I asked this question of just about every creative I interviewed on my cross-country U.S. road trip. Now, in the first film I’ve produced since that road trip ended, I feature highlights from a few of those interviews. Hear from writers, musicians, and visual artists sharing when they first knew that they were on the creative path.
I’d love your feedback on this video, and whether you’d like to see more on other topics surrounding art and creativity!
Allow me to share with you a brilliant piece of writing I encountered this week from a most unexpected source. I have no theme to build around this post. I couldn’t even divine one after I asked my subconscious to come up with one in my sleep. Perhaps a lesson on knowing your audience? How to incorporate humor in unlikely places? Let me know if you can come up with one.
My son is heading to a YMCA summer camp in August, and I just received by mail the Parent Handbook. It encourages parents to write their children letters, but feels the need to inform us of what subjects to address. We should ask if they are making friends, enjoying their activities, having fun. Then it gives an example of “What Not To Write”:
Dear William,
We are having a ball at Disney World! You would love all the things to do here! I guess you know that Grandma isn’t doing too well. We may have to put her in a Nursing Home soon. Well, gotta run. The line is moving for Space Mountain!
Love,
Mom
P.S. Your turtle died on Monday.
I have to end this post now. It’s hard to type when I’m convulsing with laughter.
I’m shaking things up this week with The Artist’s Road’s collection of the best links on creativity and writing I sent on Twitter and Facebook. I’ve come to realize I tweet the same topics I write about. Shocking, I know. So this week I’m including after each link a separate link to a blog post I have written that is similar. Now I’ve cursed you with twice the links with which to waste away a day, or a long weekend at the beach.
CREATIVITY
Are my U.S. readers headed to the beach this Memorial Day weekend? It will probably be a wee bit more crowded than this.
“How to Manage for Creativity,” Steve Minter, Industry Week: I want to show this post to my teenage children — he destroys the myth surrounding the power of multitasking. (Related: Allowing Time for Creativity)
WRITING
Trust me -- if you're at a tourist beach and find yourself under attack from a giant purple octopus, the best defense is a putt-putt club.
“Kathryn Stockett’s ‘The Help’ Turned Down 60 Times Before Becoming a Best Seller,” Kathryn Stockett, MORE: These inspiring posts seem as common online as do those Facebook ads promoting someone who lost 60 pounds, but we know these stories are true. (Related post updated 5/25 with very good news: Celebrating Rejection)
This is the last Tweets of the Week before Memorial Day here in the U.S., but looking at the color scheme I’ve got going above, I feel like the next holiday should be the 4th of July.
I’ll let you in on a secret — I have a ghostwriter. In fact, for many of these blog posts, all I do is sit at the keyboard, type what the ghostwriter has written, and then slip in a reference to bacon.
That ghostwriter is my subconscious. Don’t think of him as unpaid labor; he also enjoys my bacon.
For the last thirty years or so I’ve programmed myself almost nightly to break through creative barriers, find a path in confusion, and achieve answers to questions difficult to express. I referenced my experience in a tweet after last Friday’s Creativity Tweets of the Week inclusion of a link to motivational business blogger Daniel Wood’s post “How Dreaming Can Help You Succeed.” A Twitter conversation I had with creativity guide Teresa Van Lanen of Making Art of Life helped me realize I needed to write my own post, or at least ask my subconscious to whip up a draft.
Let the idea come to you, like a surfer in (hopefully shark-free) waters.
Wood’s post suggests you go to bed and imagine that you’ll have $12 million in the bank in two years. My right brain loves that idea, but my left brain says (1) I’m not sure how one programmed dream night will manifest such a large, long-term goal, and (2) it seems unwise to have that much in a bank when the FDIC only ensures bank accounts up to $250,000.
As my Twitter pals Michelle James and Melanie Sklarz know, I resist writing “3 Steps to a Better/More Creative/Happier/Slimmer/Funnier/Less Malodorous You” posts, but I’m doing a step-by-step post here because I truly want others to know how they can find creative answers in themselves.
STEP ONE: CLARIFY YOUR OBSTACLE — His example of $12 million is an answer to many, many potential problems, but it seems like cheating because you’re telling your subconscious the answer (I need millions). You’ve just cut off other paths to reach whatever goal you think the money will solve.
My preference is to identify a blockage in my life. It could be anxiety about a pending conversation, say with a boss or family member; the need to find a new job without being entirely clear what that job would be or how I might find it; a loss as to what I’m going to write the next day; confusion as to why that short story I just finished doesn’t quite “work.”
Look, the ultimate goal is the same for all of us — happiness, success, wealth, good health, positive stuff. Think of your subconscious as a therapist. You both agree on the ultimate goal of a good life. Lay out to your therapist a problem that you’re having, and allow her to guide you to a self-generated solution.
STEP TWO: NARROW YOUR REQUEST — You know how in project management you’re told to break a project into smaller, trackable tasks? This is similar. Don’t ask your subconscious “What is the plot of my next suspense novel?” Focus on what you know, and ask something you don’t.
For example, you know your hero is a dashing blogger and reporter in Washington, D.C. What does he love? Bacon. What motivates him? Bacon. Now go to sleep asking your subconscious “How does my hero’s motivation put him in jeopardy?” When you wake up, you’ll find that his investigative reporting leads him to stumble into an international criminal ring seeking to corner the world bacon market.
STEP THREE: CLEAR YOUR HEAD — Your subconscious doesn’t respond well to stress. This step is important for finding a solution to a writing hiccup, but is even more important if you’re working out what you want to say to a difficult boss or finding a way out of a financial crisis.
You want to have a restful sleep, so in the hours before you go to bed, don’t do anything related to the question you intend to pose. Read a good (unrelated) book, watch a funny (unrelated) TV show, have a nice (unrelated) chat with your spouse. Do your normal bedtime routine. Then, when your head hits the pillow and you feel ready to nod off, ask your question.
STEP FOUR: LISTEN TO THE ANSWER — If your subconscious has cooperated, when you awake an answer will be there. You need to act fast, to listen to whatever is in your head and to write it down. Did I say fast? I meant it. And in as much detail as you can. Because like any dream, it is easily pushed away by the realities of conscious life.
Give your subconscious some time to move, and don't ask it to travel too far in one trip. Oh, and don't make soup out of it.
Also know that it may not be a clean-cut answer. You may not open your eyes and hear “My hero has just stumbled across an international conspiracy by writing a story about campaign contributions to a Kansas senator who is on the take from an evil commodities trader in pork futures.” It could be more vague, just disconnected thoughts about investigative reporting, campaign donations, monopolies, and bacon. What you need to remember is that this solution IS COMING FROM YOU. That means that if you spend conscious time poring over the clues your subconscious has given you in your sleep, your subconscious will help you assemble them properly while you are awake.
STEP FIVE: BE PATIENT – Twice this year I’ve mentioned this process to groups of writers, and faced reactions ranging from skepticism to outright dismissal. In both instances, however, one individual expressed genuine enthusiasm, but my fear was if they tried what I’ve just outlined here, and it didn’t work, they’d give up and move on.
I honestly don’t know when I began having this nightly conversation, but my first memory of it dates back 28 years. It’s now such a part of my routine I don’t think about it. But I’m sure that when I was in my teens, I wasn’t as good at clarifying my obstacle, narrowing the question, of clearing my head, and of listening to the response. And even today, I don’t always get a straight answer, and sometimes what I get seems like something I could have figured out without the help. And sometimes — no offense, subconscious — what I’m given seems great while groggy but is useless once I’m fully awake.
Start small. Keep with it. That’s standard advice in the development of any new skill. But what I know now is that my skill, while one I somehow stumbled upon by accident, isn’t unique to me, but is hard wired in all of our brains.
Have you had experiences where your subconscious gave you ideas? Perhaps in your sleep but maybe in other ways, such as meditation or even a nice walk? How do you work with your subconscious?
Literary agents only get paid when a publisher writes a check. So that suggests if an agent signs with you, she must believe she can sell your manuscript.
January 2004 at the Washington Auto Show. My daughter's now of driving age, my son needs a bit more patience.
Believing isn’t always enough.
In perusing Alexis Grant’s latest Writer’s Round-Up I came across a blog post from literary agent Rachelle Gardner titled “Difficult Conversations II: I Shopped Till I Dropped, But Nobody’s Buying.” Rachelle shares the difficulty of telling a client that she simply can’t sell that manuscript.
She says it’s hard for her to initiate that conversation. I know firsthand it’s hard to receive it.
In the summer of 2009 I developed a non-fiction book proposal and was surprised when I found an interested agent almost immediately. This proposal, he said, would sell itself.
He knew exactly which editors to pitch, and as he expected they liked the proposal, liked the platform, liked the writing.
Ultimately, the answer was the same every time. “It’s not quite right for us. Good luck placing it elsewhere.”
Now it’s 2011. I have a new book proposal and a new agent. We’re still in the early stages of pitching editors, but now I know that it’s quite likely I could find myself in the same place, positive feedback resulting in wishes of good luck.
Also in 2004, on their daddy's motorcycle. They shouldn't hold their breaths on when their Dad will let them operate one of these.
When I was at the AWP writer’s conference in February, a non-fiction author said it took he and his agent six years to find that magical combination of book proposal and publishing house. My goodness, I thought, that must have been grueling, knowing you’re the exception to the usual story of sign-with-an-agent-and-get-a-contract, the data outlier well off the curve.
But what if today’s publishing curve bisects this author’s x and y axis point?
For 25 years I’ve been a professional writer in varying capacities, and I will be one for another 25 years. To date, “author” has not been on my business card. Someday it will be, alongside my many other writing pursuits. I believe it isn’t a matter of if, but when.
As Rachelle Gardner likely tells her clients, the key is patience.
I can’t get a clear answer on what is going to happen after May 21st, Judgment Day. Assuming I am not one of the Saved, do I go down below? Do I cease to exist? Do I wander a post-apocalyptic Earth like Mad Max? All I know is, whether you’re going up, down, or staying put, this is your last chance to follow the links below I sent out this week on Twitter and Facebook. Enjoy them while you still can.
CREATIVITY
I've staked out Montezuma's Castle as my home during the End of Days. No, there's no room for you, find your own place.
“12 Sparks for Heads-Up Creativity,” Robyn McMaster, Forbes. You might want to bookmark this post and read it when you have free time. !t’s chock-full of links to numerous creativity experts, including some of my favorite tweeps, including Mike Brown, Gregg Fraley and Tanner Christensen.
WRITING
If you choose this fixer-upper at the Wupatki National Monument we'll be neighbors (sort-of).
“Writing Obstacles Be Gone! 3 Ways to Keep Falling Forward,” Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, Quips and Tips for Successful Writers. A sample of the post’s insights: “Stay focused on your vision, not your circumstances.”
BLOG POSTS LINKING TO OTHER CREATIVE BLOGS
If for some bizarre reason the world does not end on the 21st, then I’ll see you back here next Friday for another Creativity Tweets of the Week.
Perhaps there are too many exobytes of data now for search engines to categorize. Maybe demonic SEO gurus have finally crowded out reasonable online queries. Or maybe it’s because it’s the end of the world is this Saturday. All I know is I spent several fruitless hours recently researching a simple social-media etiquette question, so I’m turning to a more credible source — you.
In the spirit of posting old content, here's my kids in 2004. The tubes represent the Internet, the netting... oh forget it.
What is the etiquette surrounding promotion of old blog posts?
Milk has an expiration date. Blog posts often don’t. So logic dictates that if there is value to be gained from a new post, value can also be found in a “classic” post. So I should just tweet and Facebook the heck out of posts both old and new, right?
Here’s what I learned from my Googling: 1) You’ll increase traffic to your sites by promoting older posts. 2) There are tools that will automate that promotion.
Here’s what I didn’t learn: Do people want to see links to old posts?
I have a mixed reaction to such promotion myself. Because my Twitter and Facebook feeds are really more about promoting links to other resources on creativity than my own site — and one out of every three posts on this blog is a compilation of the best links I promoted that week — I click on a lot of Twitter and Facebook links. A fairly high percentage of the posts are not current. My take on this?
Often there is real wisdom to be found in the older post. I may even retweet it, as I did this week with a great 2008 post I found that highlights commonly misused words. But at the same time I sometimes feel a bit tricked, particularly if the date of the post can’t be found or is buried somewhere out of clear view. After all, if I’m promoting the Creativity Tweets of the Week, can I really promote a post from three years ago?
Again from 2004. Let's pretend that's the World Wide Web. Yeah, that works.
Part of my struggle here may be because I come from a breaking-news journalism background. I didn’t worry about someone reading my past reporting because it was, by definition, old news. However, an insight on tapping one’s creativity doesn’t grow stale.
I have yet to send a single tweet or Facebook post promoting an older post from this site. There’s material there for me to promote — I’ve put up almost 90 non-time-sensitive posts since launching last October. But how will those old links be received by someone who follows the link? Will they be delighted to find something of use? Or will they wonder why I sent them off into the past? Will that make them more or less likely to return?
If you’re a blogger, how do you handle promotion of archival posts? If you enjoy good links on Facebook or Twitter, what’s your reaction when sent to an archived post as opposed to a new link?
I’ve avoided having to pick my “Fave Five” friends because I’ve never had a phone from T-Mobile. Here in the United States, the mobile phone carrier advertises a service with free calls to five friends. Who would want to learn they are at best my sixth favorite person?
What is it that makes me a stylish blogger? Is it the shades or the hat?
I face that dilemma now. Through the generosity of Cheryl Reifsnyder of Cheryl’s Musings (one of my favorite blogs), I have been given the “Stylish Blogger Award.” You can see its logo on the bottom of this blog’s right column.
There are two catches. I have to share seven random things about myself, and I have to pass on the award to five other blogs.
Yes, that’s chain mail, but I believe in our 2.0 world it’s called “viral.” And since in this blog’s first six months it’s never sniffed an award (not that I’d know where to even find a contest), I’m keeping it, just like Nixon kept Checkers.
First I’ll list seven random things, then I’ll list five blogs I’m choosing to call “stylish”:
Different shades, same hat. Must be the hat.
Now to my “fave five” blogs. As readers of my Creativity Tweets of the Week know, I regularly peruse dozens of blogs. I’ve decided here, however, to highlight some of the first ones I came across when I went on Twitter last fall. I return to them regularly, I love their tone of sharing and support, and I feel they need more exposure than they are currently receiving. Like my blog, they address creativity and writing. Here they are in no particular order:
FYI, if anyone else wants to give me an award, I”m game, just like my daughter was when she played on a basketball team that won no games and yet was given a big trophy by her coach. She loves that trophy, and I’ll love your award, regardless of the level of merit I demonstrated in “earning” it.
It’s back. The latest list contains some of the links on creativity and writing The Artist’s Road tweeted this week, but also some only posted on Facebook (that’s right, friends, your blogger isn’t simply using Facebook to duplicate his Twitter feed, so there). Now on to the links.
CREATIVITY
Taken by your blogger recently in the George Peabody Library in Baltimore, Maryland. An alternative to clicking the links below on writing is to read every book here and learn through observation.
“little bets + creative badassery + what seth godin cannot teach you,” Justine Musk, Tribal Writer: The always straightforward (blunt?) Justine says whether you’re launching a creative endeavor or a social media campaign, dedicate yourself to that journey or don’t do it at all.
WRITING
A question for Artist’s Road readers — do you find this weekly list of value? Share your thoughts below.
My mind has returned to the above question this week after getting feedback on my Monday post, “Creatives in Love.” I had noted that some creatives I know choose fellow creatives as mates. But what does it mean to be a “creative”? And if we all have an inherent creativity within us, isn’t everybody a “creative”?
I took this photo in Minnesota while on my cross-country road trip. Can you imagine a greater creative challenge than producing a film about the romance of processed luncheon meat?
As some readers know, my connection to the creative community is through the arts; covering it as a reporter, researching it as a fellow at a think tank, organizing creatives in an advocacy network. Not surprisingly the artists I crossed paths with, including those I interviewed on my cross-country U.S. road trip, all personified creativity.
There are of course as many expressions of one’s creativity as there are individuals. Einstein was a creative. Bill Gates and Paul Allen are creatives. My wife is a talented writer, but she applies her creativity to the task of maximizing the creative output of teams she manages in a Fortune 500 company.
I channel my creativity through writing, but I can’t speak with any knowledge on the Theory of Relativity, I haven’t the foggiest idea what is involved in a computer operating system, and I wouldn’t begin to know how to motivate and inspire dozens of individuals with differing skill sets and goals.
And yet…
There are many, many ways to express creativity. And everyone is inherently creative. But please do not try to tell me that everyone is a “creative.”
Being a creative is hard. It means never accepting the status quo. It means constantly working to improve yourself. It means recognizing what talents you have that can be maximized, and finding ways to compensate in areas where your talent may seem deficient. It means encountering skepticism from peers, from friends, from family members. It means facing repeated rejection. It means risking failure, and channeling that failure into new attempts at success.
It means embracing a commitment to creativity.
I’m hardly alone in this opinion that creatives are a subset of the total population. Researchers such as Eric Maisel and Mihaly Csikszenthmihalyi have dedicated their lives to understanding the way creatives think and act. Creatives are unorthodox in problem solving. They embrace play and reflection. They observe what others overlook.
They are different.
I’m a pretty positive person. I want everyone to act creatively, even if it means trying feta cheese on a burger instead of the usual cheddar. But let’s give the creativity-committed the respect they deserve, and give them their own term. I like “creative.”
Am I completely off base here?
