When I began this blog I played around a bit with the tag line. That is the motto that you see underneath the actual name of this website. As a part of that motto I eventually incorporated the idea that this blog was not just about art that you and I might buy. I want this blog to also be about art that you and I create. It doesn’t have to be great art. It doesn’t have to be brilliant art. Hell it doesn’t even have to be art really. What matters is that we find a way to be creative. Every person is creative on a different level and for different reasons. And I want this blog to champion that.
NaNoWriMo is a collaborative project involving people all across the world working to write their own novels. The novels don’t have to be great, they just have to be finished. There is an official website and plenty of resources to get you started. The idea is to involve ordinary men and women who may never have considered themselves creative in a very creative and collaborative process. People write their own novels, but they share what they write. Each person’s experience with NaNoWriMo is different. Yours might be wonderful or terrible. Mine might be sublime or silly. But the act of trying something that we might normally think impossible can be very freeing.
If you have ever thought of writing a novel or thought about writing his career I would encourage you to step in and begin writing your first horrible novel. This novel will no doubt be a source of pain and hilarity and provide you with many hours of shaking your head and wondering what the hell you were thinking.
And I’m going to tell you a secret: there is nothing better for creative person.
Making mistakes is part of the creative process. I don’t have to tell you that. But I might have to tell you that a belief in mistakes as a natural part of any creative persons endeavors is different than actually practicing a carefree attitude towards mistakes. Perhaps carefree is too strong a word. It’s more accurate to say that a creative person should make peace with his or her own doubts. Writing a novel can be one way to face those doubts and those fears that are only natural, and are sure to come up during any endeavor like this.
But let’s say that you decide not to write a novel this month. Most people reading this won’t. At the moment I’m not sure I have the time. And you may be the same. But even small pieces of art for small audiences can be as important in your life as any part that you buy. Movies, books, comics, television… all of these things feed us stories, and we have the opportunity to feed back. We don’t have to feed back directly by joining the industry. We can break through the industry’s hold on us as consumers by stepping over Hollywood and making our own art. Right now the Internet sometimes feels like the biggest collaborative art project in the history of mankind. The ability for an anonymous person to come along and make a sincere and tremendous contribution to a project or to start an entirely new project of their own is astounding. People have always been able to do this kind of thing, but never with the kind of national and even world exposure allowed by the Internet. This is a fertile time in which to be creative. It’s time to get your God on. What can be hipper than creating your own world?
Role-playing games are a very effective way to learn what it is about stories that you like or love. It’s also a way for you to expose your creative ideas to a very motivated audience. Basically they are your focus group. You can tear what you are doing to them, or you can ignore them and go off on your own flights of fancy, and you will get instant feedback on the entire process. Playing role-playing games can also teach you about storytelling. In each player at the table is a part of creating the unfolding narrative. Creating a story with your friends is also just a great social activity that a lot of people miss out on.
My overall point here is that you have a lot of opportunities to be creative. You have every opportunity to create and display your abilities in a variety of ways. Why not take advantage of some of those opportunities? Why not step out of the life you have been living up to this point and look around. You might see things could never seen before. You might feel things never felt before. You might find that you are a different person than you ever thought you were, or maybe that you would like to be a different person. The possibilities are endless. That is the nature of creativity.
I believe they creativity should not only be for people in “creative professions”. Creativity is a birthright… a birthright that can be applied to any human endeavor from painting to accounting (although some “creative accounting” can get you into trouble). Creativity in business is one of the ways that entrepreneurs distinguish themselves from ordinary people just trying something different. Entrepreneurs are people that respect the creative process, and are still able to respect the practical side of life as well. Creativity is a sort of birthright. It is a natural part of every single human being. Discovering that part of us that wants to play and explore and experiment is a very fun thing to do. We discovering that child would spark inside of each of us is necessary at one point or another in every human being’s life.
Don’t just consume art. Produce it. Be an artist, even if it’s only for a few minutes a day. Even if it’s only for your friends or one special friend. Art is about expression. And expression can be about anything be you want to be. The fact is that most people live their lives dancing to someoneelse’s music. I would encourage you to create your own music, your own dance, your own life. And it doesn’t have to be something that makesa million dollars. If it only makes one person smile or laugh or stop and think then it is as important as any blockbuster film, paperback bestseller, or number one hit record. In fact the expressions of your truth feelings to the people around you are infinitely more worthwhile than anything you can buy off the shelf.
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