|
by Suzanne Falter-Barns
One of the really great things about creating your dream are
those times when you go into a trance.
That's when you look up after
three hours and discover that the rest of the world has gone to bed
while you've been creating your work of genius. And this is when
your creativity is at its absolute sparkling best.
Here are some elements you can put in place that will help you slide
into that exalted place more easily, and give your creative spirit
the nurturing it needs.
1. Turn off the news and listen to music instead.
The creative part of your self is sensitive, easily upset by the
negative stream that passes through the news desks of our nation.
Therefore, limit or completely turn off the news. Once you wean
yourself of it, you'll find that you really don't care what the
headlines are. If you live alone, and like to have television or
radio 'noise' in the background to keep you company, play music,
books or poetry on tape, or positive talk radio.
2. Keep your work nearby.
Ideally, you'll have an office with a door that's right in your
home. That way, if inspiration strikes while you're folding laundry,
you can put down the sheets, walk upstairs and do something about
it. (I was cooking dinner when I got the idea for this article.)
When recording artist Stevie Wonder is on the road, he has a crew
member whose sole job is to set up his keyboards wherever he is. In
an interview with The New Yorker, Stevie stopped himself several
times to go off and compose when a melodic theme popped into his
head, right there in the middle of a backstage dressing room.
3. If you take a break, stay 'fuzzy'.
There's a certain fuzziness that comes with creating -- a
loose-in-your-joints feeling that results from letting the creative
flow pass through you. By all means try to hang on to this feeling,
even when you need to take a break. Don't interrupt it with a lot of
hard-edged activities like business calls, important
decision-making, or reading financial mail. Instead, drift around,
read a magazine, a book, or a letter from a friend, turn on music,
play a game with your child. or cook a little food.
4. Always act on your instincts.
This is how some of the best research for your project will get
done. Call up that friend whose name keeps floating across your
mind; take that flyer that seems intriguing for reasons you can't
quite figure out. If you listen to your instincts the first time,
it's really much easier to get things done.
5. Keep note-making material handy wherever you are.
There should be small pads of paper, notebooks, or personal
messagers sprinkled throughout your life. Put them in useful places
like your car, the bathroom, and beside your bed, where the best
ideas often strike. Use a personal messager or digital recording
device to keep track of your ideas. This is a neat little recording
gizmo often no bigger than a credit card, that can record 25 or even
a couple hundred messages at a time … whenever and wherever the
mood strikes. Some of them even come on key rings; many cost less
than $10.
When you have a moment, you can copy these messages into your
computer, daily planner, notes, or wherever the information needs to
go.
6. Get out and see other people's work in your field.
Read trade journals, see exhibits or attend conferences. Get to
know who and what is out there. Not only will this fill your head
with ideas and ways to do things differently, it will give you
inspiration on many fronts, including how to make your own work even
more distinctive. You'll also learn things about your business you
simply can't learn any other way, and possibly find your way to
valuable collaborations or business partnerships.
7. Live and work in a beautiful place.
There is no substitute for natural beauty -- even if it's a
sunset seen from an apartment on the twentieth floor. Having a view
of nature, one way or another, is a wonderful way to keep the spirit
flowing through your door and into your work. If you can't arrange a
river view, put something natural in your surroundings that speaks
to you, even it's a window full of house plants. Your soul will
thank you, and your work will thrive.
8. Indulge in the other arts.
For decades, Woody Allen spent every Monday night playing his
clarinet with a bar band at an Upper East Side jazz club in
Manhattan. Steven King and Amy Tan have been known to play in a rock
band called The Remainders. Michelangelo wrote sonnets and love
songs, and even Paul McCartney has had exhibitions of his paintings.
Spending some time fooling around with other forms of creative
expression is not only enriching for your soul, it opens you up to
new possibilities for your main creative work.
|
