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The fragility of creativity
Opinion: Because Natasha Beddingfield isn't the only one who can write about this kind of thing.
Recently I was watching an episode of Mad Men where three of the characters were discussing an idea for a new ad campaign. One of the more junior creative types was striking out, while the other explained, reluctantly, that he had had a great idea but didn’t write it down, so lost it. His boss, ad genius and ladies favourite Don Draper, looked intently at him as if he was about to chew him out, and then said, with frustration in his voice, “I hate it when that happens”.
I can’t claim to have too much in common with Don Draper, but on this we’re in lockstep. It can be frustrating being one of the aforementioned creative types at the best of times. Some of that frustration is external, as you inevitably get people who mistake dabbling in the non-tangible arts as simply lounging around. Most of it is internal though, as getting a good creative patch is like going to the motor tax office: they both work in annoyingly short windows of time.
On average, for every day you have where you couldn’t stop the ideas flowing if held at knife point, you get maybe five where the whole process is more akin to starting a Triumph Acclaim. Of those five, you can get decent work out of four of them if you stick to it, but at least one is a complete write-off.
For the last few days, I’ve been rooted firmly in the Triumph Acclaim zone. I’ve done something I haven’t done since my college assignment days: stare at the screen for two minutes, type a little bit, check the word count, stare at the screen again, and generally repeat the same process. It’s not, what’s the word I’m looking for here, fun.
Worse yet though can be when you have an idea and it just...leaves you. It often happens as soon as you put pen to paper/ digits to keyboard, almost as if the idea cannot exist anywhere but in the ether, and the very attempt to summon it causes it to disperse.
For all the annoying side effects the creative process can cause though, with its china-in-your-hand qualities, those wonderful days where an idea pops into your head and it all comes together make it totally worthwhile. So rather than lament the absence of inspiration, I always welcome it when it shows up.
