In Others’ Words: Creativity

Often when I’m trying to be creative — write a scene in my work-in-progress, for example — I strangle my muse because, well, I’m trying.

I haul out all the techniques I’ve learned to write a strong, compelling scene. And then I back my scene up against the virtual wall because I’m trying so very hard to be creative.

There is a time for remembering the rules. And there is a time for surrendering control — all the Do’s and the Don’t's, the Musts and Mustn’t's — and letting creativity flow.

Sometimes I block my creativity with a litany of “I can’t's” — an odd sort of way of controlling what I produce. Saying “I can’t” over and over again saves me from the embarrassment of failure — and the satisfaction of any sort of success too. Too often I forget that creativity doesn’t have to be perfect.

In Your Words: When do you feel the most creative — when you are in control or when you surrender? When was the last time you experienced a time of creativity?

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