The Art of a Concept: Time

The last post was about the procrastination. Maybe in reality, it’s a problem with simple time management. Forcing yourself to take the time to be creative. Yes, the life of a creative is knowing that random ideas pop at any given time, but the truth of the matter is that the concepts come when you put pen to paper.

Stephen Pressfield calls it Resistance in his “The War of Art” (a fantastic short read if anybody’s reading this). Resistance is a very real thing. It comes in the form of time wasting, of a more pressing matter, of a divorce, a girlfriend, an affair, a dirty couch, a dirty glass pane, porn, family, friends, email, really good sushi… the list goes on and on. This blog, for example, is a form of resistance. I spend time writing on this instead of spending time working on a script or an ad. But on the other hand, this could be looked at as an extension of my creativity.

I told myself when this blog was introduced that there would be no editing. Some days would be a long post. Some wouldn’t. This particular post for example was supposed to be about coming up with a concept. (Oh well.) Editing yourself, I thought, is really just Resistance getting through. A misspelled word, the wrong word capitalized. Grammatical errors. Whatever keeps me from hitting the publish button is Resistance. And Resistance is the one thing that can really kill a concept before its even begun.

So when it comes, what do you do? I really don’t know. Pressfield says you must push through. I agree, but on the other hand, I don’t exactly have my novel written, so my agreement seems to stop in theory. What do I think really helps?

There was a post on a health blog not long ago that talked about closing the valve when you’re fasting. It’s making the decision to not eat, and just letting that be it. Keeping it simple. I think for creativity, I’d go with the exact opposite. Eat. Eat like you’re never eaten before. And I’m not talking about food- although I had a spanish egg custard the other night that literally took me to another world- I’m talking about everything around you. Take it in, and take it in completely. And then push it all out. It’s the exhale after the big breath, stopping only when your lungs are empty. When it hurts. That’s when you take it back in again.

Writers write, and some write for 30 minutes, while others write for hours. Talk to any writer after he’s pushed out the big idea, and he’ll tell you its a mix of fear, excitement, and exhaustion. And its a beautiful thing. Resistance will come. I say let it. And then beat it back with everything you’ve got.

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