Recently, on more than one occasion, I've found myself in the curious state of being curious about curiosity. Wondering, what would we have without it? For it is curiosity that births creativity, and creativity that offers the unique ability to transform ideas into something innovative, to help us perceive the world in a different way. It transpires in countless forms, whether writing, art, and cooking, or aircraft engineering, vaccination development, and legal counseling. But where does it come from? How is it developed? What must we do to bring it to fruition?
A while back, I read a captivating book called Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love). In the section titled "Enchantment," Gilbert writes about how, in her opinion, ideas are akin to living entities.
“Ideas are a disembodied, energetic life-form. They are completely separate from us, but capable of interacting with us," though at times in unusual ways. “The only way an idea can be made manifest in our world is through collaboration with a human partner. Therefore, ideas spend eternity swirling around us, searching for available and willing human partners.”
When this occurs, said human might absorb the idea slowly, over time, or she might be gobsmacked, tossing her business suit out the board room window and racing home to her wood workshop. Either way, there is an essential knowing that this is important, that this we must embrace, must usher into our lives... or it just might go missing, Gilbert explains.
When I read this section in Gilbert's book, I thought, yes! Yes, ideas do often appear in my life as if by magic! It might be something minor, like having just the right character name occur to me while moseying the aisles of the grocery, or it can drop in with a shebang, outlining an entire plot for a book!
However, far more than the stemming of ideas, creativity is a skill that must be both honored and honed in order to turn an idea into reality.
Amor Towles, author of best-selling novels including The Lincoln Highway, said in a recent CBS interview that he knew he was a writer since second grade. But after college, Towles instead entered into a finance career, and writing went to the wayside.
“You should assume that your life as writer is over, now that you’re working on Wall Street,” Towles was told by a colleague.
And for a while, it was. In fact, it took Towles two decades before he actually sat down to write a book – yet he did it. And again. And again. All of them bestsellers.
Just how is it that our lives become so diverted, even though many of us already know "who we are meant to be" or "what we are meant to do?" Expectation, called out my logical brain. Responsibility! Safety…
Yet, I argued against myself, if you embrace expectation and responsibility and safety over navigating your way along a rocky trail, one that ultimately leads to inconceivably stunning views, views that leave harmoniousness echoing throughout your entire being, can you ever truly experience absolute gratification? Gratification attained because you listened, you acted, and you saw it through to the end.
Ah... I have so many questions!
Therefore, I made a decision to use my blog as an opportunity to get to the stuffing of other people's experiences as they took their work from curiosity to fruition. Creatives who aren't the Elizabeth Gilbert or Amor Towles of the writing world, but ones whose work is equally as important, and in many cases equally deserving of recognition.
My blog is called, "Originality: conversations about books and art with innovative indies." To begin, I’ll be interviewing authors (of course!) and artists. First up (coming soon!) is an interview with Toronto-based novelist Rachel Stone, author of The Blue Iris, who shares the meaning behind her novel and why she, like Towles, stepped away from a successful career to pen a novel, a decision that changed her health and her life.
I hope that you enjoy this upcoming blog series, and as always, thanks for reading!
Hugs,
Brenda
Be clear. Be proactive. Be intentional. Be passionate. Be creative. Believe!
Brenda K. Massman is the author of the novel, Yet, Here We Are. Visit her website at brendakmassman.com.
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