In his endlessly fascinating book, Mason Currey gives us a peak into the inner motivations of writers, artists, and other creative types.
One of my favorite shows is “In Depth” on Book TV. And my favorite part of that show is where we are given access to the writing spaces of the featured author. Having watched that show for many years confirms that no two writers have the same pattern. Every writer (or creative type) is unique. Currey also makes this plain in his wonderfully wrought book.
Here a few, other things I took away from reading Currey’s book:
*The power of good habits and the struggle to develop them!
*Creative folks must create. There is a drive, even compulsion to do so.
*It is wise to have a steady means of income as it is difficult, especially at first, to make a living in the creative arena.
*Find your own voice because no one else has it!
I have a little trouble characterizing people as either creative or non-creative types. The first chapters of Genesis make it clear that one of God’s principal characteristics is his creativity, and we are all created in his image. The difference in people is primarily whether they exercise that God-given talent or let it lie dormant.
I have even more trouble characterizing only certain fields of endeavor as creative and others as not (as implied in the author’s comment that creative people may have trouble making a living). Once at work we hired an ad firm to come up with a brochure showing all the innovative research developments that our laboratory had come up with. When some of us questioned the approach that the ad firm was pursuing, we were told, “Why don’t you just leave that to the creative people to handle.”
Great points Dave! Makes a lot of sense…