Every week, when I sit down to write my post for the Daily Post, there is one question that always sticks in my mind: where do our ideas come from? While I do not believe in mystifying creativity, it is a unique aspect of the human experience. Why are we compelled to write? And why are we compelled to write about X topic in particular? That’s why I was excited when I came across this interesting talk from John Cleese (of Monty Python fame) on the creative process:

Precisely what I like about Cleese’s talk on creativity is that it makes me think about everything I disagree with. To me, the idea that we need to be isolated to be creative is antiquated and puts creativity in the hands of those with the luxury to spend extensive amounts of time ruminating on life. Being “in the zone,” collaborating with others, seeking criticism, and feeling distracted are all part and parcel of the creative process. Everything we do is sensory input that can later affect our writing and all that we produce.

In my last post, many of you said that you found inspiration from both online resources and from small moments in your daily lives. For me, I find that modern “distractions” are a great resource for new ideas and information that I may not have stumbled across otherwise, but when the time comes for me to actually create, I need to be alone so I can feel completely uninhibited. That said, I also know that my desire to “go, go, go” all of the time is what pushes me to write, to produce, and to criticize the end result.

What’s your process like? Do you agree with Cleese that creativity requires being uninterrupted and solitary? Or do you thrive on hustle and bustle?

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  1. Inspiration comes from interactions. I come up with new ideas when I springboard off other people. There’s nothing like a fresh perspective to shake things up!

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    1. You are so right! The more of these replies I read, the more I realize that my inspiration comes from an almost unending list of sources. Interactions are key, and that is why I try to force my introverted self to get out often. Fresh perspective is impotant too, and interactions are important for getting that.

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      1. Exactly. I also find that moving water (showers, the ocean, etc.) are helpful for some reason. I need a notepad in my shower!! Also, running or walking helps too. Even journaling in the morning (what Julia Cameron calls “Morning Pages”) clear my head and let me think. 🙂

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      2. All of those work for me too. There’s little that won’t inspire if you are open to it. In fact, I think we limit ourselves when we get too much into defining what does and does not serve as inspiration.

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  2. Most times, the ideas come to me from things I’ve experienced or have experienced, from articles I read, from television (either what’s on or how and by whom it’s presented). Next comes the title. I don’t know why, but usually the title comes before any other writing. It seems to get my creative voice flowing more. Sometimes, titles come to me a long time before the writing (as in years…really!). The most surprising thing to me, though, is that when I write I completely lose myself in the writing and am really unaware of what it is I’m doing until I’ve finished and am reading it back. And at that point, I ask myself, “Who wrote that? Whose voice is that? Where did ‘I’ go?”

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  3. My inspiration comes from life experiences, news items, movies, songs and random thoughts. I liked Cleese’s ideas, but I don’t have to be isolated to be creative. Sometimes the everyday thrum of life … needs to be shaken, not stirred, and then we can get busy. Get creative.

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  4. I was inspired by a Facebook update (my own!) and the comments on it thereafter to do something I think is pretty insane – for me at least. I think it’s important to not only seek inspiration from the small things in your environment but to also limit yourself in a way so that you’re not carried away by the magnitude of stuff around you that can inspire you to create.

    It’s a little experiment really. And the hypothesis is pending …

    http://sharpehamla.wordpress.com/

    Has someone done something similar before?

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  5. I believe real talent is reclusive. Like a rosebud that opens it comes out. Note real celebrities are never in the trash magazines. They come out are seen on the screen and disappear. They are in a class all by themselves. Tom Hanks, Art Garfunkel, Dr. Dan Grimaldi (Sopranos), Terrence Howard, Huey Lewis, Lisa Kudrow, Mayim Bialik, Danica McKellar, Tommy Lee Jones, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Richard Gere,Sean Connery, Brendan Fraser, Gene Hackman , Faye Dunaway and many more.

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  6. Hustle and bustle are essential to life. And life is what we want to write about. Writing should be the thing you do between the times you’re driving to work or stargazing or walking you cat. It should be like a meal you sit down to while your friends are still playing kickball outside, or that grass you’re cutting grows a little more. But eat well, slowly, eat your broccoli, eat a lot.

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  8. Thanks for the great post. I think John Cleese is right about creativity. I find it very helpful to carve out specific times and places to be creative (in whatever form it may take). When I am able to go off to a solitary location for an hour or two, it’s great. I look forward to it. Sometimes I wake up with ideas that my brain has been working on while I sleep. I can’t get to a piece of paper fast enough! At other times, though, creativity comes when I’m in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life because I am NOT thinking about my creative project. I’m learing to keep pen and paper handy because I never know when those moments will come.

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  9. I am inspired by my everyday life. As a full-time RVer and work camper, I travel around the US working in different locations. Even my travels from one job to the next give me lots of inspiration. Thanks for all your wonderful topics!
    See you down the road! Annie

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  11. I think Mr. Cleese has hit it on the head. Although I concede modern hustle bustle can be a source of inspiration, I cannot do anything with it until I have that isolated time and space in which to let creativity do its thing.

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  12. We are all creative, in many varying and different ways. some we like and some not so much. Art, poetry, story and novel writing, music, to mention a few. If my recent experience is any thing to go by then I would say a very large community of the creative and talented people blog on daily post and WordPress projects. http://cobbie69.wordpress.com/

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  14. You know there is something about water, that helps the flow of ideas. Notice Mr. John Cleese has prominently displayed a water bottle on the podium. I am certain it is an important hint. This speaking necessity, I am musing, must be there to do much more than merely aid him in dealing with the expurgations of his learning Flemish.

    It aids creativity, or so I have been told, I know this to be so, because many claim to get their best ideas while taking a shower.

    Hence, I conclude ideas must come packaged in little water droplets. Naturally, if you are looking to be showered with new ideas, you must simply let them wash over you. It’s sort of a baptism of creativity from on high I suppose? Awash with any new ideas? Let me know.

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  15. I find when I’m in a quiet, clean space, it allows my creative juices to flow. Whether it be writing in my journal, crocheting, or reading, quiet surroundings are best.

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  16. as a beatmaker or as an artist coz I do a lot of various artwork u can think of. I draw inspiration 4rm atom things that ppl consider as unimportant as well as criticism 4rm ppl..i Dnt gt disheartened whenever..some1 critise my artwork or ideas..

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  17. Interesting speech. It seems as though many people have an opinion on creativity. I just did a review on my blog about a speech Sir Ken Robinson made on the subject – he discusses how schools suppress creativity in students. Check it out: http://priya009.wordpress.com/

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  18. I definitely recognize that many of my ideas come from interaction with the world: ideas for characters happen from conversations or meeting new people or observing them in their natural state and coming up with stories for them; topic ideas for my blog come from reading news and from situations I encounter while doing my job. Sometimes story ideas come from dreams or from newspapers articles, or even reading fiction. However, when you do have an idea, it is absolutely essential to have time to think about it, chew it, mull it over, give it shape. And when you sit down to write you definitely need a somewhat stable space where phones aren’t ringing every five minutes and you’re not chatting with three people on Facebook at the same time. However, I also believe in the power of breaks. There is nothing like diving into something else for five minutes after working intensely for an hour or so, especially when you’re kind of stuck.

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    1. Many times I find my process to differ depending on the circumstances. When I’m struck with (the increasingly elusive) sudden inspiration I can write anywhere because the compulsion to express myself somehow outweighs my mind’s ability to perceive the rest of the world. Alternately, when inspiration whispers seductively in a foreign language I can spend days deliberately shutting out the world trying to translate it. Some days are more successful than others, but I also find it helps to have experiences to draw from. A balance between social stimulation and the isolation needed for creation.

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