Energy for the day

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.

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.

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

Writer’s block?

It’s tempting to search for the best conditions for productivity. The theory goes that we can escape writer’s block if we work at the right time of day, eat the right food, use the right app, listen to the right music (listen to no music?)… And the list goes on.

Unfortunately writer’s block is not a thing. It is all rubbish. An excuse.

Yes, sometimes you work better than others. But the hard truth is that you are completely alone when it comes to doing good work. It’s not about state of mind or a piece of software.

Instead, writer’s block is a convenient excuse not to expose yourself to criticism. The unfinished novel is never ready for scrutiny, and therefore is always perfect in your mind. And that’s where it remains.

Better to do lots of bad work on your way to a great story than to just shut up shop and blame writer’s block. I believe you just make a start, trusting that hard work (and criticism of poor work) leads to results in the long run. Because it does.