How To Be Creative

MYTHS ABOUT CREATIVITY

We all have ideas about what makes you creative and some of these ideas are myths. Unfortunately some people believe these myths and these beliefs can stop people writing.  So I am going to talk about three of the most common myths.

 MYTH 1 – YOU CAN TELL A CREATIVE PERSON BY LOOKING AT THEM.

This is simply not true – you can be as conservative or controversial as you like. Most writers just look like everyone else.

It is not necessary to wear a quirky hat, drape yourself in a floaty cape made from your grandmother’s curtains, or use a long cigarette holder.

You don’t even have to smoke and it is certainly not necessary to carry a yellowing, well-thumbed manuscript in a battered old briefcase everywhere you go, but you can if you want to…

MAGIC WRITING TEA

You don’t have to use a certain pen or computer, or sit in a certain place, or drink a special tea or coffee.

You don’t even need a room with a view! In fact, none of these things will help you write and none of them will stop you.

How you dress, how you act, and the tools you use, are entirely up to you. So just be yourself and write.

Of course, if being you means the floaty cape and battered briefcase then that is fine, but just remember it’s all about the writing.

MYTH 2 – YOU HAVE TO BE BORN CREATIVE TO BE CREATIVE.

Now, this is a big one and yes, there is no doubt that there are some who were lucky enough to be born into a house where our mother’s books filled shelves, and our father’s paintings lined the walls; where dinner conversation was filled with wit and astute observation, our grandmother played the harp in the hall, and then, there’s the rest of us, or let’s face it, most of us – including me.

So, forget all that. If you want to write – write! You may have been born into the most creative household ever, but unless you are regularly sitting down and getting those words on the page – all you will ever be is a creative person – who never created a thing!

 MYTH 3 – THE ART OF FICTION DIED WITH THE LATE, GREAT, CLASSICAL AUTHORS.

Some people believe that art no longer exists, that contemporary writers cannot be compared to their predecessors and that what they write cannot be considered art.

Yet, the writers of yesterday were subjected to these very same judgments. We tend to look at the past through rose-tinted glasses.

A hundred years ago, critics thought the best writing came from the previous century and so on.

None of this is true. Of course, today’s writing is different and so it should be. Today’s writing reflects the change in our language and pace of life. The best writing reflects honestly how the writer perceives the world around them.

BE COMMITTED

As long as the writer is true to him, or herself, is committed to the work, and writes only about things they care about, then what they write will be art.

There’s lots more about how to be a writer here.

Best of luck with your writing

Grace

P.S. All the exercises and information is provided free for you.  All I ask is that if you like it, share it, or even leave a comment in the box. I love hearing from other writers and I do my best to reply to everyone.