I see how great sci-fi books take inspiration from everyday events. It’s a whacky world we live in.
Take this alien looking plant for example. From a few saggy leaves it is now in bloom and has pods exploding every few days:
Expect a public service announcement that the invasion has started. Started in my kitchen.
I managed to read a good chuck of Frank Herbert’s Dune last night. What struck me about it was the length of time committed to character development.
I have a tendency when I write something to want to get to the end of the story and not fully flesh out all the detail that a reader might need to become engrossed. Call it lack of patience.
Dune is managing to show me so much of the character flaws, strengths, traits as I read. With each page the story is getting sharper, more solid, refined. Like going to the optometrist, when they test your eyes by slowly adding different lenses in front of you until everything is crystal clear.
A second observation is the overwhelming sense of paranoia and political sniping in the story. While the more exciting elements of sci-fi novels are there in abundance (weird technology, far away stars and planets, alien ecosystems) its intrigue lies more in the political struggles of the characters.
Surprising to me, but very fulfilling so far.
I heard a New York Times podcast yesterday all about A Tribe Called Quest’s latest album. Interviews with the band revealed a nugget of creativity wisdom. A kernel of truthiness to get the creative juices-a-flowing, a rough rock from where you may extract sparkling creative jewels, a …you get the point.
Q Tip – philosopher that he is – offered something along the lines of the following statement: “An idea inside your head is just a thought until you act on it.”
I like this. Ideas are fantastic, important, a vital starting point for creating something. But until some sort of action (writing, painting, dancing, rapping) occurs – there is no art, and it’s just a ghost in your head. Nobody would know about it. Nobody cares. Nothing happens.
So we must do. And that is the scary part because it means others may bear witness to the doing. And others may not like the doing.
On the other hand, they may like it very much. It might just work.
I just received my reward of an anthology of short Sci-Fi stories for backing a project on Kickstarter.
Added to my list once I am through with Dune, which is amazing, political, enthralling, and leaves me feeling thirsty when I am done reading a chapter!
I would encourage anyone to find a cool project to back on Kickstarter. It’s satisfying to reap the rewards for a price you decide upfront.
On any given day, the number of forces which can undermine your creative efforts is vast.
A woman’s day can be made miserable by a sore back.
A friend can spoil your mood.
A previous engagement can fill your time so that nothing else is possible.
A baby can keep you awake all night.
Politics and news headlines can depress you right back into bed.
Most of these however, are fixable. Investing time and money and effort into steering your life towards a creative space requires a bit of a plan. A plan that is repeated and refined eventually becomes the norm. Norms eventually become bulletproof to interruption. (That’s my plan anyways…in a nutshell).
Van Gogh managed a masterpiece with one ear missing – how bad can your obstruction of creativity really be?
I gave up coffee for four days because I was convinced there would be huge benefits. Instead my life just got more boring and difficult. Each morning felt like it was on half powered batteries. My sleep was no better or worse. Abstinence Shmabstinence.
It got me thinking though – for creativity and good work to happen, energy is the number one component that needs to be checked off. Don’t try and write a novel on a half empty stomach, or record an album on 3 hours sleep. Go to the gym or for a walk. Being energetic in other areas will probably flow over into your work too. That’s my theory anyways – take it or leave it 🙂
And in case you were wondering, from my limited experience coffee is a very good thing. Don’t deny yourself the good things.
By definition, creativity is required to make art. To write something interesting needs a creative process behind it. This fact has led to some of the most seductive thinking of the modern era. Specifically, we tell ourselves stories that not everyone is able to be creative, therefore not everyone is able to make art. Many believe that the artist’s life is only available to a select few, that the left brain needs to over-rule the right for optimal creative conditions. The story bends even further. Even when optimal conditions are met and a person is ‘an artist’, their output can be slowed by external factors too – writer’s block sets in.
We would have ourselves believe that most, if not all of the creative process is out of our control. As I have written before, I don’t believe this at all. Unfortunately life is not so simple. Although creativity shows up in the brain in certain ways, “contrary to the “left-brain, right-brain” myth, creativity doesn’t just involve a single brain region or even a single side of the brain. Instead, the creative process draws on the whole brain. It’s a dynamic interplay of many different brain regions, emotions, and our unconscious and conscious processing systems”(quoted from an interesting article on the brain and creativity which can be found here).
Rather than the ‘artist’s life’ only being available to a select few, the truth is that we decide our fate. And how do we do that? Why, with our memories of course.
Events in our lives are either held onto as memories which become narratives affecting our behaviour, or they are forgotten.
For a crude example: Twin girls are told to write a story for homework. The one gets frustrated during the writing and gets a bad mark. She decides she is never going to try hard to write again. She blocks it from her brain. The other also gets frustrated and gets a bad mark, but decides she is creative and will find a way to improve the mark next time. These decisions lead to chains of other decisions which reinforce our own narratives. From that moment on the first girl focusses on science, the other on literature. Two different lives are born.
The kicker in all of this is that you can decide which memories to hold on to and which to let go of. Which memories will become a narrative and which fade to black? You can tell yourself a different story and you can become more creative.
I believe that this is true. I also believe people are capable of doing good work. Every single person on the planet could make something great if they really set their mind to it.
Why then are so many people in dead end jobs, paid as little as possible and then DOING as little as possible as a result?
Fear is a big factor – fear that if they went for it on their own and tried to make something great then there is only themselves to blame.
The ironic thing is that when we are under the spotlight and when we fail – this is when we learn and improve. It is a necessary condition for good work.
Speaking of which – my science fiction writing has trailed off due to fear. I am scared of having to find a solution to the situation that the characters have found themselves in! I am scared of the hard work and I am scared of messing it up, but I must get over it.
Wishing you all productive, fearless work today.
…is abstaining. If you abstain, you no longer have a valid opinion on the outcome of the election.
In creativity terms, abstaining occurs often. People have a knack for not bothering to show up each day to try to make something great. Too many times I have seen someone claim to have a creative streak, or to be a creative person when really they just talk about acting, or singing or writing a book which never sees the light of day. If you say you are a musician when in fact you haven’t touched a guitar in 3 months…you’re abstaining. You’re not creative.
I think this happens quite often, particularly if you USED to be creative at one point, but then lost your mojo. Abstaining from creativity and harking back to a time when you bothered is an easy, convenient excuse. But it’s still just an excuse.
The good news is that all it takes is a decision to try, and hey presto you are creative once again.
And so I write this blog. And I am a valid part of the creativity conversation once again. It’s not much, but then again that’s all it takes to get the mojo back again.
Go, create something. And if you are American, go vote.
I funded an anthology of Sci-Fi stories (Long List Anthology Vol. 2), and for my funding I got a free copy of vol.1 from last year.
The booty comes in around 21 November. I am excited! My first Kickstarter project, and research for some more creative writing in the Sci-Fi genre.
If nay of you have suggestions for other projects to back, please let me know.
Chimpwithcans 