Recently, on Netflix, we watched a documentary on Shakespeare. It went into from where his inspiration might've come through history, his own experiences, or creative genius. I've also read Stephen King speak about how a newspaper can trigger a book for him. Is genius really about being able to see something has happened and use it in a different way?
The end of the Shakespeare documentary showed how many sayings we have today that came from his works-- but did he create them or had he heard them from others of his time? Was he original or was he receptive to being able to recognize important truths and use them in his plays and poetry?
Shakespeare has been revered from his time to ours. Some say there is no plot today that he didn't write. Of course, what he was doing is capturing human nature at its worst and best.
In the link, the author suggested eleven things about creativity that are true but people don't see as being so. I had mixed feelings about some of his truths. Here are his key points and if you go to the link, you will see how he expounded on them.
1. Your ideas are not original.
2. Inspiration is a myth.
3. Everyone is creative.
4. Creativity isn’t something you’re born with.
5. You’ll never be great until you can be vulnerable.
6. Fear is necessary.
7. Being creative is hard.
8. You can’t do it alone.
9. Brainstorming is not the best way to innovate.
10. Incentives harm creativity.
11. It doesn’t get easier.
I think everyone could be creative, but everyone isn't automatically. It is something encouraged or discouraged in growing up. Some cultures encourage it more than others. At any point in life, a person can begin developing their creativity through experimentation, classes, and just getting out there with whatever inspires them (inspiration is NOT a myth).
I don't know if you get great by being vulnerable. But I do believe if you are afraid to put your work out for others to criticize, you won't grow in it. That also fits with fear being necessary.
Can't do it alone? I did it for years alone but I like now having my work out, hearing what others think about it (not always good, of course) and being able to discuss my plot ideas with others as I develop them.
So I liked the article as a way to think about creativity but disagreed with many of his points :).
Finally, this is a [TED talk on creativity]
5 comments:
I think these truths have lots of shades of gray and that is why some of them are hard to accept or agree with.
It made me wonder how much is creativity and how much is simply being more aware than most and using that
I wonder if creativity truths are unique to each artist based on several factors that may differ with each person. How many of the items this author lists are universal clearly is debatable, I think, also, as you indicate. If Shakespeare is the template, then I don't think we truly know enough about him to confidently arrive at these items as accurate based on him.
True, he kept his personal life removed from the public view. It's an interesting kind of dichotomy for today where branding is about the 'personal' and the work-- or so it's claimed.
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