Telling ourselves stories

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.

People want to do good work

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.

The opposite of voting

…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.

Attitude

A pickup full of men is getting ready to leave the car park of the local grocery. They are ready to go to work. A vehicle that should hold no more than four is crammed to the rim with ten in the back and four in the cabin. Sardines in a tin with no roof, they are pressed up against each other in the back. In the front it is the same, except the roof is on. They are shouting and joking and sipping tea to warm up in the morning before hard labour begins.

A lady with jewels and fine clothing is walking to her luxurious car in the same parking lot. She looks disdainfully at the crammed pickup and mutters something about safety. She is white and the car is all black. She disapproves. The pickup falls silent, movement reduced to steam floating out of the teacups. A negative moment so early in the morning. She definitely will not have to work as hard as the pickup full of men today.

Walking to my own car I saw this unfolding and decided to try to counteract the negative vibes. I lifted my leg over the edge and pretended to launch myself into the pickup – much laughter and the men tried to drag me in with them. After we settled down, I asked them where they were going – a building site down the road. One man from the cabin of the pickup says I should come along. I explained that I had to get home to my daughter.

Less judgement, more interaction, more communication, more positivity. It really made a difference to the situation.

Have a nice day.

Superfluous

superfluous

suːˈpəːflʊəs,sjuː-/

adjective

unnecessary, especially through being more than enough.

“the purchaser should avoid asking for superfluous information”

synonyms: surplus, redundant, unneeded, not required, excess, extra, spare, to spare, remaining,unused, left over; More

Blocking out the superfluous. Effective filtration of crap. This is the biggest battle in most of our lives, and of course it isn’t just about finding time to write – it is about our psychological state, life on the internet, and creating any art.

I am into creating something from nothing. It’s the most important thing to be creative rather than destructive, and yet it takes time and that means it takes away from something else that may be easier for your brain to handle. Facebook? Exercise? TV? Socialising?

The thing is (there’s always a thing, isn’t there?) that most of the time, the other stuff has plenty of time….certainly enough time…. allocated in your day anyways. The other stuff is mostly (in my case anyways) the path of least resistance. To give yourself one hour a day to just create something from nothing is not going to bring the world to its knees. Quite the opposite.

And so I made myself write this post, and I make myself block out the superfluous stuff from my calendar more and more. Funnily enough, it also applies to the living space: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/02/17/effects-of-clutter_n_9255032.html

Friday Fun – Reblog – Two kinds of filters — Seth Godin’s Blog on marketing, tribes and respect

Seth Godin just makes sense to me. Today’s post on filtering the net is so on the money. I aim for the sort of discipline he exudes.

Here’s a link after a quote:

“There’s the filter bubble of the internet, in which we willingly surround ourselves only with information sources with which we agree, soon coming to the conclusion that everyone agrees with us. The other kind is the filter we can choose to build to avoid falling into a rabbit hole of wasted time, misogyny and dissatisfaction.…”

via Two kinds of filters — Seth Godin’s Blog on marketing, tribes and respect

Dune update

Over the weekend I have been away on plane flights and had evenings alone in bed and breakfasts which has given me time to get further into Dune.

What a book!

The flaws in the father’s character are becoming apparent, and the interactions with the local Fremen are adding an extra dimension to the tale.

It is such an engaging book, I think of it like a microscope which is gradually zooming in closer and closer to the inevitable war and dangers on the planet of Arrakis. Detail and nuance is getting more and more….well detailed! and Nuanced!

There is no turning back for any of the characters, only forward into the desert.

Love it.

Smugglers of Earth – 4

The Nexus Space Station sat in orbit 400 kilometers above the planet of Bendaiir. The size of a small town, The Nexus was large enough to hold 500 people comfortably in its 4 quarters. Much smaller cruise ships and freighters came and went at regular intervals. Delivery ships docking to the mothership. Every few minutes, the Nexus fired its massive boosters to keep from being pulled down out of orbit by old earth’s gravity. Attached behind the body of the Nexus was a sort of interstellar trailer with hundreds and hundreds of bright blue capsules of varying sizes. Like a massive tray of eggs being pulled behind the ship.

At the helm of the Nexus, Captain Maddox was leaning over a communication device growing increasingly frustrated at the reception. “Hello? Marlon? Smuggler 1, do you read?”

“It’s the storm sir, they say it’s the storm of the century. Likely to go on for many hours still.” Marcus the engineer was pushing buttons and reading lists of code from the multiple screens on the dash board as he spoke. “I think it threw our co-ordinates off too. Last reading we had of the Smuggler, he was at the bottom of Colm Naiir. We wanted to port him to the top for the view.”

The Nexus was created in a moment of crisis. In the year 2200 The Bantam Civilization opened a portal to old earth, leaving the planet open to a classic Bantam siege. First the large, strong and alien Bantams had negotiated with the frightened humans, taking minerals and metals by the ship load through the portal, enriching a few humans and draining the planet at an alarming rate. Then water and food became their priority.

Desperation grew on old earth but any resistance by humans was quashed by the Bantams with advanced weapons and magic. Lakes dried up, forests turned to farmlands with no human access. The Bantams intended to bleed the planet dry.

In a panic, the UN and all banking organizations of old earth diverted all funding to a full scale planetary migration. Humans managed to find a habitable planet, pack up and leave with startling success and haste. What they left behind was the animals.

Increasingly endangered and prized throughout the galaxy as rare hostages, pets, and zoo exhibits – old earth’s biodiversity was on the edge of disappearing. Old earth’s red list of endangered animals had hundreds of species with less than 5 individuals accounted for. Nexus was created to smuggle the most endangered animals to safety. The most advanced weapons and transportation technology made the Nexus a formidable ship, able to move freely through the Milky Way. Blue pods cryogenically froze the most endangered animals of old earth, ready for space transport and introduction to the manufactured biospheres of new earth. But first, the animals had to be found and saved. The strategy was to smuggle the animals away from captivity and have them ported up to the Nexus. Sometimes the animals were captive on old earth. Often they were in the far flung planets of the Milky Way. Planets such as Bendaiir with its shepherd trolls.

Captain Maddox let out a frustrated sigh and bowed his head, “I guess all we can do is wait it out then?”

Marcus nodded, “That, or maybe he can use a card. If not, those trolls will get more and more rowdy. Not good smuggling conditions though, and a potential danger to the asset.”

Dune

I have started to read Dune.

I am 10% of the way in (according to kindle!) and it is fantastic so far. Like a fine painting, the author is adding layer upon layer to his characters. I can already see the influence it has had on other work such as Game Of Thrones.

My plan is to work through all these books, taking as long as it takes – because this is enjoyable to me. No deadline, no cutoff. Just a bunch of excellent books to read. Without doubt this will have an influence on my own writing. For that I am also excited.