Being a Creator

Creating is more work than consuming 

Ask anyone who creates. A movie can take months of filming with work on costumes, set design, script all before the camera rolls, then there's the editing and special effects, all for a flick that lasts less than two hours. Just watch an Lord of the Rings bonus features and you'll see the colossal effort of many people.

Writing is a special kind of creation 

While it takes little more than a computer and some ideas--a small investment comparatively speaking--writing does require a whole lot of time. And that's where people get stuck. My best years of writing were when my kids were little, our schedules were more free and no one had to go to school in the morning. I'd write late into the night and let my kids eat cold cereal for breakfast as I pried my eyes open in the wee hours of the morning--around nine a.m..

How to be a Creator

Have a vision. Creative beings start with a vision, what they want to accomplish in their creative session. This may be in the form of an outline, an idea, or a desired outcome. Having a vision is essential to creation. 

Give yourself permission to be creative. We live in a logical world. What we do must bring results. Creativity doesn't usually come with a huge monetary reward. But creativity brings us a different payout: happiness. Often we forget it. And sometimes we worry. We worry no one will like what we create. Look at children who are natural creators, look at how happy they are. They aren't worried about whether anyone will like what they create. They create because it comes from their heart. Dismiss worries, eye rolls and critics. CREATE!

Brew your thoughts. Creators have to have time for their thoughts to ferment. To others it may look a lot like daydreaming. 

Exercise your creative muscles. Let your mind wander, imagine what if, create space in your life to think about fun things. Sometimes I use pockets of time when I'm doing chores, driving or other mindless activities to ponder things I want to create.

Create. Now do it. Carve out time to move into fruition all your ideas. At first they may not all work out, but as you practice, it becomes better.

Share. I heard a story about a man who'd written nearly twenty novels but had never shared them with anyone. This story makes me sad. I create to share. To inspire. To heal. 

Last, be patient with those who are creative. If you are married to a creator, bless you! You know how chaotic creating can be. My house is usually messy, my life littered with little pieces of paper where I caught a spark of passing creativity. My life sometimes gets placed on hold while I work out some inspired thought. I want a sign that says, Forgive the mess, I'm creating today.