Mysterious Flame

In an amazing mashup between Bird by Bird and The War of Art, my friend Jeff Goins wrote week before last about what to do when you’re feeling uninspired, and how important it is to recognize the difference between “blocked” and “empty.”

• One may be a real case of the Resistance — your own laziness, outside distractions, or some other negative force keeping you from making a difference. If that’s the case, then you only have one choice: show up, do the work.

• However, if you’re feeling empty, be careful. You could waste hours sitting in front of a computer screen or with a guitar on your lap. If this is the case, you may need to step away and go do something that fills you up — play with your kids, listen to music, go for a run. But don’t be fooled; Resistance is still waiting to snatch you up at the earliest possible moment.

Once you’re full again, get right back at it. Start creating and continue working through the Resistance.

What do you do when you’re feeling uninspired? And how do you tell the difference between feeling blocked and being empty?

I can’t help but be reminded of the two main practices put forth in The Artist’s Way: The Morning Pages and The Artist’s Dates. The former is more about sending signals (to yourself, ultimately) and the latter is about refilling the well, restocking the pond. (The Morning Pages do a lot to get the junk out of your system so you can focus on being creative the rest of the day.) The Artist Dates leave you feeling energized.

In my experience, the artist dates are best done as something silly or childishly fun. Go buy a grape NeHi, a comic book, and sit under a tree reading on a sunny afternoon. Or spend lunch break doing nothing on a hill overlooking a pond, just enjoying the sunshine and decompressing naturally. It’s all about reconnecting with that playful inner artist-child we all have.

It’s little wonder that the creatives at ad agencies tend to have little toys all around their desk. (I once had a coworker with quite a collection of Homies.)

It’s important to take the time to nourish your creativity.

How do you refill the well?

I recently discovered that an old friend is writing a novel and blogging about it. I don’t know what his novel is about just yet, but I’m excited for him! Too many people put off writing their novel or whatever other ambitious creative project they have.

Today he approached the blank textarea of his blog with nothing in mind to write about, and apparently nothing really came to him. Yet he hit publish anyway. He shipped. Like 37Signals says in their book ReWork, “It’s better to ship a kick-ass half than a half-assed whole.”

A few months ago my friend Patrick Rhone posted Not Writing.” It’s a riff on pretty much the same thing. It may not be great writing, but you’re putting something down instead of waiting around for inspiration to strike. Luck — inspiration, in our case — favors the prepared: you prepare for inspiration by jotting stuff down. In short, embrace quantity over quality. The quality comes on its own. You’ve just gotta show the Muse you’re ready for it by working hard on your craft all the time. It’s why an artist doodles aimlessly, a musician strums random chords and makes up vulgar nonsense lyrics, and a writer jots down drivel. Because eventually, out of that comes something beautiful.

When this arrived in the mail Saturday, I recognized the box with the giant question mark right away. Then I saw that it was guest-edited by J.J. Abrams! It’s a great issue, and while I haven’t finished all of it, I’ve really enjoyed reading it, probably more than I really ought to. In true Abrams fashion, here are all kinds of little things hidden throughout the magazine. Plus there’s a fun article he wrote that talks about spoilers. Interesting tidbit from that article that I didn’t know: Abrams and Greg Grunberg (yep, the guy who plays Matt Parkman on Heroes) were roommates 20 years ago, and tried desperately to beat Super Mario Brothers 2.

It’s so good I stayed up til 1 am reading it. (And I meant to go to bed about 11:30…)

Anyway, go check it out and get yourself a copy. You’ll be entertained and have that creative noodle tickled. Plus, the whole issue is chock-full of Futura and sports a different graphic style, quite a departure for Wired. I don’t know if it’s intended to be unique to the issue or if it’s the way they’ll do things for the next ten issues or so, but it’s a pretty interesting departure for the mag.

Again, go read it. You won’t be disappointed.

I’m sure you know Paul McCartney as a singer and song-writer. But did you know the ex-Beatle also paints?

A few years ago, I got the book Paul McCartney: Paintings. He does these big, expressive, semi-abstract pieces that have a sort of visceral effect, with lots of drips and runs. Very much influenced by Willem de Kooning’s abstract expressionism.

With all his talent, even Paul McCartney can get stuck. In Paintings, he shares a fun, creative little strategy he has devised for dealing with stuckness. Read the rest of this entry »

The act of definition is where everything begins — how you define things determines everything else. Everything that follows an initial definition is dependent upon that first definition. Take philosophy, for example: the fundamental question (and subsequent definition) of “What is good?” is the foundation of philosophy. Furthermore, your answer or definition of that very question establishes a framework for your own philosophy, and gives great insight into your own psychology (what makes you tick).

Clear definitions are important no matter what your discipline is. Whether you’re a physicist, a financier, or a construction worker — it is imperative to have clearly defined standards that ensure that everyone is on the same page. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking to a thousand people or just outlining something for yourself. When things are well-defined, goals and actions are clear to everyone involved.

I think everyone agrees that clear definitions are important in communicating with other people. But what about communicating with yourself? Elsewhere, I’ve talked about how important it is to write down your goals, to plan things out. Defining your goals, tasks, dreams, and standards keeps you on track. It gives you a road map. It’s useful for people like me who are easily distracted by the path of least resistance.

Build a framework

So as an artist, what sort of things should you define? Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

• What is art?
  What is my definition of art? What’s my definition of my art?
• What makes a piece of art good?
  It all boils down to Plato’s original question.
• When is a piece finished?
  At what point do I generally quit working on a piece and declare it finished?
• Do I want to sell my art?
• How much money should I ask for when selling a piece?
  What will cover expenses, time, and profit?
• What are my materials?
  Will I limit myself to one particular medium or tool or technique, or will I experiment with a variety of materials?
• What is the scope of my market?
  Should my aim be broader or narrower? More local or national, or international?
• What are my career goals as an artist?
  What does success look like to me?

Of course, a lot of these are answered along the way, but keep in mind that the clearer these things become, the better you’re able to set goals and meet them. Try to steer clear of jargon, but be as concrete and concise as you can. If you can explain it to a child or someone who doesn’t know anything about art, you’ve done your job. And remember to be flexible in your definitions, as they will surely change over time. In fact, it’s probably a good idea to evaluate these definitions at least once a year as part of a personal annual review, where you get the 30,000-foot perspective of things.

What are your definitions?

So here’s your homework: Set aside some disruption-free time to sit down and define these things. It may take a day or two to think everything through. Define whatever else you feel needs defining. You may have a successful career and life without defining these things, but you’re likely to do things haphazardly and sloppily, wasting time pursuing dead ends. Just remember: creating definition creates clarity and focus, and clarity and focus create tangible results.