creativity

The Haunt

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

“I feel like I’m haunting my own life,” is how I described my creative state of mind while sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I’m here, but I’m not quite me. I’m less than I was, but still going. I’m engaged, but not fully there. Sounds horrible, doesn’t it, but also understandable.

We’re locked down, limiting our movement and activities. We’re trying to restructure our lives to work within new constraints. There’s a pandemic rushing around the world. Most government responses leave something to be desired, to be kind.

We’re tired, disoriented, afraid, and unsure of the future. No wonder we feel bad. No wonder I feel bad, like a ghost in my own experience.

But you know what? I’ll take it.

At least, like a ghost, I’m still here and still going. I haven’t given up and am holding on by sheer will.

At least I’m still in my own life, even if I feel insubstantial. I’m still here, if currently an echo of myself.

At least it’s an approximation of me and my creativity.

And if nothing else, like a wandering spirit, I might just find a way back.

So know what? I’m going to take this sensation, this echo of my usual creativity. At least there’s enough me to have this sensation to feel. I may not be at 100%, but at least I’m at some percent.

Besides like a ghost I can find a way back.

Not quite feeling yourself? Of course you don’t feel like yourself, we’re in a terrible situation. As long as you feel enough like yourself to keep going, you’ll find a way forward.

It’s OK to feel a little ghostly.

Steven Savage

Make It So: Cataloging Writing Places

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

This is an idea that struck me recently, an idea I liked enough to want to write it down and share it before doing it

I’m part of several writing groups and have a lot of creative friends. Often we meet for discussions.

One thing that comes up in our discussions is “we really should meet and write together.”

Then there’s the question of where. We’re in a dense urban area, which means may possible coffee houses and such to write at. We’re also in an area where the coffee houses and other writing spots get crowded because, hey, it’s a dense urban area.

I’d taken to trying out a new spot each week, and then an idea struck me. It’s an idea I’d like to try for myself, but wanted to share it with all you creatives. It’s about finding good writing spots, but also being social (and if you aren’t feeling social, you can sorta reduce that part).

It works like this.

ONE: Have your writing group come up with a list of places you might write. Yes, most will be coffee shops, because they’re basically coworking spaces where you pay by drinking coffee and eating pastries.

TWO: When a member goes out to write or draw or whatever, they select a space out of the list no one has tried yet. They let everyone know so they’re welcome to join them.

THREE: Everyone goes to said place and writes/draws or whatever. If it’s terrible or bad, feel free to move to another area of course.

FOUR: The person who started the meeting and/or the people who attended write up their experience and share it with the group. You could even keep a public blog to share with everyone in your geographic area.

FIVE: Keep an updated and ranked list of the various locations so people can go to good ones – or find new ones.

Sure it’s a simple idea. But there are various benefits:

  • First, you have a neat social thing to do with your creative groups, but one where there’s not pressure to be overly social.
  • Second, you find cool places to be creative.
  • Third, you support good local businesses.
  • Fourth, you find where not to go and avoid wasting time.
  • Fifth you might have a cool writing thing to do keeping a blog, a review, section, etc.

I hope to try something like this with my groups in the next six months or so. But give it a try yourself (especially if I get too busy to try it).

Steven Savage

Sharing Your Work And That One Person

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

We want our creative works to reach people – to inspire, to guide, to entertain, to salve pains. We want to change the world in our own way. So do many other people.

Being a creative puts us in a curious position of feeling like we’re competing. If you had someone say they wished to feed the hungry, they wouldn’t worry about competition. If you knew someone who wished to clean up the environment, they’d welcome all comers. But creative works tend to make us competitive because people have limited attention.

There is rarely a shortage of the poor. There are no shortage of environmental challenges. But when we wish for attention, well, that’s a limited resource.

Which is why, if we want to make people laugh, educate, and overthrow tyrants, we have to rethink how we reach out.

We have to think “how can I help.” If our creative work has value – and let us assume it does – then the real question is how do you help people out.

How do you get the right people to read your book, appreciate your art, and change the world because of a single poem? There’s no right answer, because every work is different. But asking that question of “how do I help” is important.

(If creativity is your career, “how do I help and make a living” ramps up the challenge).

However, there is one thing to consider – have you reached one person and changed their lives?

Many an author or artist or musicians knows this experience. There’s that one person that follows your book, hung up your art, or told you your song got you through a tough time. That single moment is valuable, unshakeable, and powerfully personal.

Those are the moments to look into. How did you reach them? Why did you make a difference? What happened?

Then you can ask how to repeat this moment. How do you repeat that success in having your comic or game get into the right hands? That one person may be the key to transforming the world.

Sadly, you may not be able to find a lesson. Many of we creatives keep shambling forward and trying. But consider the following:

Even if you reach only that one person, there’s hope you can find out how to reach more.

Even if you reach only that one person, that’s one work. Your next work may reach a million.

Even if you reach only that one person, if you reach the right person, they change the world.

That one person is your sign to not give up. After all, that person didn’t give up on you . . .

Steven Savage