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How Creative Are You?
From a very young age, and well into my adult years, I didn’t think I was creative. I wasn’t into craftsy things. My efforts to sew my
clothes did not go well, and my knitting products were a mixed bag. At one point I wrote poems on my parents’ Royal typewriter. I wrote one poem about a bull, and have no memory of what I wrote, but at the time I had apparently mixed up bulls and cows. My parents were amused and explained the difference. I felt embarrassed by my mistake, and for a while I stopped writing poems.
But writing seemed to call to me. I certainly loved to read the writing of others. Most of my writing efforts were pretty straightforward. I’ve always been a left-brained, linear thinker, so that’s how I wrote. My writing is workman quality.
In high school I took a creative writing course. I wrote about a murder that had happened next door to us; the man had murdered his wife with a knife. I hadn’t witnessed the act, nor seen the results, but my brother had entered the house afterward and was devastated. The children were bewildered and lost. I wrote about their reaction. The piece was put in our annual creative writing magazine. But I considered the acceptance as a fluke; I still didn’t see myself as creative.
During my college years. I was an English major, and received a “D” on my first paper. I was embarrassed and confused. So I asked the instructor if I could meet with him—not to accuse him of under-grading me, but to find out what had gone wrong. He was very kind and supportive, and I don’t remember his advice, but I suspect that I applied it to all my future papers, as well as to essays I wrote for other classes. It was a turning point of sorts. (As a side note, I switched to a major in history.) But I still didn’t think I was creative, and told people that they couldn’t count on me for creative ideas.
As a business woman, I wrote various articles that were published in human resource publications, police publications and other small magazines. By reproducing them they became marketing tools for my business. They were well-received, but I still didn’t think I was creative. These articles were, after all, practical pieces.
I was moved to write a book on religion. (The author listed is another Susan Quinn; I’ve written to Amazon.) This book was a turning point for me. I was now a genuine author! I began to think that I might be creative after all. I was also asked to provide an essay on forgiveness for a leadership book. Maybe people were taking me seriously. (Have you noticed what a hard sell I am?)
Then I found Ricochet. I fell in love—with writing, with getting feedback, with engaging in dialogue on important issues. And another writer on Ricochet, @iwe, asked me to partner on books on Judaism—me, a returning Jew.
I was finally convinced I was creative.
Recently the topic of creative acts has come up in my writing with @iwe: what does it mean to be a human being who continues G-d’s original act of creation? @iwe believes that when we create something completely new, something that G-d has not already created, we are following in G-d’s path; I agree with him. We also think, however, that creativity is a process. That we may be creative in many different ways, and when we work to be creative, the more creative we become. Some people seem to have the temperament for creativity; others (like me) have to work at it, pursue it regularly, refine it, and keep trying. I believe that G-d is happy when I write, especially with Him in mind, but am I continuing His original creation?
So I have a bunch of questions for you—do you see yourself as creative? How do you express your creativity and in what arenas? And do you see your role in continuing G-d’s creation?
Published in Culture
Now I know a lot of you out there are too modest to declare you are creative! But I think for those of us who have been reluctant to “own up” to our creativity, but finally acknowledge it, we can encourage others to do the same. We have tons of creative folks on Ricochet, in areas other than writing, so we’d love to hear your stories, too!
I express my creativity by writing novels and short stories. I have an 8 book science fiction series available on Amazon (e-book only), soon to publish the final book. I also have 12 novels in various stages of editing, ranging from romance to a romantic thriller, to sports romance. Creativity comes into play because I like to see if I can take an unlikely event and make it into a plausible story.
In almost all of my stories, I slip religion in as discreetly as possible, because I don’t want to preach either through narrative or the characters. However, I want my good characters to have morals derived from religion, whether they are currently church-going or not. Situations which challenge one’s morals are a stock trade in fiction.
In my science fiction series, the main character is a young female officer in the United States Space Service. She is a devout, fundamentalist Christian who faces challenges during her military service, challenges which come in conflict with one another. She obviously has a duty to God based on her faith. She also has a duty to her country because of her military service. Finally, she has a duty to herself as a young woman who yearns for a normal life with a family of her own. At times, doing her duty in one area comes into conflict with the other two. This three-way pull is evident throughout the series. Creativity is needed to come up with believable ways to resolve the conflict, or have the character talk herself into justifying a temporary resolution which results in guilt later.
I talk too much. Yes, we have a ton of creative folks on Ricochet!
Fantastic, @stad! I had no idea you were so prolific! Your stories sound wonderful and engaging–you should include links here–. Thanks for being such an inspiration.
Creative, schmaytive.
I assisted for two different pros when I was starting out as a photographer. One was, (and still is) a stupendously inventive and innovative photographer, coming up with concepts and ideas and imagery was far beyond what his peers were doing.
The other was a good, solid journeyman shooter. Nothing breathtaking, but he could turn out quality work when the pressure was on.
He was also a better businessman than the first photographer: He knew how to make a living at it, and he knew the importance of not missing deadlines, bidding out jobs so he could pay the bills (and me!) and most importantly, how to mold his vision to fit the client’s vision (which meant repeat business).
The first photographer is leading a good life, shooting pictures and continuing to work from his modest suburban home. The second is still shooting pictures, but it’s on his time, and he’s doing it in retirement from his ranch in Colorado.
Creativity is important. However, I find that the harder I work, the more creative I become.
Fortes Fortuna Juvat.
Great examples, @kevincreighton. And I completely identify with your statement. Hard work comes in handy in a lot of different areas!
This is a subject that I’ve thought a lot about in recent years. For most of my life, I would have said that creativity was my defining attribute. Throughout my childhood and college years, I dabbled in almost any medium you can think of: I composed music, drew, made films, acted, programmed computer games, wrote humorous short fiction and a couple of plays. If I saw a typewriter, or a camera, or a pen and paper — anything you could be creative with — I gave it a try.
After I became a working adult, I narrowed my focus to music. For a period of about twenty years, writing and recording songs was my passion. My day job was something I did to fund music, which is what I saw as my true calling. I also still dabbled in fiction writing occasionally, but found it too much work to hone my usual fragmentary prose into something coherent and sustained. I told myself that I’d turn my attention to writing later, maybe after I retired and could really focus on it.
But during the last decade, something has happened. I kept pushing myself to do new music, but I managed maybe only one new song per year, and eventually even that stopped. I don’t draw or write fiction anymore. I write technical documentation for a living, so there is some opportunity for creativity there; but outside of my day job, I have abandoned pretty much all creative pursuits. (Save one, if you consider a personal journal a work of creativity.)
A couple of years ago it occurred to me to ask the question: am I still justified in calling myself a creative person if I don’t create? Could it be that I’m just not that guy anymore?
This troubles me, in part because I don’t understand why the things that used to bring me such fulfillment no longer appeal to me at all. It makes me sad that I don’t write songs anymore, but I can’t honestly say that I miss it.
It also troubles me because retirement looms closer than ever … and I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do with myself, if I don’t find a way to rekindle the fire of creativity.
I might be wrong, but I think everyone is creative. What clotheslines many people is an unwillingness to be bad. You do not get good at any creative process unless you are willing to be bad at it while learning it. Yet some are afraid to make a fool of themselves by turning out sweaters with dropped stitches, paintings with flawed perspective or models with errors in them.
Me? I am cheerfully willing to look foolish while mastering something. So are my sons. They tackle stuff (everything from coding to woodworking to learning a musical instrument) with abandon.
Being uncreative is really nothing more than being afraid to create because you don’t want to pass through the “I am really bad at this” stage.
I create with needle and thread primarily, and have done so since I was 7 years old. I think there might be something in my genes that predisposes me to wanting to sew and quilt, as my great grandfather was a tailor. I think I am creative as opposed to a craftsperson, as I have only rarely followed a pattern verbatim, preferring to put my own spin on things–switching out a collar on a garment or changing a block arrangement in a quilt.
I’m also an editor, but of technical/academic manuscripts. It doesn’t allow for too much of what I’d call creative writing, but I’m pretty good at untangling a mishandled string of words.
I think everyone has a creative spark. Whether they fan it into a flame or not is possibly a matter of how much encouragement they receive and how much fulfillment they glean from it.
Anyone who wants to know the name of the series and the pseudonym I write under can send me a Ricochet PM!
I’m one creative son of a birch! See how I substituted “birch” for “bitch.” I think that’s creative, don’t you?
I also wear socks with little photos of Bob on them. I call them my bobby sox . I think my name for my socks is creative, don’t you? Or is it just cute? I’m becoming confused.
I can carry a little tune by cupping my two hands and blowing through my two raised thumbs. I control the notes by lifting various fingers to let my breath out. I can play “Old Black Joe.” How creative is that?
Now to get serious. I think there is such a thing as creativity —some people have more of it, some less — but the effect of hard work is almost indistinguishable from it.
I find sitting down with a cold beer often helps . . . falling down after several cold beers doesn’t – which is why I sit first.
Someone once told me creativity seems to break down into beginners and finishers. I believe that’s true. I’m a beginner of the first order. Nothing is more exciting to me than a blank page. Finishing, however, can sometimes pose … challenges. It is probably the best argument for collaboration – link up with a partner who can fill the other role in the creative equation.
The corollary is people don’t want to be thought of as bad, so they’re afraid to try.
My personal opinion is fear of failure stops more people in their creative tracks than actual failure. This is why I often refer to Roosevelt’s “Man in the arena” quote whenever I have doubts about anything I’ve written . . .
Speaking of creativity, this past weekend I was clued into musician Brian Eno’s solution when getting stuck in a creative rut. He created a deck of cards called “oblique strategies” and when he ran into the proverbial wall, he would draw a card from this deck and try to incorporate the strategy outlined on the card into his current project. Some of those strategies could be very oblique indeed: one card just has “water” written on it.
If you’re curious, someone made a web-version of the Oblique Strategies deck, which displays a random strategy every time the page is refreshed. It’s primarily tailored to music, but it may come in handy for other creative pursuits.
I think there might be a lot of answers to your question, @bartholomewxerxesogilviejr. You are probably a much different person than you were back then. You may have very different interests. I remember trying out many different things when I was younger, and I didn’t find enjoyment in them. I think you are wildly creative–your passions probably need re-focusing. Rather than feeling compelled to find something, I wonder if you just opened to possibility–rather than giving yourself a hard time–an opportunity for your creativity to re-emerge would show up. Of course, when it shows up, you have to pay attention! ;-)
Trust yourself. The opportunity will show itself.
I love this! And you are spot on. My experience is that I can be really bad at any stage! We can learn from those moments or if not, simply move on. The world doesn’t come to an end; we just think it does. Great input, @seawriter!
Asimov’s solution for writer’s block was to go watch a movie. It had to be mindless entertainment, not one with a deep, thought-provoking plot. He said his subconscious would work on the problem while his conscious was distracted by the flick. He usually emerged from the theater with a path forward, and would hurry home to get back ot work.
This ! Thanks, @oldbuckeye! (I wish I had your sewing gene . . .)
You also have a creative gene for making people laugh!! I love that. And I think your name for your socks is so cute–and creative!
Fascinating, @michaelbrehm! For those of you who go to the site, click on the heading to see these random ideas. Sometimes we just need to jiggle the blocks loose, and that’s a fun way to do it.
Finally, I’m getting the credit I deserve for my creativity! Marie the spousal unit thinks what I call creativity is merely smart-aleckiness. The woman knows how to hurt a guy.
Sounds like the Unwriting Time.
My goodness, Stad. I had no idea. You are one hard-working’ and prolific son of a gun. I think that’s wonderful.
What a beautiful piece, @arahant; no surprise that, coming from you. I hope you don’t mind if I quote one paragraph, although it’s all worth including here:
“Certainly there are techniques for breaking out of writer’s block. I might have even written about some of them in the past. But there will be times in your life where you won’t write. These times can last for years. And then, one day you sit down, and the Muse touches your hand, the words begin to flow like tears, a catharsis that cleans you of all that had accumulated in that unwriting time.”
Thank you.
In deference to Marie, you probably do get smart-alecky at times. Just sayin’. . .
I’ve known a lot of people that think in irregular ways. That irregularity is called creativity because most thinking about a problem or condition is linear. But often creative people don’t have the work horse type of character needed to do big things. For the rest of us, creativity comes after we’ve done a task or written an article many different ways. It’s through that constant effort we get really good and find our creativity. We have to force it though.
To think that we can create something that God has not created seems a bit arrogant to me. I am nothing without God, I do not possess the power of creation.
To me, creativity has a different meaning. While I do a lot of craftwork (sewing, crochet, painting, etc) I rarely have an original idea, but am following a pattern, or making a copy (sometimes with some individual changes). I don’t believe that is creative. There are many, many creative arts and crafts people who provide ideas for me. I’m just not one of them.
However, there are some who look to me for creative solutions to problems – I have a tendency to look for alternatives that may not be as obvious to others. I’m not creating anything, just moving things around a bit in order to make things work right.
Outside of significant cognitive dysfunction, I have never met a child who is not creative. I wonder what happens. Maybe life beats it out of us. Like a unused limb, it withers away as we age. That saddens me. I am glad, Susan, you have rediscovered the magic. Actually, that often happens to people as we age. The Animus and Anima gain strength in women and men and as we integrate more fully (whatever that means) we often can have more creative energy, if we will use it.
My creativity has not produced books, or music, or art, but, it is often expressed through my Role Playing games
It anyone is interested, my Role Playing Diaries are at http://www.Seenar.com
I’m with you, @spirito78! I’m reluctant to call a person creative if they never develop a final product. How much they labor over a product is up to them, but to never finish–not for me. I have friends like that and we don’t work together anymore–they never cared about finishing!
I think you undervalue this skill, @juliana. I think it takes a creative mind to think outside the box, to see alternatives that others miss. I have this talent too and I believe it is a creative act. Do you believe that G-d doesn’t want you to be creative? I’m just wondering.