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Thursday, 11.20.2008 |
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| Freeing Your Creativity: A Writer's Guide |
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Product Details
Notes
four myths about creativity:
1) if I like it - creativity is separate from good or bad, creating is in the process
2) if there's a lot of it - the quantity produced doesn't measure how creative it is
3) if it feels good - creativity includes the hard times when you're struggling
4) if it's made up - nonfiction is creative, it's about the process not the product
you can be creative when doing research, revision, business, or anything
five tentative truths about creativity:
1) creativity is the triumph of originality over habit - trying something different
note that creativity is often born in frustration and surrender
you finally give up on all the traditional solutions and think outside the box
breakthroughs often come when you are far from a pencil and paper
that's because the conscious mind relaxes and lets the subconscious work
2) creativity involves making new combinations - of words, images, and ideas
3) creativity is the great yes - the angel's advocate, don't censor ideas at first
4) creativity means getting out of the way - quiet the conscious controlling ego
5) creativity means being all of what you are - don't play it safe, be yourself
writing expands your creative powers at the same time it draws upon them
when teaching, don't just fix mistakes, engage the students and let them grow
they can discover most of the things you would teach them on their own
it's more about creating a safe and open environment where they can take risk
attention fuels creativity, a journal encourages you to observe life in more detail
your particular memory of events is unique, it's an act of creative storytelling
some traits of the "creative personality"
1) high amounts of energy, enthusiasm and a general zest for living
2) a well-developed sense of humor and the ability to laugh at yourself
3) a high level of tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity
4) a problem or project-orientation
5) a need for and ability to make productive use of solitude
6) independent thinking and a tendency to question conventional wisdom
7) openness to new ideas
8) playfulness, willingness to risk failure and be different
9) ability to withhold judgment and a general openness to the environment
try to fail as much as possible early on to get practice and experience
fail in your writing, write bad prose, write bad scenes, fail a lot and learn from it
if you can't think of a great sentence, write a plain one first, don't use a cliche
don't say "if" you had the time to write, ask "how" can you make the time
pretend that you will see something only once in your life, then view it deeply
to enhance your sense of observation, go to new places and try new things
take some time to really study a tree or other object in minute detail
remind your subconscious of goals or ideas you want to encourage
think of your goals occasionally throughout the day or each night before sleep
write down ideas as soon as they come to you, even if you're in bed at night
don't try to convert the idea into a fully formed piece, just write down everything
don't just write down ideas, go through them occasionally and analyze them
play the angel's advocate, look for all the reasons an idea could work out great
tell people when you're researching, they might have leads for you
mine the back pages of the media for ideas and material
collect research on your unique topics of interest gradually over time
if you're blocked, try taking a step back, organize your thoughts, do more research
use the heightened awareness and sensitivity of anxiety to be a better writer
audition your characters, write a dialogue between them and you
figure out who is most interesting, and drop whoever can't hold your attention
set short mini-deadlines rather than a big one for the whole project
in the initial stages of writing, there are no mistakes, only possibilities
to warm up for writing, try some crazy combinations of images or ideas
some of the methods and settings that other artists have used:
1) Balzac - drank more than 50 cups of coffee a day
2) William Faulkner - paper, tobacco, food and whiskey
3) Tom Batiuk - pizza, grease lubricates the neurons and synapses in the brain
4) A.E. Housman - a glass of beer and a brisk walk
5) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - he would hear his music while he walked
6) Robert Penn Warren - he half-dreams his poems while swimming
7) Dave Barry - he shoots baskets if he hits a writing block
8) Schiller - rotten apples under the lid of his desk, the aroma helped him
9) Victor Hugo - wrote in the nude
10) Benjamin Franklin - wrote while soaking in the bathtub
11) Voltaire - used his lover's naked back as a writing desk
12) Hemingway - wrote standing up
13) Thomas Wolfe, Virginia Woolf, Lewis Carroll - also wrote while standing
14) Colette - picked fleas off her cat while preparing to write
15) Hart Crane - wrote in the midst of loud parties
16) Bertolt Brecht - liked to write in pubs
17) Natalie Goldberg - writes in cafes, with noise and confusion around her
18) Mort Walker - jokes around with friends at parties, or imagines a party
19) Sinclair Lewis - a bare room with a table, chair, typewriter, and no view
20) Brenda Ueland - quiet and solitude, be still, listen and let ideas in
21) Stendhal - read two or three pages of the French Civil Code to prepare
22) Willa Cather - read the Bible
23) J.R.R. Tolkien - prayed for inspiration, his creativity was a gift from God
common strains of writers block, and prescriptions for relief:
1) writer's blank: the black hole syndrome
you keep finding holes in your writing, your writing gets fancier and fancier
- go back to the research stage, fill in the blanks so you're ready to write
2) all dressed up and nowhere to go
you have research and time to write, but you don't know where to begin
- go back to the simmer stage, think about themes, what's important here
3) so many leads, so little time
you know what you want to say, but you feel overwhelmed by the subject
- break it down into small parts, try lots of different ways instead of the right way
4) in other words, there are no words
you know what you want to say and where to start, but the words won't come
- visualize, make pictures, realize you'll have to revise anyway, so just write
5) bathroom bowl sure needs cleaning
you're procrastinating, you'd rather do anything other than write
- aversion comes from fear, what are you afraid of, write for 15 minutes and see
6) the space cadet syndrome
you're sitting down to write, but your mind is in another galaxy
- make sure the material is interesting to you, otherwise it will bore the reader
7) editor on my shoulder
you feel like it won't be good enough
- just create, judgment comes later, ignore the editor and let it rip
8) plato's dilemma
the stuff on the page isn't as good as the ideal in your head
- it never seems as good, but boundaries are necessary, keep writing
9) noddin' noggin
you have no energy, you feel tired and sleepy
- take a nap, get some fresh air, move your body, write when you have energy
there's no one right way to write, you must find your own way, your own pace
remember that nobody gets it right the first time, the first draft is just a trial run
even if you edit as you go, don't judge the overall worth of the book by the draft
in the beginning, make sure you take chances, follow hunches, try new directions
rather than trying to find the "right way", try playing the game of "how many ways"
it's just like creative brainstorming, the first few ideas might be cliche
but eventually you start coming up with fresher, more daring approaches
try starting the novel from lots of different places, again just to test it out
write the first scene from different viewpoints, to get to know your characters
some techniques for the first draft:
1) take a closed-book test
the night before, read over your notes and outline and think about ideas
then when you sit down the next day, just write without checking your notes
this can make your writing more lively and fresh, you can fix any inaccuracies
2) play twenty questions
brainstorm a list of all the questions your reader might ask
this can give you ideas for an outline, character sketch, plot directions, etc.
3) begin anywhere but the beginning
the reader won't know where you started, as long as you edit well later
a director of a movie often shoots scenes in a different order than the cuts
it's like writing all the scenes in a given location, or all the ones needing an actor
try not to quit a writing session at a point where you're stuck
stop in the middle of an idea or sentence, and know where to continue next
after you finish a writing session, pause and rest and think for a moment
sometimes you'll get another creative burst once you let your mind settle
there is no clear line between "writing" and "rewriting" or writing and editing
you revise as you create, and you re-create as you revise
bring all of your self, and both sides of your brain, to each stage of writing
questions to ask yourself during editing:
1) have i been clear?
2) will the reader understand my references?
3) have i played fair with the reader, avoiding tricks and manipulation?
4) have i said what needs to be said, and not one word more?
5) have i respected my reader's intelligence?
6) have i remembered not to bore the reader, letting them find other interests?
write 30 minutes a day for 21 days without stopping or thinking each session
get into the habit of free, honest writing every morning and it'll stick |
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