Creativity's Workshop

Extraordinary things happen in ordinary minds

Monthly Archives: July 2010


by 4 Comments

Why You Can Be More Creative With Less

In a previous post we discussed how constraints can help your Creativity reach new heights. Since then we’ve come across a couple of real life examples to illustrate this principle.

Take to specifics like a hammer to a nailNail Down the Specifics

The first is this quote from composer Stephen Sondheim:

“If you ask me to write a song about the ocean, I’m stumped. But if you tell me to write a ballad about a woman in a red dress falling off her stool at three in the morning, I’m inspired.”

This is a brilliant example of how nailing down specifics can explode the situation’s potential. This is why (as an example) the more you know about your characters, the easier they are to write.

If they are wishy-washy, with vague background and nebulous motivations, then there are just too many possibilities. Your Creativity find his/herself stumped, like a rat in a lab experiment, surrounded by doors. Of course we know the cheese/story is behind one of these doors, but instead of starting somewhere and working our way through the options, we sit staring at the possibilities. Sensory overload!

So start choosing specifics, often the wackier the better. Give your character an embarrassing middle name – Goliath, Liverwurst, Gimblebot – and then describe the parent who gave it to him. Discover the food your character absolutely detests – plums, cream cheese, schnitzel – and then explain why. The more details you add, the more possibilities you’ll see.

As you learn and create the specifics of your character, that character will come to life inside your head. You’ll hear their voice, and they’ll take you on a journey.

That surge of inspiration and the glorious surprises which result all come from nailing down specifics. And trust me, details make the story.

Choose the Hard Road Out of Necessity

Our next quote is by Sally Porter, a very talented woman who wears so many hats in the writing and production of her movies that it’s almost impossible to list them all. The following comes from an interview about the movie Yes, which she wrote and directed. (I hasten to add that Jessica’s never seen the movie itself so this is not a review or recommendation, merely a quote.)

Guernica: What made you choose to do the dialogue in iambic pentameter, and—even more astonishing—in rhyme?

Sally Potter: It came out of necessity. The constraint of verse liberated a way of expressing ideas and feelings which are difficult in the different constraint of so-called normal or everyday speech.

There’s something deliciously crazy about writing an entire movie script in iambic pentameter out of necessity.

What constraints are necessary for your project? Remember, it’s the details, the specifics, of your project which make it unique. Of course Creativities love working on ideas, but when we know we’re working on something truly different, something which will capture your unique view of the subject, then we get really excited!

So don’t avoid the hard constraints. Choose them, run with them, and create something extra special.

What constrants have you imposed on your Creativity?

For further reading on this topic, check out the article 3 Reasons Why Having Too Many Materials and Options Stunts Your Creativity at A Big Creative Yes.

Image Credit: Microsoft Clip Art


by 5 Comments

Revel in the Journey

Journeying with the top down and a smile on your face.

Before I left for China, I indulged in some singing lessons. I only managed three lessons so don’t expect lyrical bliss anytime soon. In fact, the lack of warbling perfection is the reason for this post.

I had a jam with my dad the other day. He played the guitar and I sang. I’m pretty sure I made a hash of it. Thank goodness it was in our back room and not in company! Anyway, feeling deflated I wrote my singing teacher an email mentioning my flop (among other things). In her reply she bestowed this gem on me:

This stuff takes time…. years!!! Just enjoy the journey and the challenge :)

While taking this to heart, I realized that this applies to any creative endeavour.

It’s the Journey, Not the Destination

When we start writing or painting or other creative pursuits, we want to be published, be recognized, be extraordinary, or at least be able to compete. We forget about the ‘in between.’ The time it takes to become good at something. Because skills take practice, and practice…well practice is dull, right?

Your Creativity likes new things. He/she is addicted to the excitement and discovery. Practice is just more of the same. Nothing new. Nothing exciting.

Or is it?

Practice and learning a skill is a journey, with many interesting landmarks along the way. Each time you make progress you are doing something new. Think about it. The first time you hit a high note. The first time you play a song all the way through without mistakes. The first time you master a painting technique. The first time you finish a draft. These are all moments to cherish and celebrate. Some of them will be moments you’ll remember for the rest of your life. All of them will be milestones, because without accomplishing them, you could not have travelled further.

And I’ll let you in on a little secret. Creativities love to celebrate. They love to know you’re happy with them, and they’ve contributed to an accomplishment of some kind. They love to succeed. Don’t we all? So view each little milestone as a success. Find little things to commemorate, appreciate and reward.

When on a road trip, we often collect bumper stickers to show where we’ve been. Why not cover your fridge, pin-up board or bedroom wall with ‘bumper stickers’ of your journey? A word count you’ve reached. An outstanding sentence you wrote. A truism you finally understand. Show people, and yourself, where you’ve been and what you’ve done.

When journeys are long, we measure them by what city or town we’ve reached. As you practice, find ways to measure your improvement to keep yourself and your Creativity interested. Try drawing a road map and mark the places you intend to visit – the goals you intend to achieve. Leave plenty of room to draw new locations as you get nearer to them. There will always be extra goals to accomplish as the journey goes on.

Many of these milestones we cover in our journeys are moments everyone must achieve in order to continue. And this brings up another point.

It’s a Journey, Not a Race

When we start learning a new skill, we crave proficiency. We want to be right up there with the big names. We want to write great work, sing fantastic songs, accomplish our dreams. In the drive to succeed, we often seek to speed up, desperate to get to the top of our game as quickly as possible.

But in the process we miss the scenery. We skip, gloss over or drive right by experiences and opportunities we may never pass again.

Remember, this is a journey; it doesn’t have to be a race. As Mahatma Ghandi once said:

There is more to life than increasing its speed.

So slow down. ‘Just enjoy the journey.’ The hardest journeys take the longest time, but usually pass the most interesting landmarks. So instead of finding ways to speed up your progress, why not revel in each step – milking it for all its worth before you move on? After all, you wouldn’t want to have reached journey’s end and realise you’d missed an important step just because you were moving so fast.

Enjoy your bad drafts. Revel in those bad writing days. These are all part of the process. Everyone goes through them. Get yourself the bumper sticker, display it proudly, and potter on to the next attraction.

To see this principle in action, have a read of this article: The Special Joys of Super-Slow Reading by Sydney Piddington. It details his reading experience in Changi POW camp. You’ll never think of reading the same way again.


by 3 Comments

Are Your Eyes Eating Right?

Dog licks chops and looks longingly at dinnerHave you ever wondered what your Creativity eats? I’ll let you in on the secret.

He/she feeds off your experiences; off the things you interact with or notice as you go about your daily life. And the main source of that food is visual. Yes, your eyes feed your Creativity.

So what interesting morsels are you supplying your Creativity? Are you feeding him/her at all?

Some people are so busy they never let their eyes rest on anything worth ingesting, at least from their Creativity’s point of view. But with a little understanding of your Creativity’s eating habits, you can keep him/her happy and healthy.

Start Eating Right

The first step is to realise your Creativity is relying on you to satisfy his/her needs. So what are you providing?

Are you paying attention to your surroundings? Do you actually take in the sights and people you encounter, or are you so wrapped up in getting from point A to point B as quickly and efficiently as possible that you don’t notice anything else?

You don’t have to go out of your way to find ‘food’ of interest. Look at the passengers you share a bus with. Watch people who walk by. Notice the plants. Read posters. Stare at clouds. Eavesdrop on a nearby conversation. Examine your environment to see what whets your Creativity’s appetite.

How will you know when you’ve hit on something your Creativity wants a bite of? You’ll begin to feel intrigued, curious, excited. You may even have a light bulb moment when the spark of an idea forms. Then you know you’re on the right track.

Provide a Varied Diet

If you just eat the same meal over and over again, life starts to get dull and tasteless, even if the meal used to be your favourite. It’s the same with your Creativity. Once he/she has squeezed all the excitement out of the places you frequent, you need ensure you’re keeping the meals interesting.

Try taking a different route to work, talking to someone you’ve never spoken to before, reading a different book, walking into a strange shop, learning a new subject, travelling to a faraway place, tasting an unexpected dish.

Vary the place, time and mood. Even slight differences can change the whole texture of an experience.

Savour the Flavour

When someone presents you with a beautiful meal, you chew slowly and savour the tastes. When your Creativity is ‘eating,’ the speed with which he/she ‘chews’ is directly proportional to how much attention you invest. If your eyes flit from one thing to the next, your Creativity misses the depth of the experience and ends up with creative gas – and you do not want me to start describing that to you.

So, give your Creativity time to take in the details. Let your eyes, and attention, dwell on each individual experience. Don’t rush. Chewing your food takes time.

Thankfully, China is a country where staring is considered the norm so Jessica uses this cultural quirk to the full. But if you’re in a culture which views staring as impolite, what can you do? Start by practicing your ability to capture detail. You can tell a lot just by a glance. The more you practice this skill, the better you will become. You can then recreate the scene, person and/or object in your Imagination. From there you and your Creativity can stare at it as much as you like.

To keep your Creativity happy and healthy, you need to be feeding him/her a varied and regular diet of interesting experiences. What is your Creativity’s favourite food?

(Mine, in case you were wondering, is subway train rides. The amount of people and conversations crammed into each car is a veritable smorgasbord of new sensations!)

Image credit: freerangestock.com by Chance Agrella.


by 4 Comments

The ProBlogger 7 Link Challenge

Although I don’t follow ProBlogger very often, thanks to Ami I found out about the ProBlogger 7 Link Challenge. Basically you write a post which includes 7 links to posts you and other bloggers have written in 7 specific categories. I thought it sounded like fun, so here goes:

  1. Your first post: Ah, memories. My first post was entitled The Need for Creativity. Since then, my blog as become far more focused on in on using Creativity in writing, but still highlighting how Creativity is used in our everyday life. I’m not sure if that slight change of focus is a good thing or not. What do you think?
  2. The post you enjoyed writing the most: Creativity and I both agree that Building Trust in Your Creativity is our favourite. It was a lot of fun to write and, hopefully, it’s a lot of fun to read.
  3. A post which had a great discussion: I think I would have to choose Does Your Creativity Have a Name? There are some very interesting responses and discoveries in the comments of that post.
  4. A post on someone else’s blog you wish you’d written: I pick The Secret Life of Frank, An Amazing Creative Idea by Dan Goodwin. It’s written from the idea’s POV, describing his life from inception to distribution. It’s off the wall, lots of fun and really gets you thinking.
  5. Your most helpful post: I hope our most helpful post is Meeting Your Own Creativity in which Creativity explains how to find and describe your personal Creativity. Everyone who commented on that post had discovered something new about themselves.
  6. A post with a title you are proud of: I’m still working on my post titles. I’ve always found titling my work hard. If I had to pick one, I’d say How I Ruined a Perfectly Good Pen in the Shower, or The Creativity Sponge.
  7. A post you wish more people had read: I’m not really sure how to pick this one. I’m going to say Why You Need an Idea Book. It contains tips which I have personally found very helpful, but the post itself didn’t kick off a discussion.

Well, those are my picks. What about you? I’ve love to hear your opinions, especially about point five. What post have you found most helpful?


by 6 Comments

The Library: Finding Neverland

What do you do on those days when inspiration lags and you just want to sit on the couch and stare?

Watching TV can reignite your inspiration, if you watch the right program or movie. What is the ‘right kind’?

One kind is ‘author biographies.’ They usually provide amusement, insight, understanding and, hopefully, an itch to recreate some of the wonder in your own life.

While I’m the first to admit that Hollywood alters facts to serve story, I’m talking about using biographies to find inspiration. If you want to find the truth of the matter, I suggest research.

But that’s a discussion for another time. Right now I’d like to add a movie to our Library. And the movie I choose today is: Finding Neverland.

Things I Have Learned from J. M. Barrie

Finding Neverland PosterFor those who haven’t seen this movie, it follows the story of how J. M. Barrie created the character Peter Pan. It starts with him witnessing the flop of his latest play. As he tries to find inspiration for a new play, he meets the Llewelyn Davies family. The four boys (actually five in real life) become J. M. Barrie’s new audience, and inspire him to write the play Peter Pan or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.

I love this movie because it taught me several important things:

  • Keep writing. The idea wilderness strikes us all from time to time. But if you show up every day with your pen and paper, sooner or later inspiration will hit again. In the movie, J. M. Barrie is sitting in the park with his pen and paper when he meets the boys. If he had stayed at home and moped about his play’s failure, he would never have come across the catalyst for a whole new story. Whether you encounter that catalyst in the great outdoors, or just in the recesses of your head, make sure you’re there with pen and paper to capture it.
  • Fill people with joy, laughter and wonder. Sometimes we get so caught up in word counts, misplaced commas and character arcs that we forget the real reason we should be writing. Isn’t it to inspire others? Isn’t it to entertain? Isn’t it to describe a story that burns so bright inside us we just have to let it out? J. M. Barrie was passionate about his story, and he infected others with that excitement and passion. Shouldn’t we all aspire to that?
  • Dream big and innovate. J. M. Barrie didn’t just write a play, he crafted a world – a world which had to be built and filled with people who needed to be costumed. Someone needed to play a dog, and actors needed to learn how to fly. It even included a character played by a light. Then, on opening night he scattered orphans throughout the audience so their childish wonder and amusement could rub off on the adults. He used many different innovative methods to make his play as interesting and successful as it could be. So when you create, don’t just think in terms of words. Think of the possibilities around the words. What can you do to innovate? To dream bigger?
  • Be confident in your ideas. Many people doubted Peter Pan could be a success, especially those directly involved in its production. Pessimism is contagious and can destroy possibilities before you even try. J. M. Barrie had a gut feeling that his play would work, and he stuck to his guns. If you have the feeling that your idea is going to work, even if others around you are not so sure, then step up and be the driving force. Most ideas work because of the passion of the person behind them. So be confident. Be passionate. Drive your idea to success.
  • Dance with your dog. There are some days when you just need to dance with your dog. It’s good for you.

Have you seen Finding Neverland? Do you have any points you’d like to add to the list?


by 5 Comments

Save Your Creativity from the Deadline Stupor

Thinking and Thumb Chewing

Someone up the hierarchy informs you of a deadline. You must produce by a certain time, or else.

What’s the first thing you do?

If you’re Jessica, the first thing you do is look for something to eat. Deadlines always make her hungry.

Then what?

Then you realise you have no idea what you’re going to produce. What do you do when you have no idea? You turn to your Creativity.

And stare.

I can tell you, as a Creativity, there’s nothing quite so disconcerting has being stared at and willed into producing an idea. I don’t know about your Creativity, but I get self-conscious – and quickly mesmerised by the stare. Everything comes to a halt as we wait for someone to blink. Stupor sets in.

Bad start.

What should you be doing?

Finding an Idea

How can you break the stupor and help your Creativity find an idea? Try some of these tips.

Play

‘I’ve just been given a deadline,’ you say. ‘I’m on the clock. Now’s not the time to play.’

Actually, now’s exactly the time to play. In order for your Creativity to produce the ideas and answers you seek, you have to release the pressure a little and play the game.

Doodle. Talk to your Creativity out loud (in a secluded place if you’re worried about wandering psychiatrists). Roll words and phrases around in your head. Fire questions at him/her. Give your Creativity something to work with.

I’m serious about the doodling. Get yourself a notepad and coloured pens. Or try a whiteboard. Something you can scribble ideas on as they come to you.

Don’t be afraid to pursue weird and wacky trains of thought. Let your Creativity wander through different possibilities. You’re on a treasure hunt. Who knows where the idea is hiding. So loosen up and play.

Nail Down the Specifics

Tell your Creativity exactly what you need. Do you need a story, poem, concept brief, article? What’s the genre? How many words? Who is your audience? What points do you need to cover?

This information gives your Creativity constraints to bounce off.

But limit the demands to only what you need. Exclude ‘wants’ at this stage. If there’s a little leeway on some of these questions, then leave them open-ended. Give your Creativity a little wiggle room. You can add the wants from your list as the project evolves. At this point be accepting of different angles.

Encourage Multiple Ideas

At some point during all this, your Creativity will hopefully come up with an idea. Do not run off with the first thing out of his/her mouth. Breathe in, breathe out, and ask if there are any other ideas. Give your Creativity opportunity to pop a couple more at you. The first idea is not usually the best. So wait around and see what else there is.

Once you’ve got your ideas flying, move on to the next phase.

Working the Idea

Now you need to knuckle down and create. At this point the stupor will threaten to set in again. Great ideas usually require work to bring them to fruition. How can you do that in time to meet your deadline?

Write Yourself a List

Work out what’s involved in making this idea happen. List every task. Perhaps it’s as simple as just sitting down and writing. If so, go do!

Most projects require more preparation. Do you need to research? Do you need to outline? Perhaps you have to learn more about your characters.

What is it you need to do in order to make this idea a reality?

The list will not only provide you with a guide to what needs to be completed, but will also inform your Creativity about what you expect to accomplish. Sometimes your Creativity will get to a list item ahead of you, just because he/she knew it was coming.

Find One Thing You Can Move Forward On

Often the length of the list and the size of the project is just overwhelming. And I can tell you from experience, the more options there are, the more paralysed your Creativity becomes. So what do you do?

Pick one thing, just one, which you can manage today – or at least start on. Find something you can make progress on. Focus on that one thing until you’re done. Then mark it off your list. Your project will become like a game of Mahjong. Each move you make will reveal another move. Slowly, slowly you’ll make progress.

Set Aside Time

Don’t let every deadline result in the same desperate, eye-popping squeeze on your Creativity the night before. Set aside regular time in the days, weeks and/or months leading up to the deadline.

Be kind to your Creativity. Avoid procrastination. Your Creativity works hard for you so repay in kind.

And if you happen to finish a little earlier than your deadline, what’s so bad about that?

Eliminate Distractions

Creativities are usually very easily distracted. If you turn the TV on, or start reading an interesting book, we get caught up in what you’re doing and forget what we’re working on. So while we all need time to replenish our Creative sponges, if you’re working towards a deadline try eliminating the distractions and focusing on what you need to accomplish.

And remember, television or a good book is a great reward for completion.

An Important Consideration

We’ve spoken about how to work towards a deadline, but there is one point you need to keep in mind.

Not all deadlines are worth it. Sometimes you have to say no. Protect your Creativity from unreasonableness – either from your boss, or from your own expectations. If the deadline is too tight, you’re just going to damage your Creativity in the process.

Pick your deadlines, and then work together with your Creativity to make them a reality. One step at a time.

For more ideas on staying creative when facing deadlines, read this post over at Bit Rebels.

How do you generate ideas when facing deadlines?

Image credit: Microsoft Clip Art


by Leave a comment

Picking Your Deadlines

Calendar with date selected

In the previous post, we read about how Creativity can use deadlines to reach creative heights. Now I’m sure most of us cringe at the idea of deadlines, remembering the stomach churning weeks of stress and the long nights of last minute work which accompanied the previous deadline we endured. Or even worse, remembering the feeling of having a deadline and not the slightest whiff of an idea.

There are, however, two types of deadlines – the ones imposed on us by others and the ones we impose upon ourselves. I’ll save the first one for another post. Today we’ll focus on the second.

Why Use a Deadline?

If you’re not already on the clock for a boss or publisher, why should you pick a deadline?

As highlighted on Monday, constraints often serve to increase your Creativity’s potential. It gives him/her something to kick against. Some obstacle to climb.

Without a deadline you will too often end up with great ideas but no result. You deserve to have work to show for your inspiration. So pick a deadline and start showing us what you can do!

When Should I Use a Deadline?

There are many different answers to this question. When it comes to choosing deadlines for yourself, I suggest waiting until after the light of inspiration has hit. Too much pressure to produce the beginnings of an idea can often inhibit the very spark you’re trying to achieve. So, if possible, allow yourself a deadline-free environment for your first inspiration.

Once the idea has hit, and you know it’s something worth doing, then set a deadline. Satellite ideas will start to form and it’s your job to put in the hard hours working on the end result. What better way to make sure those hours of toil get done than working to deadline?

Why Do Deadlines Work?

Deadlines:

  • Spur you to action. If you have a date to aim for, and a reason to get moving on your project, the lure of the television becomes that little bit easier to beat.
  • Make you accountable. It’s one thing to pop out creative ideas now and then. It’s another to tie yourself down and definitely say, “I’m going to do something with this idea.” Once you’ve made that commitment, all sorts of things become possible.
  • Help you to schedule. A project without a deadline progresses in fits and starts, if it progresses at all. A deadline encourages you to plan how best to use your allotted time. How many words do you need to average? How many hours a day/week should you spend?
  • Reinforce the importance of your project. With a deadline on the way, you’re less likely to make excuses. Your accountability makes you take things more seriously. If you have a deadline, then your work must be important, right?
  • Encourage you to declare a project finished. We tend to tinker with a project as it nears completion. A finishing touch here. A final tweak there. The truth is, there will always be something to fiddle with. A deadline provides a cut-off point. The day when you stand back and let your baby go – be it into the draw for some distance time, or off to the publisher for some slush pile time.

How to Set Your Deadline

Okay, so you’ve decided you need a deadline for your project. How do you go about setting it?

  1. Pick a reasonable date. Decide how much time this project will plausibly take. Hours? Days? Weeks? Months? Don’t be unreasonable, but don’t be too lenient either. Remember, constraints spur your Creativity on. That’s why NaNo WriMo is so popular. It sounds crazy when you first think about what’s involved, but it is doable.
  2. Inform friends. One of the beauties of deadlines is the accountability. For accountability to be a factor, other people need to know about your deadline. They can cheer you on, show an interest in your progress, celebrate your achievements and commiserate with you during the down times. Try folding a few people into your dreams. You’ll be surprised by the results.
  3. Set smaller goals. Big projects can be daunting, so break things up into chunks. Perhaps you want to write 500 words a day. When you sit down in your chair and become mesmerized by the blank white, set a goal of one word. Then one sentence. Chip away at it until you meet your quota. If your big project is a completed manuscript, set each chapter as a goal.
  4. Implement a reward system. Decide how you’re going to reward yourself for each goal achieved and especially how you’re going to celebrate reaching your deadline. Will there be partying, or just a favourite meal? Make your time and effort (and your Creativity’s blood, sweat and tears) worthwhile. If you make this deadline fun, then you’ll be excited about the next one.

Now, over to you. What points have you found important when setting deadlines?

Image credit: Microsoft Clip Art


by 15 Comments

Creative Constraints – Or How to Wall Jump Like Mario

Mario jumping from wall to wallHave you ever played a Super Mario Brothers game? My favourite is Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii in all its delectable 3D planetary madness, but that’s probably beside the point. I bring this to your attention to discuss wall jumps.

A wall jump, for anyone who is unfamiliar with the term, is when you scale to normally unreachable heights by jumping between two conveniently placed walls. This is a skill Jessica has great difficulty mastering, but that’s also probably beside the point.

The point, if I understand where I’m going with this, is: If the walls are too close together, Mario can’t move. If the walls are too far apart, Mario can’t wall jump at all. They have to be just the right distance from each other to make this feat of game magic possible. (Goldilocks would have loved this game.)

What does this have to do with your Creativity?

Placing Creative Constraints

Some people believe freedom is essential for Creativity. They say endless time and boundless possibilities are exactly what’s needed. Well, I have news for you. That may work for some special few, but most Creativities I know would find that kind of freedom paralysing. It would be like Mario stuck walking along an endless green platform with nothing to jump on.

You end up with too many possibilities and yet none at all. Your Creativity blinks at the curvature of your brain and his/her eyes glaze over. He/she continually waddles past idea flowers and interesting walking mushrooms without ever advancing to the next level.

Constraints are essential to get the game started. For instance, knowing whether you need to create a poem, short story, novel synopsis, children’s story or mystery thriller greatly alters the skills, materials and mindset you use.

Work out what you want to achieve. If you need to write, give yourself a word count, a subject, the first line, a character – something which gives your Creativity a wall to jump against.

Yes, as soon as you start nailing down the specifics you cut off access to other things that could have been. But without the wall you’re really holding your Creativity back from the creative heights he/she could achieve. And the good news is there’s always more to explore later. You can start on the other side of the wall in your next project.

But one wall is not enough. For a proper wall jump, you need a second surface.

Placing Deadlines

While most Creativities eye off deadlines as if they were the grim reaper come to snatch their baby, I think we all realise how important deadlines are to the completion of projects. Without deadlines, you would forever tinker with the details, or worse – never get around to starting the project at all. 

We’re not necessarily talking about massive impending deadlines like ‘must have a submission-ready manuscript by the end of next month.’ A deadline can be something as small as ‘I am going to sit at my computer for the next 20 minutes and just keep writing.’

Search out deadlines (like writing contests) or create your own (like inviting your writing friends around at the end of the month to discuss progress on your projects).

Set specific goals with specific completion dates.

Some Creativities will balk at this, but if done right, you’re really giving your Creativity a wonderful opportunity to explore new heights.

Watch Out for Tight Corners

I mentioned earlier that if walls are too close together, Mario can’t move, let alone jump. Likewise, if your constraints and deadlines are unreasonable, then you’ll just paint your Creativity into a corner where he/she will live like a sardine until such time as you realise you’ve lost the game. So continually evaluate the walls you choose, because their effectiveness will vary depending on your Creativity’s experience, skills, preferences and mood.

Why does all of this matter so much? Well, if you’re happy for your Creativity to potter around on ground level fiddling with the mundane, then it’s probably not that important. But if you want to advance your projects and eventually reach the goal (a finished manuscript or just a big shiny gold star) you need to start moving upwards. And the best way to do that is to wall yourself in. Counter intuitive, no?

Have you found this method works?


by Leave a comment

The Don’ts of Creative Writing Retreats

A House on Lantau IslandI have returned! As promised I am here to tell you what I accomplished during my trip. But first, allow me to distract you with the above picture.

I managed, with help from some brilliant friends, to stay in a beautiful little house on Lantau Island. The house above was near where I was staying and I just had to have a photo of it. Isn’t it amazing? You wouldn’t believe it was in Hong Kong. The area was idyllic, complete with visiting cows. I loved it!

Ah, but what did I accomplish writing wise? Well I scribbled down some scraps of character dialogue, brainstormed a couple of concepts for my blog, drafted two blog posts (this one included)… But truth be told I came across more snags to writing than inspiration. So I am here to share my new found wisdom about things to avoid on creative retreats.

Don’t Surround Yourself With Interesting People

Engrossing conversation and fascinating stories leave very little (if any) time for writing. I came a cropper on this one several times. Each time I was sure I could get some writing done, and instead ended up on the couch kept agog by someone’s descriptions of their life. (I hasten to add that this is all excellent fodder for later stories.)

Don’t Surround Yourself With Stunning Scenery

Knowing the friends I was staying with would keep me entertained whenever I was in their company, I decided the next best place to write would be on the bus. But can one really write when being driven along beaches and through mountains? The answer in my case is a definite ‘no.’

In fact, the picture often painted of a writer sitting on a tropical beach hammering out pages and pages of sparkling prose is a myth. In that situation the writer is usually too distracted by the breathtaking scenery in front of them (or the novelty of sunshine and fresh air) to actually focus and write. As MH commented in the previous post, often a brick wall is often the best view for a bout of writing. A small cozy room or corner can also work well.

I can pretty much guarantee you that if you’re surrounded by beauty, your attention will be focused on your surroundings, not on your writing. And let’s face it, when you’re within walking distance of once-in-a-lifetime scenery, why not take advantage of the moment?

So, bottom line, when picking a creative retreat, make sure it’s in a spot where you’d be happy to sit still and miss the scenery.

Don’t Waste Wait Time

Even if you are busy chatting with fascinating friends or visiting stunning scenery, there are often times when you find yourself waiting. Perhaps at a bus stop or subway station. This post was drafted in a plane which had been delayed 2 hours while still on the tarmac. Although some of the passengers were less than pleased with the development, I happily scribbled away in my notebook, grateful for the extra couple of hours (and convenient fold-out table) which allowed me more time with my pen.

So look for times when you might otherwise be twiddling your thumbs and set about twiddling your pen instead.

Don’t Forget to Smell the Roses

Life, and therefore creative retreats, should be enjoyed – not milked for every productive minute possible. It is perfectly acceptable to use your retreat to recharge. Perhaps you need to give Creativity space to find his/her own way out of a problem. If nothing comes when you try to write, then savour the small – the one word, phrase, sentence or idea you managed to get down on paper. And if all you can do is stare at the scenery, then stare to your heart’s content…and choose somewhere more boring for your next creative retreat.