Powerful Creativity Secrets: Background Static and Pink Monkeys
But in reality, it doesn't work like that. What happens if, when writing a political novel set in 19th century Eastern Europe, you keep having ideas for a children's story based around a manic pink monkey?
Or when you're composing a dramatic orchestral film score, catchy pop lyrics and choruses keep forming in your mind?
Whatever creative channel we're tuned into, it's virtually impossible to totally eliminate all other interference.
Imagine it like being tuned into a radio station on an old fashioned analogue radio. Even when we feel we're focused on one channel, we can hear static, or ghost interference from other channels in the distant background.
And, with the slightest adjustment of the dial, a whole new set of sounds come into earshot, often completely drowning out those we want to hear.
So how can we deal with this? How can we eliminate all the static, the surrounding interference we don't want to hear when we're focusing on one creative project?
The answer is we can't completely eliminate it, but we can take steps to more easily live with it. By accepting and embracing the notion that this creative static IS inevitable, we can begin to use it to our advantage.
One of the most popular and effective ways of doing this is using a form of Ideas Book to gather up the extra creative tangents, diversions and offcuts we come across.
So, using the example from before, when you're writing a crucial character development for the protagonist in your Eastern European political novel, and that pink monkey starts bouncing all over your thoughts, you might simply take your Ideas Book (kept always close to hand) and quickly jot down the monkey thoughts, then close the book, confident that you've transferred the idea from mind to paper, and continue with your character development.
The Idea Book method works in 3 powerful ways:
1. It allows you to accept that the creative mind is not completely linear, predictable and focused, and at one time there are hundreds of thoughts and ideas bouncing around. This acceptance allows for more natural, more free-flowing creativity.
2. You're able to collect up all the extra interesting snippets of background static and "scribbles in the margin" that appear, and that may in future develop into wonderful creative works themselves.
3. It helps you to stay focused on your main creative project of the moment. The distracting idea appears, you acknowledge it, note it in your Idea Book, and continue on with your main work, instead of letting this invading idea distract you repeatedly and cause you to completely lose the thread. Taking 30 seconds to jot down an idea a few times an hour for example, is far more conducive to creative flow than having that same idea struggle to burst into your thoughts every few minutes.
Try a version of the Ideas Book technique for yourself. Don't be afraid to play around with it to find out how it can work best for you and the way your creative mind works.
Embracing the static in our creative lives, rather than wasting energy getting locked in a endless internal battle in our minds, is a major step towards the highly and freely creative life we aspire to maintain.
As an added bonus of course, you very soon have a valuable collection of creative ideas to develop when you do finish your current project. After all, you never know, maybe that little pink monkey will turn out to be more than just an irritating distraction after all...
© Copyright 2006 Dan Goodwin
Related Tags: artist, artists, creative, creativity, increase creativity, greater creativity, creativity coaching
Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin publishes "Create Create!", a FREE twice monthly ezine for people who want simple and powerful articles, tips and exercises to help them unleash their creative talents. To Sign up today and get your FREE "Explode Your Creativity!" Action Workbook, visit http://www.CoachCreative.com
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