By Mary Jaksch
Creativity is a mystery, don’t you think? I don’t profess to understand how creativity works, but I’ve recently noticed some interesting patterns. There are definitely times when my creativity is sparking like crazy, and times when it seems to go to sleep. Do you experience that too?
The interesting question is: when is your creativity is at its peak? What circumstances are optimal? Because if you know that, then you can try to replicate the circumstances of maximum creativity.
Do you look for creativity in the right places?
Let me invite you to take part in a little quiz: imagine two different scenarios and tell me in which one you would be more creative:
Scenario 1: You are sitting on the deck of a small beach house. The tide is coming in. All you can hear is the sound of waves lapping and the cry of seagulls. As the sun comes up, you open your notebook on a fresh page, pen in hand and look up at the distant mountains …
Scenario 2: You’ve just got home from work. Everyone seems to want some attention from you, even the cat. You’ve got less than an hour to get a new post written and published. Next door you hear kids squealing and a door slams. You boot up your laptop and look at the empty page…
In which circumstance would you be more creative?
I bet you plumped for the first scenario! It’s a writer’s dream: peace, space, breathtaking landscape, an empty page … aaaah!
Well, I tried it and it didn’t work. I went to Awaroa where the photo was taken (which is an hour away from where I live). I sat on an upturned boat, gazed at the mountains in the distance, ready to write my best stuff. And…
Nothing happened!
My brain went quiet. Creativity: zilch.
Why didn’t it work? My theory is that it didn’t work because the moment was too perfect. My neurons didn’t have anything weird to rub up against.
In the second scenario there is plenty of weird stuff. Your brain keeps replaying significant moments of the day. The cat walks across the keyboard, you spy the weird book you read yesterday.
What happens? Your creativity kicks in and comes up with a string of quirky ideas.
Robert J. Sternberg, Yale University Professor of Psychology claims that creativity is a right-brain activity – which entails making loose, freeform associations between seemingly unrelated ideas.
In the first scenario everything is peaceful and the brain isn’t triggered into creating unrelated thoughts that rub up against each other. Whereas in the second scenario, there are plenty of triggers that can connect unrelated ideas.
The secret of reading weird books
Did you know that reading weird books make you more creative? Maybe you’re wondering what a weird book is. Well, ‘weird’ is whatever is just outside your circle of information. Here’s an example, I recently took two books with me on holiday, Robert Winston, The Human Mind and Chris Anderson, The Long Tail. (Both excellent books, by the way!)
Winston’s book takes a comprehensive look at the human mind and I thought it would generate a lot of post ideas for Goodlife Zen. But in actual fact it didn’t. Because it was too close to the ideas my brain usually plays with. On the other hand, Chris Anderson’s book about the Long Tail was weird (from my perspective) because marketing is outside my ken. So it triggered many ideas for my blogs.
Why weird is good for creativity
Anything that triggers new neural pathways is good for creativity. In my post How to Use a Genius Tool for Writers: Mind Maps , I explain that when two bits of information intersect, an idea is formed. Then the idea triggers radiant thinking. This means that the brain makes countless associations, radiating in all directions. The more different the ideas are from each other, the more new associations are formed.
If you want to be creative, don’t go for perfection and harmony. Go for weird.
What’s your take on this?
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ABSOLUTELY! I’ve long known that I must have “chaos” around me in order to produce results. Of course, this led to many battles between me and my mother about having music or tv on in the background. I just can’t think effectively when there’s no noise to tune out and/or integrate. Funny thing is, when I’m in the midst of all the “weird stuff”, my mind will drift to the tranquil place every so often to take a focus break.
Great post!
I wholeheartedly agree! It would also explain why inspiration comes right at those moments when you don’t have a pen and paper to hand, because it is in those moments that something is inevitably going on around you, and it is this action (as opposed to solitude) that will be sparking ideas.
Hi Mary .. yes .. sitting on a beach admiring the scenery .. I’d have just loved to wallow in it .. and work would have not ventured into the little grey cells.
The necessity of sitting at your desk or computer and typing away is the only way. I pick up bits and bobs of ideas from all over the place – fortunately I have an eclectic blog .. so most things can be adapted .. but I’m quite in awe of my latent creativity .. only a few decades of the unknown .. now it pours out.
There are lots of great ideas for being creative .. it’s letting your mind go and working out where it can link in with your own interests .. and I do work in silence usually.
Thanks for those weird thoughts .. have a good week
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
In my experience both scenarios are necessary. If I never get the experience of meditative quiet and beauty, my mind is too frazzled and over-clocked to make the most of those weird connections that do indeed tip us into creativity.
Hi there. I like the idea of generating creativity from weird or offbeat situations. When I was working on my NaNoWriMo book, I got stuck a few times. Using a mind map and doodling (of all things) helped me get back on track.
Yes. The jolt of the new. The spark of two disparate points in conjunction.
I get some of my best ideas when I least expect them, and it’s usually when I’m not sitting in my office.
That’s why I always have my digital voice recorder in my pocket.
One of my major hobbies is a website that randomizes things to make ideas: http://www.seventhsanctum.com/
That site taught me a lot about creativity – the major factor is that intersections of elements seem to stimulate imaginations. A “man with white hair” says nothing. “A man with bone-white hair” or “cream-colored hair” stimulates the mind. The intersection of details – which is often where the weirdness factor is – produces ideas.
One of my last art contests focused on taking randomized ridiculously overblown names and designing the characters behind them. It was one of the largest amount of entries we’d ever seen.
- Steve
I did not pick the first scenario! I get my best ideas when I am busy doing something else, or in the shower. Probably because it is the only time I have a couple seconds alone! I usually get out and jot down three post ideas. Not too weird, is it?
Link Love! I love the topic of creativity, especially with forming connections to come up with new ideas. Thanks for add’l inspiration.
I find that good ideas often come from chaos, but developing the ideas requires some peace and quiet.
Great comments, team!
Chris, your idea that to develop an idea (that was born in chaos) we need peace and quiet is especially interesting. Because that implies that we need different kinds of mindsets as we go through the process of creating a piece of writing.
As I was completing this post, my partner started to vacuum spiders’ webs off the ceiling… I fled because I just couldn’t think.
Mary, I wholeheartedly agree. I find that when I’m in a beautiful spot on a nice, breezy day, I’m too caught up in the appreciation of nature and feeling good in order to write. When there’s inner (or outer) turmoil or clashing of ideas/scenes, then I find myself at my higher creativity point.
Great post. I don’t know about weird stuff, but I certainly need to be involved and connected ot the world to be writing. Relxation doesn’t really help the process but going out and doing my day job, interacting with people does. By the time I get home I am bursting with ideas and no time to really write them but I keep plugging along. Thanks for sharing this.
I’ve noticed this too. If I’m sitting on a beach with nothing really going on, my mind will stay blank – even if my life depended on it. Some of my most creative ideas come when I’m running around, busy, stressed out and staying active. The only exception to this is when I’m listening to certain kinds of music. Music makes me more creative as well.
Great post – I shared on Twitter. @bradvertrees
I can get really creative under a short, hard deadline. Like, having two hours to crank out an article or a presentation. Really makes me focus. Normally I don’t like short deadlines… but there’s something about an ultra-short deadline that really gets my going.
Maybe this is why there are so many creative people in Austin, Texas. Their city motto is KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD
Scenario one just sounds too beautifully relaxing to spark creativity – I’d just want to take a nap or lie by the water all day!
Here here, Sharon Lippincott! Austin DOES foster weirdness. And think about their cafes – Spiderhouse, Bouldin Creek, Flightpath – great places to get work done with a little weird built-in to the shop itself. Makes me miss it – I used to live in Austin and Flightpath was basically my office. That city rocks.
One thing I haven’t explored is whether we ourselves have to be a bit weird in order to be creative.
Are you a bit weird?
I am ;-D
Carry a small writing pad wherever you go. If you try to force your brain to come with ideas. But ideas come to your mind irrespective of the circumstances and the place. Just make a note of it whenever it comes.
Absolutely agree with you on this one. When you mentioned the two scenarios above, I knew I would never get anything done in the first one because all I would really want to do is sit back, relax, and just hear the sound of time ticking away.
I figured out that I really work best under pressure when I was juggling school, theater practice, and working as a barista. I got into the dean’s list that time when I had barely anytime for well, anything. So I think it was good to have known this earlier – to live for some form of chaos.
And yes, anything that challenges your frame of thinking will definitely rub you in the right creative direction. After all, you can’t have sparks if you don’t have friction.
In my case, I can’t really force myself to be creative. Ideas usually hit me without any warning, and I have to jot them down as soon as possible, because I tend to forget them even faster. ;)
I recently read a quote from an author that he can write
even when there’s a crying child on his lap.
I can do that too if I’m not in a bad mood.
So I agree that serenity is not much a creativity factor.
And I know what you mean by reading weird books :-)
I think it’s the reading of weird books that triggered something, because that’s when you contrast your own experiences with something you just read and you start questioning whether what you’ve read makes sense (with everything that you know to be true).
I think creativity is an act of randomness in the end but there are a number of intentional things you can do to prepare for that moment. And those steps outweight the ones defined by chance. You have to take in stimulus to be able to collect the benefits, otherwise your supply of creativity runs dry, and you have to manage your energy wisely. Of course, I’m no expert, and I have only started to experiment with my own creative impulses.
Dear Mary: I think it is weird that you discussed this subject here today, because this is one of only two blogs I am subscribed to, and a big inspiration to start my own a couple of days ago (have a look, if you have the chance), which coincidentally deals with this topic. I am writing a series of posts about how I’m trying to harness my creative side, because I want to be intentional about my creative projects, that have been put in the back burner for too long. It is great that the stars are aligned :P.
Have a great day!
Not sure it’s about ‘weird’ stuff being around you. I’m sure I can think of a scenario where you have complete human solitude, but there’s a whole bunch of weird stuff going on around you (strong wind blowing, seagulls calling, surf crashing, crabs running across the beach, planes going overhead).
It’s the solitude bit that doesn’t work for me. I do my best creative work in a cafe or bar surrounded by strangers going about their business. In order to work something in my brain has to kick in to block out the distractions. I think it’s that mechanism that also blocks out our inner critic or voice that stops us being creative. Once we’ve blurted out our creative mess, we then need some solitude to structure and refine it.
This makes sense. I once had a creative writing teacher tell me that a clean, blank page can stop you from writing. But crumple the page and mess it up with a few pencil marks and suddenly you feel free to write. Perfection stops action. Chaos spurs creativity.
In my line of work, marketing, I’ve found that beautifully designed ads tend to perform poorly compared to ads that are a bit on the ugly side. I would guess the same principle applies.
Dean, you remind me — I save large mailing envelopes. The large space is great for mind-mapping and other planning doodles, and the trashiness of the medium is definitely liberating.
My creativity is at its peak when I’m NOT at the computer but DOING other things.
In your first scenario you’re not actually doing anything and your mind is actually focused on trying to be creative.
Generally all my ideas for a lot of my blog posts come when I’m off for a walk, reading a book, watching a movie or even when I’m in the shower. These are all moments when I’m not thinking about blogging, but something triggers my brain to think creatively and match that up with a blog and hey presto – a great blog idea!
Once you have the brilliant idea WRITE it down somewhere and then find your solitude to write your brilliant piece of work.
To be honest though, I like writing in the heat of the moment. When I had the brilliant idea when I was in the shower I got out as quick as I could (modestly ;) and started typing on the laptop right away. It was a great post received really well and was a success :)
Sarge | BeginnerBlogger.com
Sarge-
I’m just like you.
But jumping into the pc from the shower!
I envy your dedication man! LOL
I’ve always known this!
See, for me, I’d be on the deck at the beach house all serene and ready to open my notebook and begin writing. I’d look over at the distant mountains.
Then a barrage of kites would tangle their way across my line of vision. The neighbor’s boys. They would start fighting and pushing each other. My cell phone would ring. I hear it but can’t find it, etc. etc.
One gets ideas everywhere. In a coffee shop. On the subway. You know what I mean.
Not perfect. But it works!
As I write this, family is all around talking and eating and dogs are barking and… :)
This also relates to me with productivity oddly enough. When I come home to do more work and everything is in its place, it’s much more difficult for me to get things done (and be creative). But, if I go to a coffee shop to get work done, there are many different senses that are triggered throughout my stay: smells, tastes, different noises of people interacting and coffee being made… maybe even the subliminal creativity/productivity of others?!?!
Now I realize why I’m more productive/creative in those surroundings!
Thanks!
Creative ideas are comming in my live when I am full with input and start juggling them in my mind. To improve this process I go out for a run of 10K while juggling three balls.
The combination of running and juggling brings me every time in a creative flow with all kind of weird ideas.
On one of this runs in 2007 I founded Creative World Foundation, to empower children with creativity: dance, drama, circus, art, music and theatre. http://www.creatievewereld.nl . Now I am proud when I think of the work for the children I did in Holland, Tanzania, Bosnia and Costa Rica. In the nearby future I plan actions in Costa Rica, Bosnia and Holland. Long live creativity!
Another tip for getting the juices flowing: Read something you really disagree with, or something you would normally agree with but it’s written extremely poorly.
Both get you to say “No no no! It’s like THIS!” And then you’re off…
I just had a great idea for a dance video today. I find that when I have a creative idea it tends to pop up suddenly and unexpectedly. Usually I am listening to music or looking at photography and/or art when it happens.
You are right on with the weird thing. Anything to jolt you out of your box stirs up the creativity. It doen’t mean you will write about the weird, it just adds something weird to what you already write about. Usually a different angle or look.