Received Wisdom

Here comes Christmas, bounding over the hilltops of the calendar weekends like an overexcited puppy. It’s almost here, and ready to give you a big, wet lick in the face.

Christmas, that time nominally devoted to giving, is really all about receiving. Receiving presents? Well, okay... sure, there are presents.. but those presents kind of lost their significance back when you realised that the best presents from now on were going to come from Uncle Amazon, and can be received all year round.

I’m talking more about the other things. Like receiving two bouts of flu perfectly timed to interfere first with your holiday and then with your return to work. Receiving the slap in the face that you skilfully dodged by ignoring you birthday, when you realise that 5 years have passed since 5 years ago.

But above all receiving wisdom, and reinforcing those Received Wisdoms that you carry around throughout the year.

Unlike the type of knowledge which is built over time, with careful careful consideration and continual readjustment, Received Wisdom comes in easy-to-digest, pre-thought-out packaging. It promises the bearer an instant air of well-informed assurance which is inherently more appealing than the vague uncertainties that make more accurate facts.

Like last Christmas for instance.

We’re all sat around the dinner table and cousin Alice, who turned 9 in October, looks suspiciously at her alcohol-free mulled wine.

Using Research in Writing - A Workshop

Last Tuesday it was my turn to lead the Madrid Writers Club and chose to look at using research in writing.
You can find a post with the handouts and exercises here:
http://madridwritersclub.com/2013/11/21/using-research-in-writing/

The Vampire Presentation

The Vampire Presentation begins when The Speaker fumbles with the computer cable, like he’s trying to knit spaghetti. From my seat in the audience I imagine Transylvanian organ chords stab with each fumble of the powerpoint presentation. I see bats fly out above our heads when a window pops up on-screen flashing a blood red advert promising cream-induced eternal life to the 10,000th lucky visitor.

The Speaker begins in dull drone. Every few words they emit an “urm” or “yeah”, like the rasping laugh of a Nosferatu sizing us up for a bite.

I feel the blood drain from my concentration. I check my watch for the second time during this first slide but it does nothing to stem the flow of consciousness which is sucked from me with each of his unrehearsed words. It feels like The Speaker has been talking over their title slide for an eternity. Finally, fumbling with the laser pointer, they switch to the next slide. It is packed with text and pleonastic spelling mistakes. All at once I know that my struggle is useless. As I slip into a dull stupor I know that this is going to be a Vampire Presentation.

“Why?...” I think, as my shoulders sag and my eyelids turn to lead, “but.. why?...”

Presentations are an integral part of our lives. Although a (lucky?) few people may have managed to escape ever having to sit through another presentation when they left high school, for most of us we are stuck with them. Whether it be the weekly progress presentation at work, presentation of our ideas for books to our reading group, or an impromptu call-for-action to a group of our friends, we spend a huge amount of time watching and performing presentations.

But why are they often so blood-suckingly boring?

We are spoiled these days by captivating, interesting presentations on such platforms as TED, theRSA and others. Stand up comedy is hugely popular all over the world, with new quality acts making it to our TV screens every year.

NaNoWriMo 2013

So this year I'm attempting something a little different. My goal is to write the first draft of my PhD thesis, which is due in next year. As with last year, here's my progress images:

My Progress

What is "creativity" and is it really important?

"I'm not creative. I wish I was."

How often I've heard this sentiment.. but what the hell does it mean?

Is creativity really something you are or are not? Like being tall or being Scottish? And even if creativity were caused by some sort of genetic setting, would it actually matter?

As an active seeker of fellow creative minds, I regularly meet people who have recently started some creative hobby. Whether they have taken up painting portraits of their bulldog, writing lewd poetry or playing rock-and-roll piccolo, I'm often surprised as to how quickly some people start producing finished pieces. Years of living a "normal life" has provided them with the practice in getting things done, day in day out, and this sudden realisation that they too can "get creative" has started a driving drumbeat inside them. So they write-write-write or sculpt-sculpt-sculpt and before you know it they've published several short stories or they're exhibiting a whole collection of their paintings in a local coffee shop.

Then there are others (and I place myself closer to this category) who produce very few finished work - just a few story starts and the occasional poem - even if they've been creating for years.

But? I hear you ask. Is creativity thus "the ability to get work accepted by curators/publishers/etc"? To produce with no care of quality? What if these people aren't really creative, and are just lucky? What if their work's not very good?

To which I'd answer, what does quality have to do with anything? What good is being a "better" artist if nobody knows about it? (not that I'm saying that I am)

And, in any case, practice makes you get better, no matter what it is you're doing. I'm an avid believer of this. If you want to get good at tying your shoelaces then you need to keep tying and untying shoelaces until you get it right. Similarly, if you want to get good at writing stories then the only thing to do is write and write, and every time you get a little bit better. The only difference is that we are culturally trained to think that writing a story is hard for all but a "gifted few" whereas tying shoelaces is something everyone should be able to do. So people are thus willing to put in those all-important hours learning to tie shoelaces because they believe they will be able to do it, whilst they won't even write one sentence of a story believing themselves to be "uncreative". Bullshit. Creativity is like a muscle, just like anything else (or 3 muscles according to this article). The more you use it the stronger it becomes.

This is why I find it aggravating that so much importance is put on "finding creativity" itself, when what would be more helpful would be integrating the whole "just do it (and keep at it)" attitude into the discussion. Personally, I start with the idea that everyone is creative ... and I've yet to see anything to convince me otherwise. The only arguments I'm ever given against this idea are always the personal hangups of the speaker, which I respond to as most people would respond to the assertion "I can't tie my shoelaces."

We all start life as creative children (so argues this research) and, like the flexible joints of children, that creative flexibility only gets creaky when we don't keep using it.  These days we're so used to the idea of "putting in the work" and "getting a routine" to regain our physical flexibility and fitness through yoga or other exercise, but the idea of doing exactly the same thing with creative endeavours is totally absent from much of the talk about creativity.

I believe that being a "creative person" is only one part - and the least important part at that. As Christopher Nolan wrote "It's not who you are underneath. It's what you do that defines you" (I couldn't believe that was a quote from Batman Begins when I searched for it's origin. Good quote though - it had certainly stuck in my head). If you want to be creative: persevere and you will succeed. If you don't do anything then, talented as you may be "underneath", and this is important, you probably didn't want it as much as you thought - just give yourself a break and realise this. There's nothing wrong with it.

So, to round off:

• If want to "be creative" then Get Creating and keep at it. Don't worry about if you "are" or not. Just do it.
• If you don't really want to "be creative" then fine, don't be. Just, please, be happy about it.
• If you're scared about whether or not you're any good - forget about that. Everyone is scared that they might be a fake and that they're work might be crap. Just do it. Sure, always strive to be better, but don't let that get in the way of actually producing.