Eat, drink and be creative

If you want a creative kick-start, go out for a bite. Or a drink. Just don't do it alone.

I was reminded of this twice over the weekend after I went out to eat with some smart, creative peeps.

Once the catch-up checklist is crossed off (e.g. how's so-and-so) and the meal is ordered, the real conversation begins. Ideas are cross pollinated and pop-up from the ether, and I, at least, walked away refreshed (and well fed) both times, with an idea for a new project and new plot angle on a story I had shelved.

Not only do you hear what other people are up to, but telling people what you're doing almost forces you to finish (or start) a project. When you keep an idea to yourself, it's easy to let it drift away. But when you tell your friends — especially friends who have a similar drive — you create an implicit contract of sorts. You know they're gonna ask you how the project's going the next time you meet and you're gonna need an answer.

Sometimes you just need to be in the enthusiastic presence of others to get your own juices flowing. Of course, if you're not careful, it's easy to spend all your time hanging out and not working on your book, painting, portfolio, business plan, etc — but if you're honest with yourself, a night off with some good friends is the perfect cure for creative block...and excuse to order dessert.

Wendell Berry on happiness and creativity

There was a great interview in The Sun Magazine with Wendell Berry a couple of months ago. I didn't know much about him, but the more I read the more I enjoyed what he had to say. Then I came across this exchange and realized how right Berry was:

Fearnside: For me, as for many people, being a writer means getting up early in the morning — sometimes when it’s dark — writing as much as possible, and then going out and working a full-time job. I’m content with this, knowing that I’m doing my best under the circumstances, and I define myself as a writer even though I’m not writing full time or earning my living from it.

Berry: That’s good, but you need to realize something else: that you can lead a perfectly good and satisfactory life even if you’re not a writer. When I figured out that I could be perfectly happy and not be a writer, I became a better writer.

Fearnside: But you never gave up writing.

Berry: No, but I don’t think you ought to let your happiness depend on writing. There are a lot of worthwhile things you can do. The unhappiest people in the world may be the ones who think their happiness depends on artistic success of some kind.

How many people (besides me) put all their creative eggs in one basket? If the book/movie/album/whatever doesn't happen, then nothing matters.

When I limit how I interpret creative success, I usually struggle to be creative. That's not to say I don't have goals — I just try to stay open to other goals that might present themselves along the way.

Staring at an empty blog...

I'll keep the ramble to a minimum and suffice it to say that this blog is a place to help me keep track of my own creative struggles and victories as well as as way to keep track of the things that inspire me.