Thanks, another chunk of wise writing. I think what you're identifying is here is part of a wider challenge which is that we need to be quite careful in our diagnosis of what a problem is before getting to solutions. A lot of therapists say that "the presenting problem is never the problem". I also identify with the value (some kind of) stability and routine in supporting creativity. It's way too easy in our culture to conflate creativity with stimulus, excitement, brightly coloured post-it notes, all kinds of "storming" that can actually crowd out the space and perhaps boredom that often leads to good ideas.
Thanks, Johnnie. And you are so right about how easy it is to crowd out the space and boredom that's necessary for creative thinking. It's something that I've been mulling over for the last couple of years, to be honest. I genuinely feel that I've been so stuck on getting Ada Lovelace Day functioning financially, with greater and lesser levels of success, that I've become quite a boring, unfunny and uncreative person. And that's not just uncreative in terms of my writing, but in terms of everything from the conversations I have to the way I even conceive of Ada Lovelace Day and my broader career. It's so, so easy to get stuck in a rut, but very hard to clamber out. As you say, we so often mistake the presenting problem for the actual problem, and it rarely is.
Financial stability is absolutely critical. I also think that even schedule stability can play a role. I know that you don't have to write every day in order to be a writer, but I find that, for me at least, when I write every (work) day, I generate a kind of momentum that is really hard to get when I write once a week or "whenever I can find the time". Some days I get in there and write a thousand words an hour, and some days I stare at the screen for an hour, but on those days I try to remember that if I keep showing up and apply bum to seat the muse will (eventually) arrive...
I absolutely agree! And even if you're not writing, the back of your brain is still working on it. I'm definitely better and get more done when I do a bit each day, rather than try to save it up for a bit session on the weekend, which always turns into a small session anyway, because weekends seem to fill up with other things. It's like learning a language. A daily habit will get you there faster than a weekly binge.
I wish I could embed images in comments, but this is apropos:
Absolutely right. From experience, I know you have to be stable and of reasonably sound mind to bear up under the demands of a professional artistic career.
Thanks, another chunk of wise writing. I think what you're identifying is here is part of a wider challenge which is that we need to be quite careful in our diagnosis of what a problem is before getting to solutions. A lot of therapists say that "the presenting problem is never the problem". I also identify with the value (some kind of) stability and routine in supporting creativity. It's way too easy in our culture to conflate creativity with stimulus, excitement, brightly coloured post-it notes, all kinds of "storming" that can actually crowd out the space and perhaps boredom that often leads to good ideas.
Thanks, Johnnie. And you are so right about how easy it is to crowd out the space and boredom that's necessary for creative thinking. It's something that I've been mulling over for the last couple of years, to be honest. I genuinely feel that I've been so stuck on getting Ada Lovelace Day functioning financially, with greater and lesser levels of success, that I've become quite a boring, unfunny and uncreative person. And that's not just uncreative in terms of my writing, but in terms of everything from the conversations I have to the way I even conceive of Ada Lovelace Day and my broader career. It's so, so easy to get stuck in a rut, but very hard to clamber out. As you say, we so often mistake the presenting problem for the actual problem, and it rarely is.
Moore's Law of Ruts states: you only realise how deep they are, once you get out of them!
Financial stability is absolutely critical. I also think that even schedule stability can play a role. I know that you don't have to write every day in order to be a writer, but I find that, for me at least, when I write every (work) day, I generate a kind of momentum that is really hard to get when I write once a week or "whenever I can find the time". Some days I get in there and write a thousand words an hour, and some days I stare at the screen for an hour, but on those days I try to remember that if I keep showing up and apply bum to seat the muse will (eventually) arrive...
I absolutely agree! And even if you're not writing, the back of your brain is still working on it. I'm definitely better and get more done when I do a bit each day, rather than try to save it up for a bit session on the weekend, which always turns into a small session anyway, because weekends seem to fill up with other things. It's like learning a language. A daily habit will get you there faster than a weekly binge.
I wish I could embed images in comments, but this is apropos:
https://twitter.com/ironcladcreate/status/1541460319922429953
Absolutely right. From experience, I know you have to be stable and of reasonably sound mind to bear up under the demands of a professional artistic career.