Monday, March 28, 2011

MUSINGS ON THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Is anyone else out there a fan of Celebrity Apprentice?

A few weeks ago, the teams had to write a children's book. The criteria? Was it age appropriate (did they understand their audience)? Was it unique? How was the writing?

Sound familiar? If we compose a well written, unique story suited for a publisher's audience, we have a decent chance of selling our book. On the show, the men's team nailed it.

But what I have the most fun with is seeing how the creative celebrities handle the competition. The same complaint has been leveled against actor Gary Busey and musician Bret Michaels: they lack focus. They have great ideas, but their project managers have to rein them in. They're also both brilliant, and Bret went on to win his season.

Creativity--a writer's lifeblood. According to some, that which stamps humanity as made in the image of God. When I consider my strengths, creativity ranks high on the list.

When I consider my weaknesses, the same problems that plague Busey and Michaels plague me. I have trouble staying on task. I'm not focused. I tend to live in my imaginary world while the real world falls apart about me.

Not all creative types are the same. In this season alone you also have musicians Dionne Warwick and John Rich and actress Marlee Matlin. So if you are blessed to be both creative and organized. . .hurray!


Watching how these highly successful artists operate shines a spotlight on my own creative process. . .I feel less alone and yet more unique at the same time. The creative mind is truly a different animal.

And I love it.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, I was wanting to see that show. I missed it. I guess I will have to wait until the reruns. Yes, you have to have creativity and uniqueness. I think finding a unique way to write about something is the hardest, seems everything has been written about and you have to put a unique spin onto your story.

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  2. You can catch the episodes on the internet instead of waiting for reruns.

    Finding that unique angle--definitely a learning process. One I'm trying to distill so I can share some small measure of help to all my writing friends.

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