Inspired to create and pragmatism be damned

Inspiration is a funny thing. I usually have lots of it, alas it’s the perspiration I don’t have as much of; the sweat equity I need to put in to produce that masterpiece. Why does life get in the way? Damn reality! However, it is fiction that can take us beyond the reach of reality.

Johah Lehrer, author of Imagine: How Creativity Works, says “when we venture beyond the edge of our knowledge, all we have is art.” But that muse is illusive so I carry a notebook with me to jot down those aha moments when they spring upon me.

As Mr. Lehrer says though, since I’m older I may have fewer of those. It seems that the older we get, the less inventive we become. Maybe it’s just the whole reality conundrum. When I was younger I had all the time in the world to daydream and didn’t censor any of it. Now, I have to work full time to raise children and keep a home and chauffeur kiddies to tons of after school activities, and clean the house and walk the dog and….so less time to dream.

As an adult I’ve also developed a nasty pragmatist devil on my shoulder reminding me to focus and plant my feet firmly on the ground because dreaming won’t get me anywhere. I try to rein in my creativity to the nights and weekends when I have time to listen to that fickle and fanciful angel sitting on my other shoulder. Seems my muse doesn’t much like the structure and rules of adulthood. According to Mr. Lehrer in the article below, I should tell my inner critic to zip it and let the inspiration flow.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/how-to-grab-inspiration-by-the-tail/article2380020/page1/

Detours along the way...

I like detours, the side roads and alleyways that take you off course. It’s the adventures along the way that make the journey memorable rather than just a straight shot from A to B.

But, I do have to watch that my attention doesn’t get drawn to the smaller shiny things for too long because then I might give up the bigger goal that waits on the horizon, a little fuzzier, a little less immediate and glamorous for the hard work needed to attain it. I suspect I may be my own worst enemy sometimes.

In my writing, sometimes the side roads take me away from what I’m supposed to be doing which is rewriting the ‘brilliant’ idea I had years before when I woke at 3 am excited by the kernel of my novel and could hardly wait to finish the first draft. All these years later as I polish the manuscript in smaller and smaller circles until my fingers get numb, I sometimes get sidetracked by things like playwriting. Ooo, maybe I should try that and off I go for a few months. Maybe I need a Masters or maybe fifty more opinions on where others think my book should go.

I’ve taken the advice of so many experts and tried to write short stories for contests or a novella to at least get my name in print which I have. Twas fun. It’s good to branch out and deepen my skill set. But, as I’m traipsing down the side roads I do wonder if I’ve lost track of my main trajectory, the goal of all this wandering, which is to get my novel published. If it’s good, but not good enough then I’ll never get there. And no amount of side roads will take me back to the main road because I have NO sense of direction and sometimes get lost.

So, I will renew my drive to my final destination and pack some snacks for the long ride ahead. Now I need to get back to my desk because I know that AIC (ass in chair) is the only thing that will get me where I want to go.

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/03/22/hiromi-goto-finishing-is-the-hardest-part/#more-66875

Unless...

The definition of passion - boundless enthusiasm (from free online dictionary)

Professor Larry Smith of the Economics Department at the University of Waterloo has something to say about loving what you do. I've pasted in below his entertaining and poignant rant about why you will fail to have a good career because you have to pursue 'the greatest fascination in your life' not just something interesting that will pay the bills. You will fail to have a great career UNLESS you do what you are passionate about.

http://www.ted.com/talks/larry_smith_why_you_will_fail_to_have_a_great_career.html

I saw Dr. Seuss' movie The Lorax last weekend with my ten and twelve year old sons. The Lorax is the keeper of the trees and yet fails to protect them. The resurrection of the trees falls to a boy who wants to impress a girl by giving her what she really wants, which is a real tree in an artificial town. I won't give away the ending of the movie as you should go see it, but suffice it to say that the Lorax leaves the pivotal character with the word UNLESS imprinted on one of the rocks that used to encircle a tree. Dr. Seuss said "unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." He had passion and made a difference in children's lives while entertaining us adults at the same time.

I feel the same way. Nothing is going to get better, unless....In my mundane little world these days here is my unless. I'm struggling with my playwriting course. I want to write a play I really do, but my playwriting teacher keeps telling me to write what I would if I had six months left to live. If that's not a deadline to inspire passion I don't know what is!

But, I only signed up because I wanted to learn the nuts and bolts of playwriting. My instructor wants me to fire up my creative soul. I don't have a subject I'm that passionate about to cram into a 45 minute comedy. What I lack is inspiration and the boundless enthusiasm to hammer out 45 pages. So, I'll finish out this course and look for my passion again in the stories I seem, so far, to be only able to tell in short story and novel form. I won't think any further on the whole 'doing what you love' conundrum. For now I have a good career and a great passion for writing on the side. So I will keep on keeping on unless....

International Women's Day - let's party

On International Women's Day I've decided to enjoy being a chick. Not that I don't every other day of the week, but sometimes when I'm knee deep in dishes or groceries or other unpaid forms of labour I do wonder if it shouldn't be called something else like International Schmuck's Day.

 

But then I look at my kids and think that I was lucky enough to have them. I wake up next to my husband and think he's pretty cute and he likes women so I'm a shoo in. Then I come to work in a still male-dominated industry and I enjoy my job and make ok money, but there have been times when being a woman was definitely a liability. It's amazing how many old school chauvinists are still alive and well in Canada. Plus, if I turn the TV on the amount of T&A reinforces my suspicion that society may just view me as a piece of meat until I'm of a 'certain age' and then I'm invisible.

 

That said I am thankful to be a woman in Canada and not in a country where being a second class citizen is ingrained in the law and social mores of the society. I do own property, and I do make my own living plus I'm allowed to vote. Yay for me! Let's work together to roll those basic human rights out to the rest of the world. I believe that socieities where women are cherished and their voices heard have both the head and heart to drive economic and social growth without leaving anyone behind.

 

Anyway, I hope you all have a good day and think about the fact that there is not International Men's Day likely because they don't need one. I do like men, but I don't want to be one ;)

 

http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Women+still+getting+left+behind+study+says/6256006/story.html