Creative Mindset

When I was in grad school I was delighted to be exposed to a stream of ideas that would have taken me several lifetimes to trip over by myself. A class on the creative process let me discover that most creators are borderline OCD, making minute changes until the publisher or purchaser finally pulls the script or score from their hands and sends it to the printer. These changes however turn out to be possibly the most important part of the creative process, as few of us generate anything perfectly the first time out!

From looking at early versions of the writing, score or notes and the final version it becomes clear that these revisions – in the hands of the great creators at least – make an enormous difference. The most compelling example was reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story, Trimalchio, then seeing copies of his intermediate revisions until the book The Great Gatsby emerged – so altered from the story line of the original that it was amazing to find whole paragraphs and passages that had made it through the process.

As I mulled over the idea of creativity and whether it could be applied across different disciplines, I was interrupted by a video about the Californian design company IDEO. This design company was light years ahead of me, having hired an eclectic band of people to find the best way to solve a problem using elements from all the different disciples represented. It made me realize that so many people have minds that seek solutions to problems, but view the problem in entirely different ways depending on their training.

In some ways this is nothing new. Inventors and innovators have long had to work with the materials and skills available to them, and ingenious and creative solutions have been the result. IDEO have elevated this art to a science by consciously bringing together people with diverse skills to get the best outcome from their creativity and design ideas.

I let this idea rattle around in my mind, and suspect that at some level it is behind my idea that we can use systems and methods to help ourselves find what might not have been the most obvious solution to a problem. When I explain that writing, creating art, music and travel have helped me refocus on my goals and direction in life, people seem puzzled. When I explain that by distracting yourself from the mundane your subconscious can get through, my methods start to make sense!

For many, early school encounters have left a sense of being unable to create – unable to make art, unable to write ‘properly’ and unable to make music in the approved manner. Although there are people who simply can’t distinguish one note from another, there is no limit to anyone’s ability to be moved by music, equally there are ways of writing and creating art that are satisfying without having to be able to use perspective or recite rules of grammar! It is my contention that everyone can benefit from exploring their own creativity, and explain how on my site.

If you are interested in exploring ways creating art, writing for your own pleasure, or learning more about the creative process in general, then follow the links. I hope that you will feel inspired to start creating your own solutions to what life throws at you!

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