song they can be evocative and tell a larger story. They can take you through the regular narrative arc of build up (Act 1), Fall (Act2), Redemption and Triumph in the climax (Act 3). They frequently have an Overture, a longer song at the beginning that briefly includes the themes, or motifs, of each song in the upcoming story of the album.
People call this “formula”. Maybe it is. But surely it is better than the pop song that sounds like every other pop song!
Is formula still creativity? If the formula triggers the senses in your audience, or even yourself, that is still a good thing. (Remember, last night there were people crying at a concert to a song that only has 3 chords).
Never call a song “Writer’s Block”.
Many years ago, I wrote and recorded a progressive rock “concept” album called Pilgrimsprog, with all of the songs telling the story of “Pilgrim’s Progress”. It took me 4 years to write and record.
Why did I do it? To learn the recording tools, to see if I could do it, and to write what I was thinking. I sometimes felt more comfortable expressing my faith through music.
I got stuck on one song for over a year. Why? I made the mistake of calling the song “Writer’s Block”, based on an idea I had.
I eventually had to force my way through that song, doing the “un-fun” stuff, and completely rewrote it. It became “Forgive” a song about forgiveness.
“I need forgiveness even as I forgive. Seventy time seven.”
“Forgive” – by Pilgrimsprog
In that sense, my creativity (I wouldn’t call it “genius”), was “one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration”, to quote Edison.
Practice really does makes Perfect
Kids don’t draw well at first. The crayon is scribbled outside the lines. Yet we hang that picture up on the fridge.
Why do we expect it to be any different?
We are so used to fast and easy, and ready-made, and done-for-you templates. Sometimes it is just work. Building a real skill takes time, with lots of failures, but real discoveries, along the way.
Do you need an audience?
This may surprise you, but no, you do not need an audience. Maybe not right now.
There is a reason that your Twitter and Facebook posts, collated with everyone else’s, is called a Feed. It is feeding an audience…or at the least it is feeding their algorithm.
Not everything needs to feed an audience(!). Creative endeavors should first and foremost feed the soul. Your soul.
That may sound selfish. But ask yourself the question: “would I do this (art, music, task, whatever) if no one would ever see it?” Do you do art for art’s sake? Or practice a task to get better at it, to build a skill?
Start with You. Then share with family and friends and your in-real-life community.
On the flip side, if you are doing something that will end up with an audience, just do it. Take a podcast, for example. Everyone knows that the first few episode of a podcast are rough and, frankly, they suck. But when you are 20 or 40 episodes in, you will have some audience, you built confidence and skill, and through that you will find your “voice”.
Thinking outside the box vs. Thinking inside the box, but deeper.
You have heard – “Think outside the box”. Although that is recommending you to think differently, trying to “think outside the box” may be looking at it too rigidly. Maybe too purposefully.
(insert cliche quotes from Einstein and Michelangelo here) – or maybe not.
Go beyond the cliches!
Sometimes busy work impedes creativity.
How much time do you stop, to contemplate? How often do you pause, and look around? Do you look up at the sky? That is time well spent.
Perpend posted this to our Thriving Community Telegram chat the other night:
“Wow! and you can’t hear the toads and birds singing. You weren’t there to see the damsel flies darting across the path. or the dragon flies hovering and swooping. The light smell of brush piles burning. The light breeze turning cool as the sun stops heating the air. So I hope your evening was just as full impact as mine was for me. If not this evening then I hope one is soon.
The important bits can’t be captured; only experienced. Immerse yourself in the ordinary and it will slowly transform into the extraordinary just like the sun setting. It is where you will find Thriving.”
Is waiting for Inspiration keeping you from Getting Stuff Done?
Do what needs to be done.
Create. Practice your skill. We like to use the term #SkillsOverStuff. You can follow that old prepper adage of “two is one and one is none” or you can learn the skills to sharpen a blade, change your oil, repair that old tiller that was in the back of the barn when you bought the place.
If you create a product or you are offering a service, doing it for money, then charge less as you are building that skill. Once you are more of an “expert” then charge more.
