I started this blog in 2011 and did nothing for a year except read all the books on creativity. It was research for a manifesto, but the more I read, the more fascinated I became with the subject. After another 5 years of freelancing, building digital products and working as a creative professional (my income comes from things I make and sell), I’m now excited to dive back in… I divided the treatise into three separate projects. A short guide on creative courage; a longer one on writing under the influence, and then something about the nature of creative work (diving deeper into the ideas of Art and Quality and Value).
I’m starting from scratch, and in addition to pulling from the history of literature, fiction and philosophy, I want to make sure I’m up to speed on the latest news in the field of creativity and brain science. These are the books I picked up; I’ll review each, then create a master post here.
The foundation for my creative ideology is this: make things of value to other people. Some of these books agree in principle – others are completely opposed. This isn’t a tepid subject, many creatives have passionate beliefs that are integral to their creative process.
In my own work, I used to say procrastination comes from not knowing what’s next; or from fear you’ll never be able to finish it; or that people won’t like it. I’ve discovered however, I often can’t force myself to sit down and do the work (but want to learn – half of the creative battle is just doing the work). On the other hand, SOMETIMES when I allow myself to get carried away on something I enjoy – you couldn’t pull me away from the work; I can sit for 10 hours and forget to pee.
Since my income, platform and the amount of value I’m sharing depends on getting more, better work done, I’m covetous of any productivity boosting tips or strategies or supplements that unleash the creative fury. So I’ll spend the next few weeks researching and reviewing, and I’ll share my thoughts on these books specifically, then cumulatively, to suggest where we stand in 2018 on the topic of creativity.
I’m a philosophy dropout with a PhD in Literature. I covet a cabin full of cats, where I can write fantasy novels to pay for my cake addiction. Sometimes I live in castles.
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