TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2023 - THWARTING CREATIVITY

 TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2023 - CREATIVITY III

"The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts when you get up and doesn't stop until you enter the office." – Robert Frost.

Many of today's thoughts come from:

https://copyblogger.com/creativity-killers/

There are lots of things that can stifle creativity - today four ways.

CREATING AND EVALUATING AT THE SAME TIME.

To be creative, you must brainstorm (at least in some respect). Get your ideas out, draw a sample (if doing art), write something (if writing), and act out (if acting). 

BUT - wait to start evaluating your ideas. Idea generation is a process - and idea editing is a separate process!!

Don't decide if the idea is good or bad in those initial stages - just get it out!!!  

Crafting a final project involves two different factors - creating - and later editing (or fixing).  

I try to get an idea and put things together by writing these blogs. Let the initial blog sit for a day (or at least a couple of hours) and then come back and look at it. (But give the idea time to "air out"!!!)

The old proverb "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." Take that first step - get going. Things may change as you go, but you MUST start.

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THE EXPERT SYNDROME

Fortunately, I'm not an expert. (And, I rarely listen to advice). That may be why I haven't combined my blogs into a book or a podcast and advertised them.  

Aside: My academic papers went through a review process. Frequently three "expert" reviewers reviewed my paper and said: (a) publish; (b) revise and publish; (c) revise and resubmit; or (d) reject. (I hated the "reject" option - it hurt me personally).

And I was a reviewer of other's papers and made comments and suggestions. Being a reviewer helps to be a better author. When one of my submissions got suggestions, I took the suggestions as just that - suggestions. A few times when resubmitting, I challenged the reviewer as to why I wrote what I wrote and backed up my logic. 

"Experts" have biases too. For example, the French impressionist painters submitted their artwork for display and were rejected as "too radical." The reality is that the paintings were TOO RADICAL for traditional painting. I can't quite picture Van Gogh's Starry Night next to Constable's Hay Wain. Starry Night is radical - exploding stars and swirling winds; Hay Wain accurately represents a hay wagon crossing a stream.  

FEAR OF FAILURE

I imagine all artists, authors, actors, and playwrights fear failure. What if the experts or the audience don't like this?  

Early on in my academic writing, I knew I had to write. My employment was based on publishing (and excellent teaching and service). (Fortunately, not so much at Dakota State). At Quinnipiac, I needed six publications every five years. I always wanted a paper published at ISECON (Information Systems Education Conference) - but the deadline would grow closer and closer. I remember asking a technical friend to be a joint author with me (and he didn't even respond).  

It took time to write an acceptable academic paper. I needed sources, and I needed research. (By the way, academic friends, that is what a Ph.D. does for you - writing a dissertation wasn't fun, but I'm glad I did it!!!) 

By the time I retired, I had a corral of co-authors. We ALL needed publications, and maybe the adage "misery loves company" is true. So, we paired up and wrote fantastic papers. I had junior academics ask me to be a co-author with them!! (I find that amazing as I didn't consider myself a good writer - I had learned to write - at least academically!!!)

I remember crying when I would get a rejection note about a paper I submitted. I felt like I needed to jump off a cliff or a bridge. I'd cry for a day, have a nice pity party - and then go back and read the rejection note. (Most times, the reviews were very positive - maybe something like "This paper would be good if you did 'such and such").

If Van Gogh feared failing, he wouldn't have painted Starry Night!  

FEAR OF UNCERTAINTY

If I knew my papers would be rejected, I might have quit the academic world and become a programmer. There were questions in my mind - does my paper say anything of value? Does my paper advance my academic field? (Or, in today's blog - does this blog make sense? Is it of importance?

Thomas Edison, the inventor of many fantastic things, said, "In response to a question about his missteps, Edison once said, "I have not failed 10,000 times—I've successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work."

*****

So, in the creative process, get the ideas out - get started - don't "second guess" before you've gotten your thoughts out.

Don't let fear scare you - Edison had thousands of mistakes and some very pronounced successes (like the light bulb).  

I used to tell my students I learn from my mistakes - and I made so many mistakes that I became pretty smart!!! <grin> 

LOVE WINS

LOVE IS CREATIVE

LOVE TRANSFORMS PEOPLE AND IDEAS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, AUGUST 8, 2023