Untitled: Thoughts on the Creative Process
I had the privilege of reading an advanced copy of Blaine Hogan’s new book, Untitled, this past week while on vacation. In the book, Blaine walks us through the creative process based on his years of experience as an actor, writer, producer, etc. He discusses how doing creative endeavors with excellence involves hard work – the type of work that most people are never able to overcome the natural and internal resistance to do. Here are a few of my favorite quotes (with some thoughts following them):
- It is the artist’s job to accept that the work will be very, very hard; to understand the importance of deep reflection, and to fight the forces of fear and resistance, all in the name of filling blank pages and creating beauty.
I think most people aren’t willing to do the hard work; particularly the hard work of reflecting, scratching when things don’t itch, and cultivating a culture of creativity. As a result, very few people end up creating beauty.
- No one cares about your ideas. The people who pay your salaries or buy your art really only care about one thing. They only care about what you make.
I appreciate how Blaine discusses the nitty gritty of making things and is blunt about how little most people appreciate the creative process. Sure, people appreciate art (in that, they want the product you create for them to look aesthetically pleasing), but they don’t care much about the process to get there.
- No one cares about your ideas or how great a pitch-person you are if you can’t execute your vision.
- Your vision casting must be in direct proportion to the work you are willing to do to make your vision come to life.
- Vision is easy. Ideas are even easier. It’s execution that separates the amateurs from the pros.
I often have grand visions, big plans, cool ideas, etc. However, when it comes time to execute that vision I often don’t want to deliver.
- You must always have something more for them to see. Always. Always. Always. The discipline of cultivating ideas is a difficult one, believe me. Who has the time to think up new ideas just to hide them in our back pocket. But if you plan on creating for a living, there is no other way.
I think a lot of creatives (myself included) feel that we should be given an assignment and – poof – inspiration should come out of thin air. However, for those who create for a living and are often asked to be creative on demand, there must be a constant cultivating (or “scratching” as it’s called in the book) of ideas and inspiration. As I think back on my dry periods (and what creative person hasn’t gone through droughts), it has been during times when I’ve neglected to scratch when I don’t itch.
- Our tendency when trying to explain ourselves (through words or art) is to add instead of subtract.Less is almost always more. Better should come before bigger.
I’m constantly reminding myself to reduce (images, lines, verses, words, etc). Tear away all that is unnecessary. What I’m left with is almost always clearer and better.
- Creativity (in art making or relationships, even) only really happens in the tension and tension is created when we give ourselves something to push against, even if it’s something seemingly benign as a deadline.
I think a lot of us (creative types) often feel that boundaries, such as deadlines, are restrictive and reduce the amount of creativity we can produce. However, as Blaine points out, the best creativity happens in response or in the midst of tension. And, deadlines and boundaries are some of the best tension-producing devices. We ought to welcome boundaries. Think of them as challenges.
- This is the creative process – stop complaining! It’s messy! It’s rarely mappable! It is always dynamic and ever-changing! It will always be hard, but it should also be fun. Every landed plane deserves some kind of celebration.
- In the end, the effectiveness of our creative process comes down to whether or not we’re going to whine or do the work.
- The [young / inexperienced / student] filmmaker doesn’t present you with an alternative way to view things, instead she tellsyou how it is. Sadly, many of us don’t outgrow this phase.
The point I appreciate here is how subtly presenting people with alternate realities is almost always better than screaming your point about how you think their reality should be viewed. However, the maturity required to do this is difficult to obtain. It requires us to do a lot of inward work. It requires us to be willing to give up our view of how things should be in order to make room for someone to view the art differently. I honestly wish I could do a little less “shouting” in my art and invite others into the creative conversation.
- Execution isn’t sexy. Execution is hard. And it’s always harder than the pitch.
I agree with this principle. It’s always easier to propose an idea than to execute it. However, I often find that executing is not nearly as hard as I imagine it to be. When I ‘ve done the hard work beforehand, and when I break the process down into smaller steps the execution usually takes care of itself. The hardest part for me is usually taking the first step in the execution because of the resistance I’ve built up in my own mind.
