Working Processes for Artists, Writers, and Musicians
The keg is drained, the haze has faded, the party’s over and now—that
project that’s due tomorrow morning is staring you boldly in the
face, reminding you that with all great parties, come great, recently
forgotten, responsibilities (usually only considered afterward.)
What
now?!
Well if it’s a math assignment, you buck up and crank out the
equations. If it’s a term paper, you desperately copy-paste
and rewrite until there is some semblance of personal voice disguising
your grossly plagiarized attempt at a C-. When you’re working on
something creative, though, it’s not as simple as grinding it
out. Anything artistic requires not only the right state of mind
but the right environmental nodes in place to ensure that you’re
composing Mozart and not eeking out bad reggae.
It’s important for any artist, whether you’re a writer, painter, actor,
musician or whatever, to find your own creative
process. This is not just a saving grace method for last
minute projects or lazy work, it’s a general outline for developing
good habits to support your creative endeavors all the time.
Alright, so regardless of your passion or your chosen form of
expression, Art requires method. Whether you realize it or not,
so do you. Humans are creatures of habit and producing works of
genius is no exception. So, I now present some steps and
overall tips for finding your own creative process and sticking to it.
Setting
Where you work is almost equally as important to What you’re doing
there. I know a writer who absolutely can’t work in her
home. She has to take her laptop to a café or library in order to
think clearly. Home has too many distractions for some
people. Other folks, however, have a special little nook or
corner of their apartment where they feel they really unlock their
thoughts. Whatever your chosen setting is, use it and don’t
be afraid to structure your work time around this space.
The best way to find out what works best for you is to
experiment. If you like music, play different CDs in the
background and see what kinds of music inspire you the most.
Adorn your space with things that inspire you. This can be
posters of bands or films, figurines or stuffed animals, trinkets,
photographs, or furniture. Candles and incense are a boon for
some people who need to be relaxed and at ease to think
creatively. Are you a solar creature like me who needs lots of
light or a vampire like my roommate who drapes blankets over his
windows to keep out the rays? Even color is
important. Many studies can be found online and in books
that discuss the significant effects of color on the human
psyche. Yellow is the color of creativity, so they
say. But, who knows, maybe your color is passionate red or
the infinity of black. All these things matter and each
person has unique needs. Experiment and allow your work space to
reflect who you are as an artist.
Time
We all know who the procrastinators are and, oddly enough, college has
a way of turning us ALL into procrastinators to some extent.
Letting things go until the very last minute is a very bad and
irresponsible way of working, if you listen to “them.” But,
believe it or not, some people need the chaos. I know a painter
who can’t feel good about his work unless he completes it in one long,
grueling, last minute sitting. Others can’t stand the
thought of turning in a first or second draft of something so they give
themselves plenty of time for rewrites. Decide how you need to
work and make plans to accommodate yourself. If you are aware of
it, conscious procrastinating can help you force out the good
stuff. Day or night can play a role as well. If you are one
of those “poets by the moonlight” then get your sleep after class and
stay up at night composing your sonnets.
Quirks
One of the hardest things to pinpoint for yourself, but the most fun
and helpful, are those little idiosyncrasies you have as a
person. Some find that they need to be eating or drinking
something at some point during their work. Others need to
take a little break every ten or fifteen minutes to get up from a chair
and pace a little. Even little things like squeezing a
rubber ball or keep something nearby to fidget with now and then can be
an asset. I had a professor who said that, when he was writing,
he found himself getting up from his computer sporadically to walk to
the refrigerator. He didn’t get anything, he just opened
it, pondered the food, and returned to the computer to write another
page. After considering this, he came to the realization
that, thanks to his Italian upbringing, he associated food with comfort
and just a simple glance in the fridge gave him enough calm to return
to thinking creatively. Odd to some, but he churned out his
best work when the fridge was stocked.
Log it and Review it
As you start to identify some of these things, it helps to keep track
of them so as to identify trends. I suggest keeping a
journal or written log of your work sessions and write down the things
you do and the circumstances around your session. Note the
time of day, how long you worked, what you ate before hand, how much
sleep you got, what your surroundings were like, etc. And
then in a side section, reflect on the work you
accomplished. Did your surroundings affect the mood of the
song you wrote or did the thai food you ate give an added spice to the
painting? Then, of course, look back on your notes every
now and then to see what the trends are in your process. If
you see something that seems to be helping, Keep Doing It!
All of these things are just starting points for finding your own
groove. It’s all about our own individual habits. That’s
what makes us individual as artists or musicians. Once you nail
down some of these things, you not only start to be more productive in
your art or field, you also learn a bit about yourself and, hey---
that’s never a bad thing, right?
|
