JeremiahTolbert.com: SF Writer Web Designer Photographer

Forcing Creativity

Filed Under: Graphic Design, My Writing, Web Design, creativity

Some will tell you that it’s not possible to force creativity, or that the results from “forcing” creativity are sub-par to the work that “just happens.”  I’m here to argue the opposite.

For some creative folks, such as myself, sitting around waiting for inspiration to strike, for the mood to be right, and for the stars to align is a recipe for getting jack shit done.  We will write off our lack of productivity by saying something like “I just don’t have anything to say” or “the muse isn’t with me today.”  I’ve used both of these excuses even recently to myself.

Hogwash.  The truth is, nothing motivates me more than a deadline that has some teeth to it.  A good example was the Federations anthology.  I knew about it for months, and I had piddled around with a couple of ideas.  Nothing really settled out, though.  The deadline was literally 48 hours away when, the idea of losing a good opportunity to sell work to a favorite editor hit me.  I didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity like this, and that was before I knew which luminaries of the field are in the book.   With that driving me, I wrote “The Culture Archivist” and sent it to first readers.  Got it back, revised it again, and sent it to JJA.  It went through some editorial revisions, and then it was in the book.

The truth I must admit to myself is that I am a creatively lazy person at times.  I want it to be easy.  And it’s not.  It never gets any easier.  You just get better at it.  But you still have to overcome the same inertia that was there when you first started out.  That takes a combination of willpower, and if you can manage it, discipline.

This holds true for every creative endeavor  of mine, whether it be photography, writing, or design.  The hardest part is just getting started.  And you have to force yourself to start.  Because if you don’t even get started, you’re not bloody well likely to finish it, are you?

Force yourself to create using any means necessary. Some of these might work:

• Ask your spouse or significant other to withhold sex until you finish.  Double motivator–you’ll want it done and your spouse will be really encouraging!
• Go on a bread and water diet until you reach your initial goal. (Do not do really do this, seriously.  Eat healthy.)
• Use an internet blocking program when you work on the computer.  These are usually time based, but I suspect that 4 hours or so without the internet will get something written and/or made.
• Instead of the stick, try the carrot.  Promise yourself a $50 shopping spree if you finish the work, or a night out for dinner.

External forces have always been the best motivator for me, but with many projects, there’s no external force.  As a freelancer, I don’t have a boss beyond the client, and the client isn’t always motivated themselves to finish the project.  So it’s important for freelancers to learn to self-motivate.

A desire to create something great is often not enough motivation.  Sometimes, you have to prod yourself into getting started.  But once the ball is rolling, it tends to stay in motion for as long as you can afford the time.  For me, the single best thing about creating things is losing myself in the process.  Time becomes meaningless and my left-brain takes a nice long nap.  Call it what you will–the zone, in the moment, or something else- it’s one of the greatest rewards of being a creative person.  That pleasurable experience is almost reason enough to make things.  The finished product is just a bonus sometimes.

What are some methods you use to motivate yourself when you have the desire, but not the will?  How do you keep yourself on task?  Share your methods with us.

Tomorrow, I will talk about strategies for making time to make things around a busy life.

TAGS: creative management, creativity, getting started

POSTED: 10:00 am Mon May 04 2009 |