Archive for 'creativity basics'
Lose your inhibitions and create
Posted on July 6, 2007, by dazzer67, under creativity basics, inspiration, quick tips.
I spoke recently about letting your emotions free in order to be aid your creativity. It isn’t always easy for us to do that. Years of programming has deadened our emotions and hidden them from us… the joys of adulthood - just look at the release that comes when you actually break down and let things go with a good cry.
But I digress, yes sometimes I do, don’t look so surprised. Whilst not condoning excessive amounts of drinking one quick and simple way to let your emotions out is a drop of alcohol. The reason this works is that alcohol loosens our minds and our inhibitions. If you are finding it difficult to release your emotions and inner child then a glass of wine could be just the thing. More than that though and your judgment is impaired and you may be creative but not in any direction you wanted to go, but hey.
Powered by ScribeFire.
No Comments
Creative lessons from a fatal windows error
Posted on June 19, 2007, by dazzer67, under creativity basics, perspiration, software.
It happens to the best of us (me) and it can strike at any time. We don’t know what causes it to happen (well perhaps someone, somewhere, knows the reason but they are not telling the rest of us) and the resolution is often drastic. I am, of course, talking about a windows fatal error. Windows won’t load, it crashes, it gets stuck in endless loops. You follow all the rescue tutorials, (printed out from work as you now have no access to t’internet at home) use all the rescue disks, (even the installation disk that claims it will either rescue the OS or overwrite any corrupt files) but still no joy. When this happens there is only one thing to do… reinstall. Well this, as you may have guessed, has just happened to me. XP went AWOL and so I had to bite the bullet and say goodbye to a hard drive crammed with… actually a lot of rubbish, which leads to this post.
Having started the process of getting the family PC back in working order there were one or two things that I had to do, or think about, which could help us all in our creative journeys. So hold on tight and let’s take a look.
- Rip it up and start again. Sometime what you have isn’t working, we shouldn’t be afraid to simply let it go and say ‘bye, bye’, however long we have been working on it. If it isn’t working, sometimes it needs to be thrown out.
- Reassess what you have. My PC was full of many programs that I really didn’t use. They had been loaded with the intention of using them ’someday’. Although diversity is needed within creativity it can sometimes hinder. Too much choice is as damaging as too little. So, do you really need to ‘waste’ time deciding the medium for your creativity?
- Do you really need it. Similar to above but more of a ‘clear your head’ attitude here. I had backed up certain files and folders but not everything. A reinstall would mean that I would lose anything that wasn’t backed up. There were one or two things that I would need to work on again but… there was a lot of junk and clutter that was simply sitting there, gathering dust and clogging the creative cogs.
- If you need it, keep it safe. We all know we should back-up the important pieces of work we do, but how often and how well do we do it? If you are a writer do you have your work in hard and soft copy and in several locations should one be destroyed? If you are a painter where are your canvases kept, are they safe from fire, flood and theft? Of course, we are limited by our resources but we should be as careful as we can be, or afford to be.
Well, I am going back to reinstalling the software that I do need, speak soon.
PS Yes I know I could also do the following:
- Use a different OS
- Not change the file system from FAT 32 to NTFS without reading all the small print
- Stick to pencil and paper
Powered by ScribeFire.
No Comments
5 simple ideas to provoke your creative imagination
Posted on June 11, 2007, by dazzer67, under creative exercises, creativity basics, inspiration, quick tips.
We’re all naturally creative, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t get stuck at times as we try to express ourselves. Here are five simple ways to kick-start your creative imagination; very simple yet very effective.
- take a different route - routine is one of the worst enemies of creativity, get stuck in a rut and you’ll stay there. Think differently and you’ll be creative, take a different approach than you normally do and you’ll solve the issue.
- lie down - this is basically making you relax, putting out of your mind all the worries and cares of the day and letting your creative thoughts run free. I often lie down, forget about everything and then focus on one creative task, within minutes my mind is being creative, the only danger is drifting off to sleep but that is my problem.
- stand up - ‘eh? You just said lie down.’ Well, if you are hunched over a blank piece of paper, trying to be creative, concentrating and worrying, it can be deadly. If you focus too much on an issue or problem you may miss the simple solution. So stand up, walk around and change the environment, stretch, rub your neck, anything… just get away from the blank paper.
- change the genre - still stuck? If you were a musician how would you solve the issue if you were a writer? Or vice-verse. If you’re stuck think how someone else would think, it can be a revelation.
- phone a friend - and remember you are not alone, two creative minds are better than one. Working on the same problem two minds can solve a seemingly insurmountable problem.
Go on, have some creative fun.
Powered by ScribeFire.
2 Comments
Here’s one I wrote now, the top 5 Ingredients of compelling writing
Posted on May 9, 2007, by dazzer67, under creativity basics, quick tips, writing.
It takes a little more than pure inspiration to write that killer content. Although the idea is the kernel to any great literary dish, you should always have on hand the following ingredients to lift your words to the writer’s equivalent of haute cuisine. You may find that taking these ideas with more than a pinch of salt is just what you need. But you shouldn’t assume that you need all these ingredients all the time, mix and match; experiment. There are many more ingredients you could use, but these are my top 5:
- Nearness - The reader can be drawn in with any geographical or experiential situation that they can identify with, try and create the ‘I’ve been there’ factor.
- Consequence - Try to make the content deal with matters that effect; create consequence in what you write.
- Human interest - Go on you know you want to, go all out for the cute vote, the shaggy dog story at the end of the news keeps you hanging on for the weather report. Alternatively the opposite is also true, a report on the cost to life of any disaster can be a compelling read.
- Drama - Action and intensity… if you’re writing a story, this can be quite a good hook.
- Oddity - Pique that mind, interest that soul. Let eyes pour over your words, washing them into the bowl that awaits like open mouth - sometimes being weird works, trust me, I’m an editor.
Remember these are ingredients, it is up to you how you use and mix them, or even add a few more of your own.
This post is also being entered into the top 5 competition at the wonderful ProBlogger site, you can read more about that here.
35 Comments
Clear but present creation
Posted on May 3, 2007, by dazzer67, under creativity basics, inspiration, preparation.
The definition of ‘create’ is to bring into existence. We use our imagination to bring something into existence, this is the creative act. Imagination is often sparked by making new connections. By connecting two seemingly unconnectable things we can create something new and original.
This may lead us to think that the more ‘cluttered’ our minds are the more creative connections we can make. I used to think this way and was heard to say, ‘it’s not a mess, it’s a creative workstation,’ or words to that effect. However, I also knew that I wasn’t being as creative as I could be. I would often have a ’spark’ of imagination and then it would quickly be snuffed out with all the clutter.
This led me to notice a potential paradox between filling my mind with potential connections, to allow and enhance creativity, and clearing my head in order to develop the creative ideas. It became obvious to me that I needed to foster both, however, what I was calling my ‘creative chaos’ was actually nothing of the sort. It was simply unordered and unfinished mess and clutter. This mess would distract me and so when the inspiration came it quickly left and turned into more unfulfilled clutter.
So what have I done? Well I do try to use David Allen’s Getting Things Done to keep on top of all the things I have to do and that has helped enormously. I keep my mind clear of distractions and therefore focus on new connections. I’ll come back to Getting Things Done another time, but until then here are a couple of things that have become guiding creative principles to me:
- Keep my head clear - make lists of what I need to do
- Keep my desk clear - space allows creativity to grow
- Keep adding potential connections - read widely and interact with broadcast media (don’t just sit and watch TV but talk back to it, make connections as you watch)
Put simply it means clearing space to allow the flow of new ideas. It isn’t rocket science but then neither is breathing, but it is so much easier to do without a blocked nose.
No Comments
Four lessons on creativity from God
Posted on April 4, 2007, by dazzer67, under creativity basics.
If you want to learn how to do something, the best place to start is with someone who has shown their ability. You can’t learn how to copy-edit from someone who has never done it before, although they may have latent ability.
Not wishing to open a debate about belief, atheism or creationism I wanted to take a look at the creative act performed by God as recorded in the opening book and chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1. Whether you believe these events to be literal, mythical or apocryphal, it doesn’t matter; there are a few good lessons to be found.
- God created out of nothing, ex nihilo for all you Latin buffs out there. [Please note, I am not one of them, I simply looked this up in the dictionary, so don’t expect any fancy noun declension.]. Imagination requires nothing tangible too. We can look for sources of inspiration and other prompts but the actual creative spark is from nothing. This is the very essence of being creative; something new.
- It took God seven days. Ok, six and then one to rest. We need to realise that creativity takes time. We shouldn’t expect the final results straight away. The creative process requires work on our behalf; we need to put in some effort, or perspiration. (This isn’t to say that sometimes creativity leaps upon us and before we know it we have created that complete masterpiece, it does sometimes happen.)
- God created different things on different days. God laid the foundation first and then the detail work. There is a wonderful symmetry in the Genesis account where day one is linked with day four and so on. Creating a framework for your work can be a great way to set things up. Story outlines, broad brushstrokes and song arrangements, to name three, give a framework to hang your detail.
- God did take a break. God did the work and then had a rest. Perhaps this is the most important lesson. Tiredness and exhaustion are the natural enemies of creativity, and they are always on the prowl
We can all expect to produce some heavenly creations now 
3 Comments
Realising creativity by leaving your bed unmade
Posted on March 19, 2007, by dazzer67, under creativity basics, perspiration.
I am often drawn into discussion when a new piece of ‘modern’ art is thrust into the limelight, or should I say ‘post-modern’ art, or perhaps we have even moved beyond this, I am no art historian. I am refering to pieces of art such as Emin’s bed , but it also goes back further. The ‘print splatters’ of Jackson Pollack or the blocks of colour by Mark Rothke . The discussion is something like this, in fact it is exactly like this…
‘I could have done that, left my bed unmade, spilt some paint on a canvas or painted large squares of colour’
My response is always the same, ‘perhaps, but you didn’t.’
Without wanting to go into any deep discussion about what is and isn’t art, I want to focus on the one fact that is true here, the process, the actual expression. These pieces would never have been done unless the artist, and I do use that word, hadn’t decided to express their creativity.
The same is true for us. We can have lots of ideas, many thoughts and countless dreams, but unless we actually sit down and express them they will remain unrealised. Currently you and I may not receive many thousands in commission to create an installation in a famous gallery, but there is nothing stopping us from being creative except ourselves.
Go on, you may not want to spill some paint, colour some squares or leave your bed unmade, but do something to realise your creative potential.
2 Comments
Too much preparation!?!
Posted on January 24, 2007, by dazzer67, under creativity basics, news.
A short apology for the lack of updates recently, and in particular a lack of actually getting Imaginality up and running with any sort of steam. The ethos behind Imaginality as you’ll either know or will realise as we journey here, is that the creative process can be best realised by seeing it as three processes:
- Preparation
- Inspiration
- Perspiration
Unfortunately, I have been spending a little too much time in preparation and inspiration mode and have, as you can see, not really broken into any sweat yet. Call it procrastination, or simply being lazy, but what it has shown to me is that the basic ethos of the site is true. In order to realise your creative dreams you need to spend time in all three zones.
No Comments
Five creative resolutions for 2007
Posted on December 31, 2006, by dazzer67, under creativity basics.
Not wanting to totally miss out on the bandwagon of giving advice when the majority of the next few hours are going to be spent destroying brain cells, I thought I’d give you a short list of creative resolutions for you to ponder as you sober up in the next few days - have a creative 2007.
1 Clear the decks - remove as much junk and clutter from your life as possible, this will release your creative energy.
2 Set some goals - if you don’t know what you want to create how will you ever be able to create it [that's rhetorical].
3 I don’t like it - read (although I suppose watching could work, at a pinch - although TV drains creative energy) a style of writing you don’t like, or don’t normally read. This is a wonderful source of inspiration.
4 Make time - there is no excuse for not having time to be creative, if that is what you want to do you’ll find or make the time to do it.
5 Share it around - c’mon don’t be shy. If you are being creative then let the world know. Free web-hosting is all around, no excuses.
Once again, have a wonderful and creative 2007!
No Comments
Freeing the inner child
Posted on December 20, 2006, by dazzer67, under creativity basics, inspiration.
I was watching a program on TV and there was a wonderful scene where an eight year old boy and his mother were spending some quality time together. (It was Honey, we’re killing the kids) They were doing some creative art and the boy had made a cardboard castle and they were now in the process of painting it. The boy had decided that it should be painted in a camouflage style and was going about giving the walls a wonderful yellow and green pattern. The mum turned around to him and suggested that the doors be painted a traditional, wooden brown. He declined this offer and painted them in an equally bright camouflage style.
What this illustrated to me was how much our creativity is shaped and perhaps hindered by convention. Imagination and creativity is about doing things different; it is about being original and breaking convention.
That isn’t to say that everything we create can’t conform in any way shape or form, although this does depend on how ‘abstract’ we want to be. It does mean that as we grow older and we accept what the norm is we can create barriers to our creativity. This is true in writing, art and musical creativity. So as you approach your next creative project why not ask yourself this question before you start:
‘Does it have to be like that?’
