Creativity and the creative process get a lot of play these
days in articles, books and blog posts. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of
tips out there on how to be create, how to write.
Read a lot. Read widely. Write every day. Find new locations
for inspiration. Write with noise. Write in quiet. And so on. These are great
ideas, really helpful. I abide by them semi-religiously because they work for
me. But you know what they’re not? A formula. Creativity doesn’t come with a
one-size-fits-all formula. If it did everyone would be creative and therefore
no one would be.
What makes creativity creative is uniqueness and
personality. Are you expressing those ideas and expressions that are yours with
a voice that is yours?
Of course then arise the questions. “How do I find my
voice?” “How do I know when I’ve found it?” “How do I know if my ideas and
expressions are really fresh and really mine?” “Am I any good, and is this
really creative.”
Here’s my answer:
Just do stuff.
Your voice will come with expression. And with the voice
comes the fresh expression. And with the voice and the expression comes
progress toward being good. See, none of this is static. You are not static.
Your creativity is amorphous and progressive. Your voice will progress and
change.
You will find it and lose it and find it again, maybe even
on a single page. Your passions and interests will change leading you to intake
and output entirely different sorts of ideas and thought expressions. You will be good and bad and good and bad.
And they key in all this is this: just do stuff.
Because whether you are a whiz or a grinder, a creative
savant or a creative plebe, famous or obscure I can assure you that you will
never be creative without doing stuff. Write, compose, illustrate, photograph,
whatever – but just do stuff. Don’t stop, don’t give up, don’t wait, don’t be
afraid, don’t be discouraged.
Do stuff, and put it out there for all to see. Then do it
again.
