Getting into an open and creative mode.

I just watched this lecture with John Cleese  and he formalized ideas I have been lightly touching at.

The lecture is about being creative.  How, do you get yourself to be creative?  Where does it come from?

If you’ve got the time, it would be great to watch the thole thing, if not here’s a short version.  No one knows how to be creative or how to make themselves be creative on a whim.  At best you can create a situation in which you are open to creativity.

Those ideas that spawn in opening a thought that you hadn’t had, are usually a product of a few conditions.  One, you have spent the time to lay a mental framework to an open mind around the situation.  Two, you allow yourself to be free to play and ponder, without bogging ideas down with pressure to be ‘right’ or ‘fast’.

He recommends setting a time, like an hour and a half, to practice getting and  holding this ‘Open mode’.  Then get used to moving to a ‘Closed mode’ when it comes to implementation.

This is extremely close to my view on training up those creative thought. Which isn’t an easy thing for me.

I would add a stipulation that it helps to first have a certain degree of understanding of a subject.  So, if you are trying to come up with a creative play in chess.  You’ll have to understand the game well enough to know that what you have come up with is something.

Talking about something that is inherently ambiguous.

The Idea Channel, on YouTube is one I happily subscribe too.  Lately the little man in my head that critically listens to everything that I pay attention to, has been making a fuss at their new videos.  This little man isn’t nice or mean he’s just a builder.  Looking at each idea like a new part to fit in a whole.

The builder touches and considers where this would fit in the structure of my thoughts. If needed, he’ll test it to see how to see if it can fix more then one hole.  So while listening to a lecture, like the amazing one by Brandon Sanderson, he’ll take each idea and see what I can it for and trashing the obvious or redundant.

During the video, “Are MP3s & Vinyl Better then Live?“, he yelled and screamed. These ideas are all caught on one major problem that is never brought up, leaving it lacking the structure to securely fit and cover any hole. The problem of Definitions.

‘Better’ is the real problem in the video and it’s why there is so much of a debate.  Mr. Mike Rugnetta, never even tries,and so just circles around and around, to define ‘better’.

In specific case, if we define better as ‘More accurate representation of the sound produced by the vocalist and/or instrument’ we can make some conclusions.   Vinyl would be out, since it adds sounds and looses quality. A very high bit rate MP3, one that might as well not even be compressed, could have better then a Vinyl. Both MP3’s and Vinyl are altered by sound engineers. So, under this definition live and unplugged would be better.

Problems like this happen all over: “What is better apple or pc?”, “Is it better to have a person play the piano or a robot who recorded a persons movements?”, “Which game is better?”

The ‘better’ isn’t the only ambiguous term: “Is it love or lust?”, “Small businesses are the big job creators.”

I particularly enjoy the last one. Is a small, the mom and pop store down the street worth around $500,000 or Walmart?

It’s not about being right.  Words mean what we want them to.  It’s about being clear.  So audience knows what YOU mean with the words you use.

 

Here’s the video:

Timing, when is enough, enough.

I have multiple projects in the works.  Most of them are on time limits.

This blog is daily. I’ve got me HelpMeNotSuck channel that is also daily. There is only so much time I can put into each piece.

So there is a point at which I have to say ‘ok this post isn’t exactly right but it’s at a point where I am comfortable’.  I’ll later look back and find more and more I can tweak.

These, mostly small, mistakes scratch on my mind.  What keeps me going is the times I looking further back.  Back when I was completely new to this.  At that time my errors were much larger.  Slowly my quality average is increasing.

Could be that is just something I am telling my self.

I do feel this is a significant part of working on anything.  Things are just never done.  My novel will never look complete and whole. I’ll just have to get it somewhere that I can accept it.

Not a new thought.  Neither is the realization that simply knowing there is no end doesn’t stop me from wanting to try and get there and being annoyed sometimes at how far away it seems.

Fallowing the curve is not so obvious.

This is the Curve to the story of Star Wars “A New Hope”.  It could be used as a rough template for pacing just about anything.

“The Curve”

The thought of using  “The Curve” in as many aspects of a project as possible, down to it’s smallest part, is one I have always wanted to do. By god, it is much tougher then it sounds.

Right now I am writing up a review for one of the youtube channels I contribute too(http://www.youtube.com/user/fairgamereviews). My thoughts are all down and organized. Now, I am trying to find the curve.

The questions I am considering to try and find what is driving this reviews pacing: Is it an intensity curve? Maybe and excitement curve? How can a ratchet up the viewers interest/emotion?  What would be the peek?

At this point I am not actually sure I can do it.  The practice will make it easier for me to see it next time. If  just a bit of my intent is successful.  It’ll improve the piece immensely.

For a full explanation to “The Curve” check out this video “Pacing” by Extra Credits.

Exformation is something I am just so bad at.

My schooling has been set in the logical and methodical.  So the art of leaving out information is just so far out of my current understanding.

I always complain about my lack of inherent skill in anything.  Art is something you shouldn’t be able to methodically or systematically try to understand.  However, as I look more and more, while trying to flex and increase my creative muscles, I have come to an idea that, the art is in the exformation.

While writing or making a video, I tend to do what my training has taught me.  I explain everything clearly and without room for interpretation.  Where a good author may say, “Jim was near the wood bowl”.  This isn’t a particularly inspiring sentence.  I would end up describing where the bowl is using a point of reference and or point of origin.

Might be an exaggeration,  maybe It’s not that bad.  Sometimes I will find myself 3 sentences in only to think, “Why does the bowl even matter” or “What if they don’t understand the metric system”.

The art is in the exformation.  The single important line that drives the whole painting or drawing.  It’s he ability to take but still be clear leaves.  The space is for people to fill with something from inside themselves making it resonate.

This is the idea I want to rule my art.   For a wonderful explenation of the word check out Zefrank’s Piece.

Making ideas ok.

While writing I’ll catch myself thinking, I know this isn’t the best idea. Writing a scene I’ll find myself spelling things out more then I think I should.  Then I’ll happen on a book and notice, hey they did it to.  For better or worst this is an ‘All OK” for and I’ll be let critical of that particular fault.

Now I am sure this idea wouldn’t work for every problem, but hey when drafting the lest things bogging my mind down the better.

I can still feel the hesitation to say things I don’t think I’d ever do or say. The thought that, ‘hey, if I am coming up with the ideas.  It is possible that at some point I would do or say something like that”.   I am coming to terms with the concept that, as more of what I could imagine someone else is capable of rather then an idea deep in my own mind.

For example, if a person held a gun up in front of me, I could imagine them firing.  That doesn’t imply that I would be able to do the same.  I don’t believe I would kill my self or someone else.  While reading I never consider the kind of author that would think of an idea like that.  So I try to cut myself some slack and just keep going.