Here’s some food for thought. What if there was only one rule in the creative process for every piece of art you made… and that rule was to follow your intuition.
And that every subsequent order, constraint, idea, and mandate for the process would stem from that underlying rule – follow your intuition.
I like this idea because then you’re allowed to do anything you want with your art – so long as it feels right.
This helps me to walk the balance of the creative process when there are so many factors to consider. So many principles to ponder and reckon with. So many artists and artworks that have come before you. And many moments of haziness and cloudiness as to what you should do with your work.
The creative process is like walking a tightrope, and you are the tightrope walker. If you are leaning too far to the left, you have to lean right. If you are leaning too far to the right, then you should lean left. Neither right nor left are correct 100% of the time. It all depends on how you’re leaning at the given moment.
Wherever you are in the creative process with your artwork, ask yourself – how am I leaning? And which direction should I go?
Ultimately it is you who is walking that tightrope. And only you know which way you need to lean. No one else is walking that same tightrope with that same artwork. So trust yourself. Trust in the direction you feel you should go.
One of the balances I have been learning to walk as I’ve been working on my feature film script these past 6 months, is the balance of when to go-go-go and when to rest.
Meaning, there have been times where I know I just need to plow through the pages in order to get my ideas onto the script and make progress. It is the fear that I don’t have it all figured out which tests my artistic courage to move in the face of the unknown. But that RESISTANCE – as author Steven Pressfield describes it – is exactly the force that needs to be fought as artists. And there have been writing sessions where it literally feels like I am plowing through something. It feels like a workout. It’s this active push against these parts of my mind which aren’t yet ready to make that leap. So, it’s not easy at all.
Now, on the other hand, there have been times where I feel intuitively that it’s better to not write. To instead let the ideas marinate, to work on the outline, to meditate on my story and allow room for it to breathe. This happened with my 2nd draft where I made it 80 pages into the script, and then felt that I needed to not finish the draft. And I felt it was best to switch gears and head into a new 3rd draft.
This happened because something was simply not clicking story wise, and I knew that I still needed to become more certain on how my 2nd and 3rd acts were going to look. So, as opposed to investing more time and creative effort into an outline that I wasn’t vibing with, I returned to my brain map of the story and worked on the bigger picture elements.
I explain all of these things within my process to illustrate that different ways of engaging with your work will be appropriate at different times. It all depends on which way you feel you should lean. Deep down, you will know what that direction is. And you will also know if fear is stopping you from leaning into the direction you know you need to go.
Something that I take much joy in within my creative process is how I work with my deep seated emotions. I feel that over time, I have become so in tune with knowing when an idea deeply resonates with my spirit. I feel it in the chambers of my heart. It’s this feeling that the idea needs to be explored and curated into my work.
It could be a moment where I’m out in the world, thinking about a specific idea in my art, and then something passes me which mirrors the idea I’m pondering – could be a person, a thing, a vehicle, an animal, anything…
And that synchronicity magnifies the idea I was already thinking about.
These are the magical moments I live for as an artist.
It could also be a moment where I’m watching a movie, and I imagine the characters from my own story living in that movie, then I see an idea play out before my eyes. I am co creating with the movie in a very spiritual way. And then a great idea sprouts from that imagination. I write it down into my journal, and the speed of my writing indicates the importance of that idea. It’s vivid. It’s strong. It’s needed.
I would advise that as you walk your balance with your work, take notice of your deep seated emotions. Ask yourself – which ideas feel strongest? Which ideas resonate the most?
The deeper the emotion – the more needed the idea. This is something I have experienced greatly in my own journey.
My final sentiment – trust yourself.
Trust in the way you feel you need to lean. Once again, you are the only one walking your tightrope. You are capable of keeping good balance and being aware of which ways you need to nudge.
These directions may come to you through a multitude of different ways. Inspiration finds us in the perfect moments. So be open to receiving whatever it is that the world wants to feed you. The world is on your side, so long as you believe it is.
There is assistance all around. I am a part of that assistance. I am championing your journey. Keep going, and do what you feel is best.
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