Creativity

Friday, April 3, 2015

We express our creativity in ways that are amazing. One story idea given to two writers emerges in an adventure unique to each individual. 

After putting down the pen for years, it will be challenging for any writer to decide which path to take. When I started writing again, the thing that worked for me was to join an online writing workshop. 

There are many on the internet, as well as courses to help us hone the talent and harness the skills we need to become better writers. Some of us thrive on prompts to fire up story ideas, but the vast majority of us have more tales beating at our brains than we can ever tell. Others gravitate to fan fiction sites and still others create their own groups and activities.

Creativity is how we use the abilities given to us and how we move beyond 'traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and come up with  meaningful new  ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, using our imagination'.

It doesn't exist in a vacuum and this is where I differ from writers who believe their muse has to show up before any work gets done. I'm all for getting your feet wet gently, but if you have dreams of pursuing a writer career, it is important to be consistent and show up in front of that computer screen after you've gotten into some kind of rhythm. That's the only way to learn the craft and build a body of work that will make you proud later on in this journey.

"The creative person wants to be a know-it-all. He wants to know about all kinds of things: ancient history, nineteenth-century mathematics, current manufacturing techniques, flower arranging, and hog futures. Because he never knows when these ideas might come together to form a new idea. It may happen six minutes later or six months, or six years down the road. But he has faith that it will happen."
                                                                                                  — Carl Ally

25 comments:

  1. Good post!
    I like that quote, it really sums it up. For me, I never know where the next spark of creativity will come from and it might just be hog futures because the good stuff is just under the surface of the real stuff.

    Bushman
    2015 A to Z Challenge Ambassador
    @jwb81074

    ReplyDelete
  2. I personally feel you make your own muse. If you don't have any ideas, go out and find them. Go to a museum, a trip, your backyard with a good book.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If you wait for your muse, you'll never write!
    What Melanie said. Get out and find ideas.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Stories ideas are as plentiful and grains of sand on a beach. To get your muse excited, I think the best thing to do is to ask the simple, "What if?"

    ReplyDelete
  5. Serendipity brings interesting blogs as I explore C today.
    I meet with 3 others to write during a 2 hour slot at a local library each month. I take in a prompt, then we write then read aloud..we enjoy it- wish I could reclaim an enjoyment of writing short stories..used to go to a group in a nearby town but my interested got snuffed out

    ReplyDelete
  6. Most days I would agree with you that writing is about showing up at the computer and making the creativity happen, but there are just some days when I can't write at all. If I'm feeling down I can't write, my creativity just dies. I know artists are supposed to be tortured, but it's never worked for me ;). On those days I go do some marketing instead ::g::.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

    ReplyDelete
  7. That was really interesting - thanks for sharing! My post today is C for Cider With Rosie.... and Cats... ( I'm number 590 on the list) and so far enjoying the fun!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That quote is so true. We do want to know a bit about everything. :-) Creativity can be channedled in so many ways. Inspiration is only a small part the rest is just the nuts and bolts of putting it together and that won't get done unless you're actively working on the project--be it writing or anything else.

    Sia McKye Over Coffee

    ReplyDelete
  9. Creativity is a beautiful thing. If we waited for creativity (or our muse to strike) we could be waiting forever. We have to go out and find inspiration to create.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I wouldn't be where I am today without the Internet and the abundant resources to help me hone my creativity. I'm a better writer because of it.

    ~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
    Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
    Story Dam
    Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

    ReplyDelete
  11. I admit to being a dabbler in many different areas. My one in-depth exploration was the field of linguistics, and I'm glad I dived into that. It has taken me into so many other exciting fields.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Are you still connected to the online workshop you joined?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, Peaches. It's still online though, but many of the better writers/reviewers moved on years ago.

      Delete
  13. I love where creativity takes us. I know some new writers who hold their ideas close because they are worried about theft, but you are absolutely right--the same idea comes out as a totally different story in the hands of several authors.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I question how creative I am at times but I do always want to know everything about everything. Science, history, there's so much.

    ReplyDelete
  15. You know, joining A-Z my first year was actually important in getting me back on the writing bandwagon! I found it through a google search for 'writing challenges' :)
    ~AJ Lauer
    an A-Z Cohost
    @ayjaylauer on Twitter

    ReplyDelete
  16. I seldom feel creative. Most of the time when I sit down at the laptop to work on a scene, I have no idea what to do next. I know where I want to end up, but getting there sometimes just takes hard work. I have to get my BICHOK [butt-in-chair-hands-on-keys] on for my muse to strike. And when she does, boy or boy is it a blast being a writer.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I really like the quote. And A to Z is definitely a great place for learning about all kinds of stuff! :)

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
    MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary

    ReplyDelete
  18. Once the rhythm is lost, it's hard to get back into the groove of one's creative process. I've been experiencing that lately during attempts to rekindle the flame of drawing after abandoning it for so long. I agree with the thought that showing up and maintaining a writing routine brings results rather than just waiting for inspiration to come knocking on the door. I think life, learning and experiences can serve as muses for creative pursuits such as writing. Inspiration is everywhere all around us waiting to be noticed, if we just pay attention. It's in nature, in our conversations, in traffic on the highway, at the grocery store, on the school bus, in the ocean. The possibilities for finding inspiration are plentiful.

    ~Nicole
    A to Z Challenge
    The Madlab Post

    ReplyDelete
  19. Every writer I've ever read who writes about the process of writing has said the same thing: just show up. Muse or no, show up and write. It's something I haven't managed to do, but I know that when I have been active it's been because of that- I showed up.

    ReplyDelete
  20. The creative person wants to be a know-it-all made me smile. I've been wanting to do an online writing course. Will have to research one.
    Dropping by from the AtoZ Challenge
    Suzy at Someday Somewhere

    ReplyDelete
  21. "Creativity is the spice of life"......... Keren Amaechi

    ReplyDelete
  22. I read something similar today. You can't always wait for your muse to strike. Write anyway.

    Heather

    ReplyDelete

Don't be shy, I'd love to hear what you think.