Hello and welcome to the very first of my weekly blogs.
These brief, but to the point, blogs will delve deep into the creative process and the reasons for being creative. I will share practical ideas and methods, philosophy and psychology, personal stories and inspiring insights. To create is to behave in a natural human way. A plant flowers, a bird feathers, we create.
Blog no.1 – Just do it
I often get asked how to start being creative and how to make a work of art, a piece of music, how to launch a workshop, etc. This is a huge question full of different nuances and needing many, many answers. Having said that, the key to doing anything is just do it. This sounds a very simple answer and almost a cop out but it’s fundamental to creating anything.
The worst thing you can do is say you are going to do something and then not do anything about it. This is called procrastination. “But” I hear you say “surely you have to work out how to do something before you do it?” Yes, there is a degree of planning and dreaming for anything, but if you don’t actually do it then that is all a waste of time. Also the best way to learn to do something is to actually do it. Walk into the wood and find a path. If there isn’t one already there, then make one.
Recently I recorded my first solo guitar album of my compositions. I had no idea how to record. I learnt how to do it as I did it. Through lots of trial and error, and lots of research and asking questions to those in the know I learnt how to do it as I recorded. You can learn lots of theory on how to ride a bike, but until you actually get on one and try it, theory doesn’t turn the wheels. A baby doesn’t read a manual on how to walk before trying. The baby tries to walk and gets lots of help from their parents whilst doing so. You can get lots of help and inspiration whilst you try working on your creative project. People love helping those who ask for help.
So to sum up. Don’t spend hours upon hours learning the theory of something before you do it, like reading lots of books on how to draw. Start drawing and look at the books at the same time as you do it. Dreaming, theorising, planning, studying, and trial and error all go on at the same time as you create. Errors are actually insightful instances of knowledge experienced through the practice of doing. A better name for errors is experience.
Don’t procrastinate.
Instead, create.
