This is for all those creative souls who wander around in their own universe
bringing light into the darkness.
One of my Twitter friends started a storm in my brain yesterday. I just kept wondering how many people out there are like me. Unconventional and a little different... (Shout out to the #writingcommunity)
I am a lover of moonlight, magnolia blossoms, and soft southern rain on the roof. Spring days that smell like sunshine and the vague scent of honeysuckle floating on the air.
I love the roll and flow of city traffic. The noisy chaos and smell of the city and the night skylines.
I love history. The plight and resolution of all that came before. I am a daydreamer, a believer... A person who will tell you "Half empty or half full doesn't matter... Just fill the damn thing up again. It works that way."
I am a mother, well pleased with the result of her hard work and sacrifice. I am a grandmother. I am a writer, a journalist, a seeker of knowledge.
I am a writer. I allow myself to absorb these things and enjoy the aura they leave behind in my spirit.
I am also obsessive. I want to finish the whole book tonight! Breakfast is highly overrated, coffee will do. Boiled eggs and cheese for lunch and making dinner is an unnecessary interruption. I wait so long, it is a race to the restroom. Crazy? Perhaps, but I have found there are a lot of us out there...
The science is in and all agree that creative people think differently than the accepted mainstream of society. Some of the traits we share are awesome and some... not so awesome and there's the rub.
We are always redefining what is possible. We question everything. While it satisfies most people to take things at face value, creative people are always questioning those accepted norms and are not at all afraid to place their own perceived value on what is important and what is not.
Creative people are sometimes introverted, preferring the authentic company of the few over the chaotic normal social gatherings and atmosphere. Especially today when the world is at our fingertips and we can quench the thirst for knowledge with a stroke of the mouse, and the tap of a keyboard.
There are periods of productivity. I call my personal times, “on a roll.” When I am on a roll, I want isolation. I don’t answer my phone. I am alone in a world of my creation and it is always the most magnificent place to be. A place I am reluctant to leave, even for a moment. A place I must struggle to return to, once I have been interrupted. I love these days, they are what gives me a passion for the craft or maybe my passion for the craft gives me these days. Either way, the result is the same. Wonder.
Then there are downtimes, procrastination... Days where the magic won’t come and no matter how hard you reach for it... it is elusive. I believe both states are probably essential to the creative mind. It is almost like an inevitable cycle that winds itself again into the thralls of the creative flow. I read that ‘creative flow’ is the most addictive state. I don't know about that, but I know these moments cannot be explained to someone who does not experience them. These moments must be lived.
Creative people are intuitive, focus intensely and feel deeply. They are sensitive souls and experience the world through a different lens. Like the eyes of a child, many hold onto that sense of wonder, always learning, always questioning the world around them. In a way it sustains creativity. Refills the well when it threatens to run dry in a world in which they don’t function as others think they should.
Yet, some writers are very pragmatic. Approach everything in a concise and structured way... and that works for them. Some excellent storytellers are of this guild. We are individuals with different echelons of creativity, different tastes and different ways to manage. There is magic though, and we see it. We chase it and we bring it to the world.
Sometimes relationships are hard. It takes a special person to love and support someone who lives much of the time in their own minds. Creative people are often struggling on the edges of joy and sorrow. They have a hard time believing in themselves and the same people are at times super confident in their abilities and opinions. In the long run, it doesn’t matter, they’ll risk it anyway.
Life is about experience, mystery, and adventure for them. Creative people perch high on that ledge, work in bursts, live in a world of their own and they are in love with it!
“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.” – Ray Bradbury
My personal favorite because I love Albert Einstein... “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein
Write Every Day!