Creative Practice Notes 27/01/20

• Stimulate your brain:
  • Listen to music
  • Read books
  • Watch old/films

Part of the problem is there is a huge reservoir within us all. This links a little bit to the idea is valuing your own instincts, emotions whether they’re good or bad. Our experience and physical and psychological DNA is interesting. As creative people, it’s interesting and valuable. 

Finding the quiet place allows you to tap into yourself, but it’s also about instinct. There’s a sense of trust in instinct – some unknown power (which is you or maybe it’s not you). You have to give yourself almost with the discipline of an athlete who gives to the gym every day. But you often have to actively provoke them. The creative push/ignition often comes in doing something, even when you don’t feel like doing it. 

We created the environment and the possibility of having thoughts. We jot them down, because they’re bit like dreams. Jot down your ideas (which can be anything like intellectual ideas) which have come from creative well and the next phase is that you have to excavate them. 

Be alert to your curiosity. If you interrogate something, discuss it to people and if it grabs other people’s attention, you’ve got something. It doesn’t need to be the most interesting thing to everyone else. 

There’s an archetypal arc and if you have you’re breakdown with boxes, maybe you have another empty sheet which is your narrative arc. Then you think that there’s certain things I want to put into that arc. 

Finding an authentic connection to something. It doesn’t ned to be our interest that comes from us, but it needs to come from an authentic interest. There is something in that discipline that’s quite productive and creative. Within that procrastination, it’s also having the ability not to beat yourself up – the balance between giving yourself breathe and giving yourself discipline.  

What are my limitations? If it’s word count or duration or time available are positives for you. You do need to get into the intellectual thinking – how much do you need to back up in your thesis?