Kootenai River in NW Montana, near Canadian Border

Kootenai River in NW Montana, near Canadian Border
photo by Gene Tunick of Eureka, Montana

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Tip O'Day #319 - Creativity

Guest blogger Ben Drake on creativity.

Solitude helps me deal with writers block. I like to go to my summer home on the lake. If it is winter I like to go to my ski cabin in Aspen and be alone to await inspiration.

I’m pretty sure that the BS has never came flying out of my mouth at a faster rate. No, for me it’s about finding a way to escape. Unfortunately, life sometimes prevents our escaping to the home in Aspen or the lake house. Also the fact that I own neither of these things plays a pretty big part. No, I seek inspiration in everything. The only problem is, sometimes I forget how to do it.

I must have my escape. The poor man in me likes music to be that escape. It’s funny how many times I get caught up in life and forget to use my escape, or how I actually go about doing it. Sometimes at work I have to be “retrained” on how to do the same old job. I have to retrain myself to be creative. I may listen to classic metal, or country songs, sometimes classical music on its own. With each kind of music, I listen for the beat and the harmony. How anyone can listen to Beethoven and not get inspired, I have no idea. Eventually it will come. It always does.

The single most important thing that I do is to turn off that damn TV.

2 comments:

  1. I agree that real life interferes with creativity and enjoyment of life. But I find that the internet and tv and music and conversation and exercise all have at some point given me ideas and inspired me. Quiet is nice but rarely works for me. I love how we all are so different. Hope you can get to one of special places soon.

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    1. Thanks. Yeah we are all different. I'm pretty sure I've heard some where that you lose iq points by watching to much tv. I definitely agree that interaction with people and different experiences gives us are platform for writing. What I was trying to say is that I really need solitude and music to help me better express my self once I get that insperation. Which is probably the reason why I don't write novels.

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