Forged With Fire: Creativity and the Creative Spirit, a New Series
From Emily Hanlon and The Fiction Writer's Journey.
Part 1
The Creative Process: A Call to Adventure!
Creativity is forged in the fire of the unconscious and the unfathomable depths of the unknown where nothing is predetermined and everything is possible. Its presence is often heralded by the seductive "spark" of an idea or image that brings with it feelings of flight and the godlike brilliance. And yet, for the tens, hundreds, thousands of ideas that burst up out of our unconscious, very few if any get carried to fruition. No sooner does the spark rev us up with the feeling that we can do anything, than we find a 101 reasons to cast away the idea, worse yet, stomp it into the dust bin of possibilities that might have been our lives. Clearly, not all our sparks are worth the time and effort it would take to carry them out; not all are even viable -- but the problem for many of us is that we indiscriminately throw out the baby with the bath water. For our creations are truly our babies, born of us, male and female, as surely as our flesh and blood children.
There are some who do not discard these newborns of the unconscious. There are some who have a reverence for these sparks and embrace the risk and the passion it takes to see even one of them through to fruition. These are the creators and innovators – the brave warriors of creativity as I like to call them –and they are everywhere in society, some known, far more unknown. They can be found among people who work under the dubious roof of a shelter for the homeless as well as under the lights of the Broadway stage. They are writers, artists, scientists, inventors, gardeners, businesspeople, and just folks who go through their days and carry on their pursuits and relationships with an energy that comes from living one's life the way one wants. Their appearance may be nondescript or they may, at the age of sixty or seventy wear long, graying pony tail or braids; they may wear wild, bright colors and loads of make-up or they may never get out of jeans and sneakers. Although diversity is the calling card of creators, there are more similarities than can ever meet the eye. The similarities are not, for the most part, tangible, yet they are powerfully shared.
How do I know this? Because I have been exploring creativity and the creative process most of my adult life. I not only write fiction but I teach fiction writing and guide others on the creative journey. As a teacher, I see my role as dual pronged: one is to teach technique; the other, and the far more challenging and exciting part, is to help unleash a student's creativity. Creativity cannot be taught. Creativity is experiential. As a teacher and creativity coach, I see myself as blood sister to the white rabbit, and my task is to lead my students down the rabbit hole to their own personal Wonderland, which I see as a metaphor for the cosmic landscape of the creative unconscious. (To explore this concept of Wonderland and the creative unconscious, see my book, The Art of Fiction Writing or How to Fall Down the Rabbit Hole Without Really Trying.) But unlike the white rabbit, I can't tumble down with nary a backwards glance because most of my students won't follow.
Falling down the rabbit hole is too scary. Which is another way of saying the creative journey is scary. And it is! Creativity demands time in the dark, psychic mud of the unconscious. Creativity requires risk and passion and a belief in the power of the unknown. Chaos is integral to the process. For in the chaos, the new, unexpected order lies, waiting to be revealed in all its magnificence. This is a difficult terrain to travel alone.
I didn’t. I had several guides along the way, and I understand their importance in my success. Which is why I see myself as a more than a writing coach. I perceive myself as a guide, leading other writers into their home in the creative unconscious. I believe in this passionately, for I believe exploring, owning and delighting in this realm is the birthright of every creative writer. But if this is true, then why is it so difficult? Why do so many of us hold on to the edge of the rabbit hole for dear life? Even when we begin to slide, we hold on (metaphorically!) until our knees and fingertips are raw and bleeding – and the amazing part is that when we finally fall, when the doorways to our creative unconscious open, we wonder why we feared the journey.
This series explores creativity and the creativie spirit through my eyes and the eyes of others who dared to fall down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Come back often and join us!
© Emily Hanlon, 2005, May not be reprinted without permission.
Forged With Fire: Creativity and the Creative Spirit SM is a Service Mark of Emily Hanlon
Part 1
The Creative Process: A Call to Adventure!
Creativity is forged in the fire of the unconscious and the unfathomable depths of the unknown where nothing is predetermined and everything is possible. Its presence is often heralded by the seductive "spark" of an idea or image that brings with it feelings of flight and the godlike brilliance. And yet, for the tens, hundreds, thousands of ideas that burst up out of our unconscious, very few if any get carried to fruition. No sooner does the spark rev us up with the feeling that we can do anything, than we find a 101 reasons to cast away the idea, worse yet, stomp it into the dust bin of possibilities that might have been our lives. Clearly, not all our sparks are worth the time and effort it would take to carry them out; not all are even viable -- but the problem for many of us is that we indiscriminately throw out the baby with the bath water. For our creations are truly our babies, born of us, male and female, as surely as our flesh and blood children.
There are some who do not discard these newborns of the unconscious. There are some who have a reverence for these sparks and embrace the risk and the passion it takes to see even one of them through to fruition. These are the creators and innovators – the brave warriors of creativity as I like to call them –and they are everywhere in society, some known, far more unknown. They can be found among people who work under the dubious roof of a shelter for the homeless as well as under the lights of the Broadway stage. They are writers, artists, scientists, inventors, gardeners, businesspeople, and just folks who go through their days and carry on their pursuits and relationships with an energy that comes from living one's life the way one wants. Their appearance may be nondescript or they may, at the age of sixty or seventy wear long, graying pony tail or braids; they may wear wild, bright colors and loads of make-up or they may never get out of jeans and sneakers. Although diversity is the calling card of creators, there are more similarities than can ever meet the eye. The similarities are not, for the most part, tangible, yet they are powerfully shared.
How do I know this? Because I have been exploring creativity and the creative process most of my adult life. I not only write fiction but I teach fiction writing and guide others on the creative journey. As a teacher, I see my role as dual pronged: one is to teach technique; the other, and the far more challenging and exciting part, is to help unleash a student's creativity. Creativity cannot be taught. Creativity is experiential. As a teacher and creativity coach, I see myself as blood sister to the white rabbit, and my task is to lead my students down the rabbit hole to their own personal Wonderland, which I see as a metaphor for the cosmic landscape of the creative unconscious. (To explore this concept of Wonderland and the creative unconscious, see my book, The Art of Fiction Writing or How to Fall Down the Rabbit Hole Without Really Trying.) But unlike the white rabbit, I can't tumble down with nary a backwards glance because most of my students won't follow.
Falling down the rabbit hole is too scary. Which is another way of saying the creative journey is scary. And it is! Creativity demands time in the dark, psychic mud of the unconscious. Creativity requires risk and passion and a belief in the power of the unknown. Chaos is integral to the process. For in the chaos, the new, unexpected order lies, waiting to be revealed in all its magnificence. This is a difficult terrain to travel alone.
I didn’t. I had several guides along the way, and I understand their importance in my success. Which is why I see myself as a more than a writing coach. I perceive myself as a guide, leading other writers into their home in the creative unconscious. I believe in this passionately, for I believe exploring, owning and delighting in this realm is the birthright of every creative writer. But if this is true, then why is it so difficult? Why do so many of us hold on to the edge of the rabbit hole for dear life? Even when we begin to slide, we hold on (metaphorically!) until our knees and fingertips are raw and bleeding – and the amazing part is that when we finally fall, when the doorways to our creative unconscious open, we wonder why we feared the journey.
This series explores creativity and the creativie spirit through my eyes and the eyes of others who dared to fall down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Come back often and join us!
© Emily Hanlon, 2005, May not be reprinted without permission.
Forged With Fire: Creativity and the Creative Spirit SM is a Service Mark of Emily Hanlon
posted by Emily Hanlon at
9/06/2005 06:06:00 PM
1 Comments:
Emily,
Wonderful article. I hope this is part of another writing book you will put out at some time.
You make excellent pts. Like how many moments of "sudden fire" are tossed away. And those that are worked on a bit can also be aborted for so many reasons.
But in this world where noncreativity is the norm/and the universe is creativity itself, it is so healthy and so right feeling to think of a mass of people, me among them, with a wild diversity of looks/ages/clothes but still following their own sudden fires. It's a comforting thought. And these days comforting thought.
gypsy wannabe in Maryland
who is luckily getting more and more radical and individualistic as she ages! Claire
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