How to Focus Your Ideas: Series Introduction
photo by pacificit
How to Focus Your Ideas series:
1. Series Introduction
2. Idea Dumps: Letting It All Hang Out
3. Navigating the Idea Dump
4. A Hefty Dose of Moxie
We creative types just love ideas. We want to be original, imaginative, and exciting. We want to write groundbreaking stories, paint mind-shattering canvases, and compose inconceivable verses.
But creativity these days isn’t limited to the novelists, the painters, and the poets. We’ve come to the so-called “Information Age,” when everyone’s going into raptures about creative thinking, to the point that it starts to sound like a boring cliché. But as tired as it may sound, it’s true — creative thinking is a most valuable asset in the unpredictable, ever-changing world we inhabit. Marketers have to be creative. Programmers have to be creative. Journalists, teachers, and chefs? They won’t stand out either unless they’ve got creative ideas.
We’ve barreled past the Industrial Revolution, when learning techniques and following set procedures were the required skills. Back then, creative people like the weavers and the silversmiths were completely squashed by the arrival of factories and machines. But they are now redeemed, as those big company owners are currently scrambling about howling that they need more creative minds so their company can survive.
Yet conflict arises. Creativity, it so happens, is also traditionally associated with disorder. If you search for “creative genius” on Google Images, Albert Einstein and his legendary wild ‘do shows up on the first line. Homer Simpson shows up on the second (I’m not joking). Two very different manifestations of disarray, no doubt, but very telling indeed.
But creativity doesn’t have to be a chaotic mess. For some people it will be, but for other people, that mess actually holds them back. This series is about wading through the mess to find the nuggets of gold.
If you’ve read my other posts, you’ve probably noticed that I’m big on figuring things out as I go along — jumping in and starting to act. What you probably don’t know is that I have a huge pile of ideas milling around my mind, ideas that have not dared to venture outside the warm corners of my mind. The problem with these ideas isn’t that they got paralyzed by over-planning, or that I threw them out into the world cold and unprepared. The problem is that there are just too many of them. I get overwhelmed, and brush them to the side.
How to Find Those Nuggets
That said, I’m presenting you all with a series on how to focus your ideas. Preposterous!, you may be thinking. Why would we want to hear it from someone who’s struggling herself? Well, hear me out. My idea is that as I’m figuring out how to focus my ideas (since I just love that “figuring out” business), I can let you know how it’s going for me — let you know what works. Ideally, you folks then join in the discussion and tell me if it works for you, or if you have a completely different and brilliant method for us to try out.
The impending first post, elegantly titled “Idea Dumps: Letting It All Hang Out,” will discuss the painfully obvious, yet extremely effective method of writing it down. I promise, it will be more exciting than it sounds. I’ll use a spellbinding example to demonstrate different ways to collect your ideas, whether you like scribbling words or making pretty pictures.
The second post, “Navigating the Idea Dump,” will discuss how to organize those ideas that you’ve written down, so you don’t look at that illegible piece of paper and end up tossing it in the trash. Once more, we’ll follow an example through various methods.
The third post, which is currently unnamed in order to keep you in dreadful suspense, will talk about actually starting your creative project. Again, whether it’s a collaborative writing project you want to launch, or a marketing workshop on building your brand, we’ll talk about what it means to open the floodgates.
I warn you that all post titles and content are subject to change without notice, especially if some of you savvy readers comment below or e-mail me with suggestions.
And because I like picking your brains, here’s another question I’d like to throw out there: What is creativity to you? Where does it fit in your life?
Add your comments below, or click the title of this post if no comment form is visible!
If you enjoy this blog, I invite you to subscribe by e-mail or by RSS reader (links are near the top of the sidebar).
![[del.icio.us]](http://www.essentialprose.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.essentialprose.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://www.essentialprose.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Google]](http://www.essentialprose.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://www.essentialprose.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/stumbleupon.png)
![[Twitter]](http://www.essentialprose.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/twitter.png)
![[Email]](http://www.essentialprose.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
Hey, looking forward to those posts. I’m glad you gave me a headsup on what they’ll include and not completely tease me!
Sooooo, creativity to me? Creativity is soul expression. I don’t care if your creativity is painting, cooking, knitting, architecture, thinking, or writing. Without a form of expressing what is deep within, I think we are less than all we can be. And being less than all, means a short and swift, or long and arduous, road to an unnamed dissatisfaction.
Mon @ Holistic Mama´s last blog post..compacting…the year in review
Hi Zoe – I like the imagery of “idea dump” and imagine it to be like when you’d spill all your blocks or legos or scrabble tiles out in one giant cascade and then pick the ones you need to start building. The creative part comes in the using. Where does that come from? It’s a gift from a secret admirer, as best I can tell.
Betsy´s last blog post..WISDOM
Well, I have been digging out my creativity for the last 12 months or so. Creativity – for me that’s taking pictures and processing them and putting them on my blog. It’s also a bit of drawing and painting, and it is writing. Sometimes I have got something in mind to write about, and then I select a fitting photo. Or the other way round: I go through my foto files, find one that I like most and think about a post that could go with it.
Focussing my ideas – that’s something I am in need of. I have been playing around with mindmaps, but I am very interested in reading how you do it.
Looking forward to your series!
Ulla Hennig´s last blog post..At the Beach
Paralysis by analysis, sometimes it is the story of my life. It also fits right into the category of detailitis. If I don’t know all the details, then it is difficult to progress forward.
Creativity to me is a constant occurance. I am always creative, usually when I am not trying to be. If I try to be creative, then I draw a blank. It is much like meeting a comedian for the first time and asking him to tell you a joke on the spot, you know, one that will really crack you up. They usually don’t have anything because comedy is all timing.
Here is my question to you, is the third post really untitled because of suspense or do you not have anything creative to put there yet? Come on, be honest.
Sal´s last blog post..The Extent of My Knowledge
I think there have always been people around with a need to express themselves creatively. What has changed are the mediums in which we can do this and indeed, the “information age” has opened up the possibilities exponentially.
I just look at my niece. I got her a copy of Photoshop when she was about 12. You should see what she can do now. Just looking at her homework boggles the mind. While I had to photocopy pages in books at the library to illustrate my assignments, she pulls different images from the web and creates intricate digital composites.
The beauty of creativity is that it always seeks new ways to express itself. From obscure cave paintings, we have moved to digital creations that can be shared with the world. We can only marvel at the possibilities that tomorrow holds.
Alain Lemay´s last blog post..Helping Bloggers get some exposure!
Thanks for keeping me in dreadful suspense. It’s one of my favorite kinds. Sounds like a great series, Zoe.
Writer Dad´s last blog post..Let’s Get Our Kids Drunk! or Happy Halloween!
I am now in dreadful suspense, waiting for these posts, and the title of the third one. Will it be funny? Will it be serious? Will it be tragi-comic? Will it be accompanied by angels and rainbows and puppies??
On to your question. To me, creativity is bravery. It’s the confidence and desire to do something out of the ordinary, to craft something unique and innovative. I also equate creativity with rule-breaking. By thumbing your nose at ill-conceived strictures on what is and what is not creative, on what is and what is not allowed in creation, that creates something unique but also transcendent. Perhaps even important.
QuietRebelWriter´s last blog post..Writer Profile: Andrew Huff, Blogger and Chicago Force of Nature
My creative passion right now is photography. I don’t have a lot of fancy equipment or software – I’m really all about the raw images, and looking at things from different angles. Can’t wait to see your series.
Fancy´s last blog post..
Hi Zoe. Glad to have a friend online point out Chuck Westbrook’s site so I could find yours. Its a creative connection I need when I’m wading through my own daily efforts to CREATE. Creativity is my way of working through the blast of thoughts and emotions swirl inside of me and connecting those to the external needs. I can start with a need and prompt the swirl to begin or I can have a swirl and search for a place to put it.
That can be exhausting to have all that going on inside of me so I have to organize it. But if I don’t balance this and over organize, it will take over my creativity. I love what you said in your other post, “I didn’t pause long enough to let doubt paralyze me.” How often I have been there!
TJ Hirst´s last blog post..Alternatives to Pumpkin Pie
“What is creativity to you? Where does it fit in your life?”
Creativity to me is my whole life. From getting up in the morning and making hot tea, to brushing my teeth before I got to bed at night.
My mind is always thinking ahead of how I can do the same old thing in a new way. I’m not always successful, and this is usually when I fall in a rut and go through a dry spell, but there is always a way out. But I think that’s part of the creative process as well. If we can’t figure out how to escape from the low tide then how would we ever learn to ride the high tide of a creative impulse. When we fall we have to just get back up and try again.
kyle steed´s last blog post..our space
I have lots of ideas that seem like a pot of stew simmering on a back burner. I get a feel for the direction it’s going, do a little research, add a little more information. Sample from time to time and make notes of what I think it’s becoming. Mostly, though, I give it time to come together in my subconscious. Eventually, I can sit down and write, or sketch out a quilt to start working on.
TexasRed´s last blog post.."Marked" by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
I’m looking forward to the series! I’m wondering if you use something like an editorial calendar? I just started trying to use one, in an attempt to get a bit organized, though I find that I already regularly deviate from it, no doubt due to the rather free-form nature of blogging.
Hi Zoe!
I’m looking forward to seeing your suggestions for capturing, sifting through and moving forward with all those ideas that bombard us throughout the day – except, as a couple folks here pointed out, when we’re trying to find them!
I liked Kyle’s notion of creativity being the attempt to do the same old thing in a new way. Too often I think we struggle with trying to be “genius” and “new” – the reality is, there is nothing new. It’s like baking (my love) – I can combine the elements differently, but I can’t really create any new elements. I also think that creativity comes from practicing, not in a “flash” necessarily. Even when it seems to arrive all at once, I think it’s usually a product of something we’ve been working on for a while, if only in our minds. I’ve seen the example of art students who were told they would be graded on the quantity not quality of their work for a semester used a few times recently (the students actually produced more quality work from the act of just doing it, rather than trying to come up with one perfect piece) and I like it a lot because it reminds me that a big part of “creativity” comes from the doing of a thing, not the thinking about it. And that in creating, there can be a lot of crap in with the beauties!
Looking forward to the next post! Cheers.
Kathlyn´s last blog post..Gotta gotta have it
I used to think I wasn’t particularly creative. But then I realized that trying different ways to cook a dish was creative. And designing a database was creative. And finding the most efficient way to set up my website navigation was creative.
I had always associated creativity with writing fiction or being an artist or composing music. It never occurred to me that these day to day tasks can be creative. It wasn’t until I met my husband, who is a software developer, and realized just how much creativity he puts into his programming, that I saw my own creativity in the work that I do.
I’m looking forward to this series as I’ve been working at exploring my own creativity.
Great article, I am very excited for this series,
“But creativity doesn’t have to be a chaotic mess.”
This is very true, finding the balance between spontaneity and just diving in can be so crucial to the creative process.
Thanks for a great read I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
~Aaron I
Aaron Irizarry´s last blog post..Community of Designers
I posted some pictures on my blog of my broken brick driveway and how making a paradigm shift from what is permissible to what is possible has allowed me to approach problems more creatively. Two weeks doesn’t seem like enough time to spend on your blog.
JenX67´s last blog post..Halloween Costume Parade
Oh, I see this comment above links to something Halloween. Hopefully the new link will appear in this comment – if not, here it is. http://www.jenx67.com/2008/11/zo-on-creativity.html
Also, there is a blogger, http://ragamuffingal.blogspot.com. Very creative gal!
@ Mon – I completely agree, it can manifest itself in countless different forms.
@ Betsy – Legos and scrabble tiles, you took the imagery to a whole new level — what a perfect way to describe the process!
@ Ulla – I have been exploring the idea of using visuals with my writing. I haven’t yet actively done it, but using photos as a jumping point for your writing is a great idea.
@ Sal – Hrmm…it’s currently unnamed in order to allow its awesomeness steep to the most creative brew possible…!
@ Alain – That’s a wonderful point you make. I feel like I’m only on the tip of discovering creative possibilities with new technology, and it’s exhilarating just to think of all the potential.
@ Writer Dad – I save Dreadful only for special occasions. Now it must live up to its name…
@ QuietRebelWriter – Rainbows and puppies — you’ve ruined the surprise!
On another note, creativity as bravery is a marvelous way to frame it. It is true in so many ways — the bravery to devote, to be vulnerable, to put so much of yourself into a creation. And of course, bravery to break the rules. You, QuietRebelWriter, are aptly named!
@ Fancy – I think it’s good to start organically, to dive into something without the bells and whistles. Those can always come later.
@ TJ – You’ve painted a picture of my mind as well. That’s exactly why I’m creating this series, to try and work through it all myself. Can’t wait to do this with all of you.
@ Kyle – Creativity definitely needs its ebbs and flows, like most things in life. Maybe it helps us learn how to process the ideas when we are “in the mode.”
@ TexasRed – It sounds like you’ve got a steady system going that works well for you!
@ Roy – I haven’t tried an editorial calendar. My blog post schedule constantly shifts around based on things I read. Sometimes an idea totally twists around on me while I’m in the middle of writing it! I do try to list out a general idea of the week’s postings, though.
@ Kathlyn – Yes, I agree with you entirely! You take the elements around you, and introduce your own perspective. Once the action is automatic, then the creativity is free to creep out.
@ Jodith – I didn’t realize how much creativity was involved until I started choosing/tweaking the design on my site. It’s certainly not a dry process.
@ Aaron – Yep, I’m working on finding that balance… I’m excited to work it out with all of you around!
@ Jen – “making a paradigm shift from what is permissible to what is possible” — this is a great interpretation of creativity. Thanks so much for posting such a thoughtful article on your blog!
I’m enjoying reading your posts. I just started my blog at the end of September, and am also wrangling with some of the issues you are talking about — voice, focus, creativity. Looking forward to the series. Glad I found you (through the “blog club” at Chuck Westbrook’s)!
LegalMist´s last blog post..Six Random Facts About Me
I am looking forward to reading the next installments in the series.
Creativity, to me, is a personal expression of who you are. We all have to navigate our way through life using our creativity to overcome obstacles and make dreams and ambitions more of a reality.
MA
Mad Asthmatic´s last blog post..4 days to go
Picking up the themes explored by some of your earlier commenters, I also see creativity as being about an approach – a mindset, or perhaps the lack of a fixed mindset – to whatever task, vocation or experience you are having at that moment. My “formal” or traditional creativity comes in the form of words – I am an occasional poet, short story writer, blogger, and my income is derived from writing government policy advice and interpretations – but actually everything I do benefits from an exercise of creativity. Creating new meals or adapting old ones, discovering or inventing crafts and games, teaching my children to do new things or do things in new ways, managing the process of our day to day life so that the joy is maximised – all of these things intensely engage my creativity.
Kathy´s last blog post..Famous Blue Raincoat
Earlier today I had the opportunity to teleconference with Thomas Myer, author of “From Geek to Peak.” He discussed congruant behavior (acting consistent with your claims of being a writer), saying that focus is a must.
I also saw two blog posts today talking about focusing one’s blog on a specific purpose.
Your talking right at me, Zoe.
James A Woods´s last blog post..Good Grief! Schulz Estate Just Doesn’t Get It.
Woohoo! It’s just so lovely to read, “creative thinking is a most valuable asset in the unpredictable, ever-changing world we inhabit,” kicking off a series in the inaugural Westbrook Blog Extravaganza pick!
I follow Dane Rudhyar’s definition: to create is only to reveal what essentially is. The quest continues in every moment of every day.
Looking forward to reading about your discoveries.
mary´s last blog post..Unemployment and education
I know what you mean about the ideas floating around in your head just getting brushed aside. Lately I’ve noticed that I’ve been working on pieces that stem from ideas I had 3 years ago. I figure that if I go through my sketchbook and I still like the idea months or years later, it’s an idea that’s good enough to come to fruition. Sometimes it just takes a while to figure out how to do something or to work through all the steps you need to take. Sometimes you need to learn more about your self or learn new techniques in order to complete a particular project. I think that time can sometimes be the best critic.
Wendy Edsall-Kerwin´s last blog post..We Interupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming…
I teach, therefore I am….creative. We’re in the middle of the mandated state tests, so there isn’t much creativity in my job over this two week span.
When i was a substitute, I wrote a lot. I had no creative outlet because I was teaching other teachers’ plans.
Daisy´s last blog post..The Fabled Fairies of Thanksgiving
Anyone using the computer program Inspiration for mind mapping or webbing?
Daisy´s last blog post..The Fabled Fairies of Thanksgiving
(Daisy: yes, and I love it. It’s also great for mapping out a website’s structure, or a proposal’s outline. Excellent program.)
Zoë,
I seem to be hearing about this a lot lately, whether creative chaos is a help or a hindrance. Like most productivity theories, the answer must be “it depends.” I think personality has a lot to do with how well you get along with chaos. For me, it’s an organized chaos that I’ve settled into, accepting that I’ll never be crowned Queen of Organization but knowing that the closer I trip to disorder, the more time I sped tearing out hairs instead of creating.
“What is creativity to you? Where does it fit in your life?”
Mm. Creativity is breath to me. Kind of overblown, I know, but it’s true. I have to do a fair bit of admin stuff in my world and I go nuts waiting for the next time to lean back and draw new ideas out of myself. In my work, in my hobbies, in my time with my daughter, and right up until I dot the last i and cross the last t on a blog post at midnight, I’m creating visuals or writing. Even on vacation I’m usually looking for something to do, something to make, a way to keep on creating things.
As long as I hang out on the edge of organized chaos, focusing my ideas isn’t the problem. Knowing there will never be enough time for all of them… that can be a bit of an issue.
One I’ll gladly suffer with!
Regards,
Kelly
Another good post, Zoe, but a bit strange to me coming from a woman who doesn’t plan much. It puts to bed your premise of Ready, Fire, Aim, don’t you think?
I look forward to the series because it sounds much like the plan I follow. I don’t do mind maps – I hate them, and they are confusing to me. Most of my great ideas come to me at night, just before I fall asleep at night. That is when my muse comes to me, and we murmur to one another. It is not unusual for me to wake in the middle of the night with a fantastic idea, and I keep a pad and pen at my bedside to write that down. That is all the mind map I can handle!
You ask what creativity is to me. It probably is a question that most artists and writers cannot explain. To me, it is knowing that what I have just written is outstanding. You “feel” when it is right. My habit is to let anything I have written sit on the back burner and “simmer” for a few days, and then revisit. If it seems foreign to me, then it doesn’t work. If it smacks me between the eyes, then great!
You ask where it fits into my life. Dear Zoe, it IS my life. Nothing else matters to me. I would just be a hack if that were not the case.
I look forward to the series. I think this will be great.
Peace,
Alden~
Maybe it’s because my blog is a health focus, but I sometimes struggle with creativity. I hate sounding like just another study, even when I’m reporting on one.
Over the last year, I’ve had many “idea dumps” (love the term, BTW), but have managed a few good posts.
Thanks for the reminder about creativity, which I really needed, and I look forward to the rest of your series…………:)
LisaNewton´s last blog post..What snack can I munch on with my coffee? That’s LOW in carbs
I think creativity is a state of consciousness where you’re always trying to make new connections with things and you strive for finding that new paradigm. It’s this desire to be like in a state of bliss. This feeling that you’re on to something. Truly creative people are probably addicted to the process of making something, more than the end result.
—————————-
I also discovered your blog through Chuck Westbrok and I’m really enjoying it. You have a devoted reader hear.
Great post! I love figuring things out, too! It will be interesting to read about your process. And the whole idea around choosing to support a new blogger is very interesting! I’m looking forward to the adventure.
Creativity? My big creative project is to build a life that is joyful and unique – made to order for me!
Looking forward to the next post.
Hi Zoe,
Dear Zoe,
Trying this again. I had every intention of being lovingly welcoming at the beginning of the week but life impinged (some of which I’ve written about on my own blog).
So first, congratulations on being chosen for Chuck’s project. Second, I’m treating myself to reading through your first week (and 50% of the comments) as Friday turns into Saturday. Lovely writing, interesting ideas. How much input do you want/need about content? Design? Lemme know and I’d be happy to put that in an email if you’d like.
Creativity? I also question the validity of tying chaos to creativity, even though one of my fave quotes is “You must have chaos if you would give birth to a dancing star.” (Nietzsche) And while I certainly do more than my fair share of flopping around in la-la land during the early stages of a project, I spend a whole lot of time planning, researching, and outlining before starting to write.
I discovered that my creativity and productivity increased exponentially after adopting this discipline. I’d avoided doing this for years because I thought it would cramp my style, suppress my creativity, etc. It has had the opposite effect.
For nearly ten years I had a side biz as a professional organizer with a client base of mostly working artists and writers who were stuck in their chaos. In some cases, the person just needed a framework for organizing thoughts and materials. In most cases, the disorganization was self-sabotage pure and not-so-simple. Helping them helped me to see this tendency in myself.
So now this is getting too long…my general complaint about blog posts and comments. If I read grumpy it’s because I’m flat-out exhausted, but could not let this week end without saying “congrats” and letting you know I’m reading your stuff.
Pax max,
Meredith
Meredith Gould´s last blog post..Life as a Personal Aide: On a Roll (VI)
Sounds like this will be a great series. I can’t wait!
As for your question, I agree completely with Mon @ Holistic Mama. I have to have many projects around me. Several books in progress, too. Something to match my current mood, explore it, and follow the path to where it will lead or until I get stuck or until the mood passes. There is just something about taking a feeling, good or odd, and letting it out in some way to see what the moods will physically manifest. Most of the time a project is just a project, but occasionally… It is sometimes very surprising to see where the mind will go while distracted by movement and what the hand creates while the mind is wandering. Those are the moments that always produce my favorite result. Something beautiful and surprising that speaks to me for a long time after I’m done.
Laurel Plum´s last blog post..Basic Kitchen Organizing Part 3 – Inside of the Refrigerator
I’m not reading the other comments first because I want mine to be virgin thought and not a compilation of other people’s ideas. Hope that’s OK with you.
To me, creativity is original, different, unusual, and exciting creation. Whether it be fine art, visual art, prose, or cooking, I see creativity as when a creative item is an anomaly in it’s different, it’s uniqueness. The kind of thing that you see and think “oh why didn’t I think of that?”. The kid of stuff that takes your breath away in its simplicity but uniqueness. Just today a new blog was introduced that is horribly creative. It isn’t brilliant prose, or gorgeous images, it’s a very funny look at bizarre craft projects found on Etsy. It’s hilariously funny, slightly weird, but oh, so creative! It’s yet another one of those “Why didn’t I think of this?” blogs but the buzz is overwhelmingly positive and the introduction day was amazing. http://craftastrophe.net/
How creativity fits into my life is harder to quantify. I love beautiful things and try very hard to surround myself with them. I read some of the most creative and unusual books ever, rarely popular or even well known, because they strike me as different and thus highly creative. With blogging, my creativity is often stifled because I won’t write much identifying information regarding my kids, and they take up most of my life. But what I do write is often creative, although I’m not sure political ranting can ever been seen as creative! But I love to see things though the eyes of others, and thus I spend a lot of time looking at blogs that might be small in readership, but have incredible photography or illustrations and thus make them highly creative.
margalit´s last blog post..Is it any wonder I’m going insane?
@ LegalMist – It sometimes takes a bit of work to let your voice come out. At first, I had a hard time not letting my natural, casual voice come through in the writing.
@ Mad Asthmatic – Yes — the best thing you can bring to any project is your own perspective, and then allow it to shift and expand as it encounters new ones!
@ Kathy – I like that…thinking of your writing as “traditional” creativity, and acknowledging that you’re actually creative in so many daily things you do.
@ James – A great piece of advice I was given was to start telling people I was a writer. If you play it off and say “Oh, I do play around with some writing” then you won’t take yourself seriously. Once I started saying I was writer, without qualifying the statement, I started feeling like I had to really work for it and earn it! The best type of obligation, I’d say.
@ Mary – I think there are endless layers to reveal!
@ Wendy – It’s also interesting to see how our approach/views change with time. My ideas on a certain subject sometimes become transformed in the process of writing about that topic…it keeps things moving, and intriguing.
@ Daisy – I’ll have to try Inspiration. I’m playing with FreeMind, which is pretty good, though I have a hard time getting used to mind mapping on the screen.
@ Kelly – ‘Hanging on the edge of chaos’ is a vivid way to put it! I am pretty organized in some areas, but I need to work more on organizing my ideas so some of them don’t slip in the cracks. Maneuvering that balance — letting in enough chaos but not letting it overtake you — seems to me like a potent approach.
@ Alden – I don’t like to over-plan, but I think it’s extremely difficult to take any action if your idea is undefined. In that last post, I said the first step should be to lay out some sort of plan and goals. I am unable to pinpoint any goals for myself if I don’t bring my idea into focus.
I have the same habit as you, having fantastic ideas as I’m slowly falling asleep. I’m still training myself to write them down, though — I have the annoying tendency to assume I’ll remember it, which of course, I often don’t!
@ Lisa – It can be hard to discuss studies and statistics with creative liberty, since you don’t want to mess with those numbers. But maybe if you let your attitude toward the topic show through, it will be more exciting to write.
@ Jay – Yes! For me, it’s all about connecting unlikely things or creating links between different things I see, read, hear…
@ Leslie – I feel lucky to be figuring it out with so many people willing to give their responses!
@ Meredith – I would happily read any input you have…thank you so much for offering! Can’t wait to read your insights.
So far, the writing method that works for me is to dive in and start a piece, see how the story opens up and where it wants to go. But I’ve realized that if I want to tackle longer writing projects, I need to step back at some point and start making an outline or plan.
@ Laurel – Being surprised (pleasantly!) by your own work is an incredible feeling.
Kia ora Zoë.
Thanks for these thoughts on creativity. You’re right, it is a valuable asset. Having the space to use it is also most valuable.
Space, of course, is hard to define, whether it be relating to a tangible environment or in the mind. The great creative thinkers, like Leonardo da Vinci, were able to create that mind space for themselves (despite clutter as seen by others).
My hunch is that it may not necessarily be the creative thinking that makes creative thinking people feel so liberated, but the space they create in their minds in order to do so. I know, it’s a bit chick-and-eggish – sorry about that
Ka kite
from Middle-earth
Ken Allan´s last blog post..Elearning Engagement
Yes, I too like the imagery conjured up by the “idea dump” (God! What a mess!)
I think also that it’s a very good way of looking at it, because “writing it down” is the way forward for me. I write endless posts, start short stories and even write several chapters of books – none of which I publish at the time and often don’t ever finish in the same way as they were started. But it does give me a huge resource to return to and pick through when creativity deserts me and I need inspiration. Often the resulting post, story, or book is very different from the original, but that’s probably why I stopped it in the first place – I knew it wasn’t right – it was a good idea in “nugget” form, but my take on it at the time wasn’t right.
Creativity? Dunno. It’s just what makes me alive and life is boring when it deserts me. I’d love to have more people read all that I write and I’d love to make a lot more money, but in the end it doesn’t matter that much because, without trying to be creative, I’d just be an empty shell.
CJ´s last blog post..They Tell Lies!
Creativity without discipline is just a big waste of energy and unharnessed potential. You’re right, it doesn’t have to be a chaotic mess. Glad to be participating in Chuck’s program. I can see why he picked you to start.
Michael Martine – Remarkablogger´s last blog post..Blog Writing Series: Separate Fact from Fiction on Your Blog
After feeling dead for at least 5 years, I dropped my secure and routine job at one of the corporations. That was 16 months ago.
‘Creativity’? even the word was too fancy for me at that time. Slowly I got better with the time, but it didn’t happen in one day. Required change of lifestyle, changing diet, feeding soul and mind, buying bicycle and spending more time outside and on doing things I liked to do, but haven’t done since many years.
This process brought me to understanding that creativity is a great freedom of mind, sould and spirit. It means searching for different solutions, walk off the well lit path, accept change as the best thing happing to us.
My creativity was developed via photography, designing garden, writing about it.
Now it is expressing itself in different areas as well – sometimes in surprising moments
But still it needs constant feeding – otherwise it goes away.
I am very happy to participate in this program and after reading few of your posts – which I like alot – I now understand why your blog was chosen.
See you on Tweeter
Ewa
Ewa Szulc´s last blog post..Diane Hornibroski Wanted
For me creativity comes from all kinds of places. Mostly for right now my photography inspires me the most. Everyday beauty that we do not usually pay attention to. Sometimes though creativity can also creep onto the rest of my life. Cooking, or coming up with creative ideas for my childeren.
My cancer (diagnosed just last January at the age of 41 with breast cancer) Changed my veiw on lots of things. Because of it though I feel as though my creativity was sparked again, after a small break. Cancer opens up your eyes and makes you see everything in a different light.
Sarah S.´s last blog post..What a fun day!
First, thank you, Zoe, for engaging us in this conversation and thank you, Chuck, for leading me to it. Like Ewa I walked away from a soul crushing job (though I was walking away from more than ten yrs of numbness) to try to pursue a more creative life. This month is the one year anniversary of my great awakening and not a day goes by that I don’t wake up scared and excited and confused. I’m still trying to figure out how to make it all work. I know it takes a lot of discipline. A regular writing schedule helps, when I can make that work. And a big helping of forgiveness, because sometimes some of the paths I take just aren’t going to work out. I’m still learning to look at that time spent as “creative exploration” and not “time wasted”. Anyway, I look forward to reading more about your journey and how you make it work for you.
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.
Anais Nin
SINgleGIRL´s last blog post..Good Daters and Bad Daters, Part 1 – The Good
You are inside my brain at times, loved your map of yours and even though I have some artistic tendencies, I’d never attempt to draw a map of what’s going on inside mine. A few weeks ago I tried to describe the rush of creativity by comparing it to the breakup of an ice-bound river, a metaphor/analogy( screwed that one up) that came from a comment of a friend.
http://ineversignedupforthis.typepad.com/i_never_signed_up_for_thi/2008/08/so-maybe-next-t.html
I am so glad I discovered your blog, and Chuck at the same time. Never imagined I would find kindred spirits through the technology that has tormented me so much.
Zoe, I’m looking forward to reading this series. It sounds very GTD (Getting Things Done), but with a creative flair… Titles are very intriguing.
@ Ken – I like the way you put it. In that perspective, it comes down to understanding how your space functions, and being able to navigate your way through it.
@ Michael – It took me some time to accept that I had to be disciplined with my writing. For so long, I thought “Well if I love doing it, why would I need discipline?” A foolish lass, I was.
@ Ewa – Wow, thanks for sharing your story. I think creativity can often be about what you allow yourself. How much you let yourself push past the expected.
@ Sarah – I admire you and think it’s wonderful that you’ve found such a positive outcome from your cancer. Looking at the photos on your blog, it seems like you really have found ways to capture the everyday loveliness.
@ SINgleGIRL – I think achieving the mindset can be really difficult sometimes when we’re surrounded by this work-hard, only-care-about-productivity mentality. You’re right, it’s so important not to think of it as time wasted.
@ Darryle – I loved that blog post. A vibrant analogy, and an honest story. I hope the rest of you click Darryle’s link!
http://ineversignedupforthis.typepad.com/i_never_signed_up_for_thi/2008/08/so-maybe-next-t.html
@ Ken – I think my style is ultra-modified GTD, cause I can never really get myself to follow the GTD rules. But I do think it’s based on some pretty solid ideas.
@ CJ – Exactly! I think simply writing it down, instead of balancing the idea in our minds, gives it more room to stretch out and become…something : )
@Zo¨aute; – (I hope I remembered the html character code for an umlaut correctly–we’ll see when hit the submit button) Think about every great artists there ever was. They were at least disciplined, at most, obsessed to the point of self-destruction. Not saying we should all try to be that way (I don’t think you can try, I think obsession comes from somewhere else).
Zoë <– GOT IT.
@ Michael – It makes me warm and fuzzy inside when people take the time to put the umlaut!
When I was reading lit from Paris in the ’20s, I loved picturing those crazy, starve-or-drink-myself-to-death devotees to art. But like you point out, that obsession is either there or it’s not. It’s a romantic idea of artists, but it’s not the reality for most.
@Zoë – Yeah, I think other people romanticized it and maybe became victims of their own fantasies, but I was thinking of it more like a neurological condition rather than an idea, LOL.
I just finished creating a post about writing down your posts when creativity strikes! Ah, the irony. I definitely enjoy “figuring out” business tactics through action, and I do a lot of experiments that go horribly wrong or that are ridiculously effective. It’s important to take action when growing your business.
Creativity is a daily part of my life. (go musicians) Be it through design, posting, or music. I often employ interesting solutions to common problems, not because I’m trying to be different, but just because it’s how my brain works.
I’m looking forward to your series. Looks like we have a lot of similar ideas, haha.
Corey Freeman´s last blog post..The Great Marketing Experiment – Week One
@ Michael – Haha, that sounds about right! With all the opium and booze swirling around those circles, it’s no wonder…
@ Corey – Happy to have a like-minded creator around here. Seems like we’re growing in number…!
@ margalit – (Sorry for the delayed response — links got stuck in the spam filter!) Those small, personal blogs are so enticing because they reveal one person’s perspective so strongly. That willingness to show your own perspective, that’s what allows creativity.
Creativity, for me, is about connections. Connections between myself and other people and connections between me and my environment. Connections between me and God. Connections between me and… well, me. It can be something as mundane as crafting an email at work. Wordplay over instant messenger. A poem, a rhyme, a 3D image, a blog post, a thought, an imagining. Creating something completely original or reworking something old. The act of adding “me” + “other”.
-Mike
penitentman´s last blog post..Celebrate: employment, winnings, participation, a daughter’s love and Tom Cruise [2]
I’m looking forward to your insight and ideas – hurry up already!
Matthew Dryden´s last blog post..I Will Rub It In Your Face
Hi Zoe,
Love your post! I thing that creativity is all about letting your heart speak what you mind would choose to question. Here’s to all of us letting creativity rule the day! So glad to have found Chuck’s great idea for helping fellow bloggers get read! Yours is a wonderful beginning!
Teresa Hall´s last blog post..Have You Used a Virtual Assistant?