Work And It Will Come

A basic and very effective approach to consider when you want to be creative is to simply start working.  If you're an artist, begin working the materials you intend to create with. If you are a writer begin writing.  The action of writing random thoughts can begin to opened things up in your mind and help you to flow. 

It’s not important to have everything in order, or to have a set of clear ideas, or to be in the mood, or to feel inspired.  Just begin working and the very act of doing will often cause the creative stars to align for you.  I have experienced far too many people frozen in their need to have everything "just right" before they begin to create.  They are convinced that they need just the right tool, or just the right idea, or just the right inspiration, or just the right motivation, or they need a better studio, or better instrument, or better lighting, or better teammates, and so on, and so on, and so on...   You get the picture.  It gets really ugly.  Don't fall into this trap.

I have so often been amazed at the power of a deadline to spark creativity.  The pressure to have something to show at your next meeting can cause a creatively stifled person to push forward into the light.  If you are feeling dead in the water, find some people that will hold you accountable and set a deadline for yourself.  Tell them that you will have a spectacular presentation of your work on that date and take action.  You will discover the creativity that blossoms out of pressure, frustration and personally forced activity.   Chuck Jones (the animator, artist, screenwriter, producer, director and Oscar winner) said that "Creative work is the most frustrating of all human vocations, and it is the only one."  Accept the challenge and start working by working. 

          In a nut shell

   1-Simply begin to work
   2-Don't get trapped in perfectionism
   3-Set a deadline and arrange some accountability
   4-Start working by working

Quote
Chuck Close
“I always thought that inspiration is for amateurs.  The rest of us just show up and get to work.  If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain.  You’re not going to make an awful lot of work. ”

Videos
Chuck Close has been creating some remarkable work since the 1970s.  The following video is a good way to learn more about the artist and his work.  He has many valuable insights into the process of making art and he is an artist worth exploring further.  Chuck Close Books



Sir Ken Robinson discusses creativity, education and life.  He makes some excellent points about the way we learn and the increasing importance of creativity in today's world.