The Gaping Maw of Genius

We sometimes get this idea that creator are geniuses who create things out of nothing, that they came from nowhere. This is actually never true. I tend to dislike the word “genius” for precisely this reason. It grants this weird status to people who basically never deserve it.

To me, a genius is someone who is able to make connections that other people don’t make. This means that geniuses tend to be people with broad interests. As much as it can be tempting to tell creative types to focus on one craft, there is an important element of creativity that needs to be fed and it is vastly hungry. It needs all kinds of food.

If you’re a writer, don’t just read books. Which isn’t to say you don’t need to worry about reading books. You do. Read and read and read. But also watch TV, watch movies, read newspapers or other journalism, read non-fiction. And then when you’re done with that, go to a museum and look at sculptures. Learn about painting. Study the history of fashion. Learn about the history of musical instruments. Do some archeology if you can. Go birdwatching. Enjoy nature. Exercise. Become obsessed with something completely different from your art. Love animals. Love people.

You may not feel like you’re doing anything. You may feel like you’re being lazy and that you’re just “enjoying” yourself. This is what a lot of people may be tempted to tell you you are doing. But you’re not. You’re filling the gaping maw of genius.

If you want to create, you begin somewhere. All the great musicians, artists, and writers—they all built on the shoulders of those who went before. They didn’t invent something out of nothing. They put two things together that no one had put together before. Or three things. Or eight. Or fifty.

So when you’re not working at what you’re working on, don’t beat yourself up. You ARE working on it.

When you look around and think that what you’re doing is derivative crap, well yes. It all is. That’s what genius is. Derivative crap seen rather more kindly. Or perhaps derivative crap that has just one moment of brilliance that raises it above other derivative crap.

The idea that we all want to be geniuses seems to me to be missing the point. The genius as this solitary individual is a crock. Geniuses tend to have groups of other geniuses they work with. Guess why? Because they inspire each other. They steal from each other, if you will. They bring each other the best of many, many things. And they talk about and stimulate each other.

If you want to be a genius, don’t sit in an ivory tower. Find a bunch of people who love what you love. And guess what? You’ll make each other geniuses.