Blog #238--The Creative Process
I love the creative process. I am referring to the motivation that overtakes us occasionally to build, organize, design, compose, write, or any other of a myriad possibilities. Most if not all of us experience it, if only briefly. Maybe it is a simple desire to re-arrange furniture in our home. Or perhaps it is a clever trick to get something from another. Or maybe it is part of a lifetime of creativity in our chosen professions or hobbies.
We can’t force it to happen. Painters, sculptors, architects, writers and the like sometimes have mental blocks preventing a clear picture of what they wish to create. Even something as simple as shopping, mowing the lawn, etc. must occasionally await another day for the same reason. But when the spirit moves, it feels like we are riding the crest of a wave that is guaranteed to arrive at an envisioned conclusion and then set us down gently with a big smile on our faces.
I don’t experience this phenomenon daily. Even though I publish one or two articles weekly, I rarely write two articles each week. At one time, I had 26 articles ready to publish, but then I went 6 weeks without a thought in my mind for another article. And many times it lasts just long enough to write a short article before fading away again. But I have been on a creative journey lasting two or more weeks at a time on a few rare occasions. While I am not a creative master, the process is the same for professionals and amateurs alike. I may not create something of lasting value, but I have a lot of fun seeing my vision come to fruition.
For instance, in the early 1980’s I felt compelled to build a complex model train layout. It took both left brain engineering to get 14 tunnel openings and three levels of n-gauge track onto a 2-foot by 6-foot piece of plywood, and my right brain to add elements of fluidity and beauty. I started the project and then felt blocked, so I ignored it for over a year. One day while watching television, I was overwhelmed by ideas on how I wanted the train set to appear and how I could accomplish it.
I remember the process vividly because it was so unique. Even when I tried to ignore the impulse, I found my head turning toward the project repeatedly. Something was forcing me to do the work then, not later. For the next two weeks, I worked on it an average of 12-14 hours daily. I couldn’t rest until I had finished, and it came out as well as I could possibly have hoped.
I lived alone at the time, and that was fortuitous. After all, when a creative person is within a bubble of creative energy, family and friends might not understand. They may see it as a compulsion or obsession that borders on psychological imbalance. The creative person may not be reliable to remember other duties or responsibilities during this time, but he or she can’t break free of it until the process is completed. If significant others can learn to understand and permit the process to continue, all parties may be excited by the results.
Certainly, there are times when the creative process produces unwanted results. The scene in the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” where the main character (played by Richard Dreyfuss) builds a model of Wyoming’s Devil’s Tower in his living room, forcing his wife and children to leave him, is a great example. But his attention to detail helped him later when he found his way to the area where a UFO was landing. So at least his project had a purpose.
There are both long-term and short-term creative projects. While setting up Christmas decorations may only take part of one day, getting our home landscaping to look like we envision might take several years. Perhaps the longest project I undertook was learning to play golf. My body doesn’t operate the same way as top athletes, so I had to figure out how to adapt the golf swing to fit my body and skill level. I set goals of reaching a score of 90 on several courses and breaking 80 at least once.
I couldn’t afford expensive clubs, and I couldn’t play often while I had a bookstore to maintain. But I could go to a driving range. And I could go to a park to hit wiffle golf balls, which I did frequently. In addition, most golf courses have practice greens for developing a short game. Improving the short game is a major key in lowering scores.
It took me 6 years to break 90 the first time, but I later did it on 7 of the 9 courses I played at least once. And on a special day nine years after I began, I shot 79 on a relatively easy course. During those nine years, I thought about golf almost daily, and I practiced frequently. I was never really good, and there were plenty of difficult days filled with failure. But I loved the process of discovery at least as much as the game. I created my own unique swing and was rewarded for it. I eventually broke 80 several times, including once on a more difficult course.
Over the years, I did my best creative work when I didn’t have a deadline to pursue. That was true for my book “It’s a Secret, So Pass It On: a Toolbox For Life.” I knew I was supposed to write it since 1978, but it wasn’t happening until late 2012, when ideas for the book began to pop into my head. For around four months, I wrote down all the thoughts I was receiving before trying to organize them into a logical pattern to use in a book. The outline for the book was 68 pages long, a sign the creative process was at work and ready finally to begin writing.
Those who read the book might disagree, but from the beginning I found the writing flowing as well as I could possibly hope. I could tell the writing was some of my best work, and I have written all my life. I was in no hurry because it felt like I had an open channel to the book’s contents. I just typed what I heard in my mind, as if the book was already finished, and I was merely copying it.
Two chapters took two days each to write, but the other chapters took one day each. I began and finished in 2-3 hours each afternoon for over a month. I remember how relaxed I was, and how confident about the work I felt. And I found myself giggling off and on, happy with what was happening. It was a glorious experience, so even if no one benefits from the effort, I certainly did.
I encourage everyone to recognize and appreciate the creative process when it taps you on the shoulder. It will be among the most fun experiences of your life.
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