The Creative Process - how burning it all down may be the right thing to do
Part of the creative process involves creating a mess but many people get to that point, feel discouraged and quit. They don’t understand that it’s okay. In fact, it’s a necessary and critical point in the process and one through which you have to dig deep to keep going.
The value of mess
You can’t get to the point where you begin to build anything of true value without first creating a mess and even destruction. If you’ve ever, like me, lived next to a building site, you know how messy it can get before any actually building begins.
So, in my experience, the first part of the creative process is often about preparation, you’re not actually creating anything you’re preparing yourself for the next stage - the unencumbered phase where you are able to tap into the genius within and without and build your true creation.
Creating “the mess” also helps you learn whatever it is you need to learn in order to build this thing - whatever that is. Whether it’s a painting, a sculpture, an important piece of writing (such as a book), or anything in fact.
Mess helps us learn
Anyone who’s ever visited a nursery and watched toddlers playing will have seen firsthand how willing they are to create a mess. To them, it’s a natural part of learning. They don’t have the capacity to be discouraged by a mess, they don’t see it as failure, to them it’s actually fun. That’s how they learn, through play.
As adults we often lose the capacity to have fun with the creative process and enjoy it.
But what about burning it all down? What if you’ve been working on a book for five years and all you’ve ended up with is a hot mess? Should you pour through it in fine detail and try and make sense of it? Should you quit and tell yourself you gave it a go but obviously you’re not meant to be a writer? Or, should you burn it all down, have some fun for a while and start afresh?
Check out the Margins Podcast
This podcast from Managing Editor Magazine (and featuring yours truly) shines a light on that last option to find out if it’s ever the right thing to do.
The podcast features me (writer Alison Pittaway: starting at 11:17), disruption expert Charlene Li and entrepreneur Elena Valentine.