I was asked about how to be creative and how I am creative today via Messenger. I am also posting my answer here...
First and foremost, thank you for your email (and thinking anything I write is creative)!
Generally, I find being creative is a process of getting out of the way and letting ideas come. Writing is the process of putting those ideas on the page. When the writing is going particularly well, I feel as though I am channeling the story, merely recording what is going on and arising from the imagination. So, for me, successful writing is often about getting out of the way of the story (and myself) as much as possible and letting it come.
Writing and creativity are also reactive. That is to say, they respond to circumstance and take off from inspiration and belief. Particularly in the belief that something will come.
To facilitate this process, before I go to bed at night, if I am ready for the next scene and do not have one in mind, after I close my eyes, I will envision recent story events and then trust ideas to come. Imagination does the rest—thoughts and story events spark further ideas.
Keeping the mind relaxed and flexible is another way to be open to inspiration. Don't try to force ideas, let them arise from your interests, experiences, and work.
Another way to work on creativity is to perform thought experiments, particularly as idea starters. Be the Einstein of writing and work through ideas. Create scenarios and find the answers. What would happen if..? What if..? How would..? These questions and others open whole new worlds.
Examples…
In my day job, I work in a research lab. In talking about katanas and sword fabrication (as one does in an R&D lab) with a co-worker, I mentioned that there was a sword-maker who claimed to have recreated Damascus steel. He had this steel tested and validated in the material science lab at the school where my co-worker did his Ph.D. work. This sword-maker calls his blades Angel Swords. As we were talking I thought, “What if angels had swords?” Then I thought, “What if these angels used their swords to fight the demons that threatened that world?” Then, “What if those demons defeated the angels and the angel swords rained from the heavens?” And, “What if only the honorable or pure of heart could take up these swords to fight the demons?” “What if the least likely possible hero picked up one of these swords?” With a few more thoughts, I had the basis for Soul Stealer before our conversation had ended.
Similarly, for Spellslinger, I performed a quick thought experiment. I thought, “What if there was a world like the Wild West but with magic?” “What if wizards there used guns in lieu of wands?” “What if these wizards were like that world’s knights (a bit like the gunslingers in Dark Tower but with a full range of real magic)?” Then, “What story would I tell?” “How about a classic Western tale of revenge…except with dragons?!” As I wrote, other ideas came like, “What if there were reasons for the things these gun knights wear (e.g. their cowboy hats protect from demonic possession and not just the sun)?” So, the story fed upon itself from an original idea and a few questions.
As a scientist and ecologist who has read more than my fair share of fantasy, I also am a bit disappointed that there are so many magical worlds where the magic is not incorporated into the fabric of the world itself. Or, if it is, only superficially. Aside from there being magic in these tales, the places, people and things are often very much like our world, filled with people like you and me. Things do not exist in a vacuum (even in outer space). If there is magic, things would evolve to take advantage of it, make use of it, or adapt to it. Otherwise, why would there be wizards or magicians there in the first place? So, I wondered, “What if we lived in a world where magic was real and our beliefs with it? What if we could interact with magic? What would that world be like? How would magic be incorporated into the fabric of the place? How would that world and its creatures evolve together?” The Chronicles of the Fists trilogy developed from these questions using a more mature, fleshed out version of a martial arts monk character (Yip) I first envisioned in junior high school. I inserted this mystical martial arts ascetic in a western fantasy setting to see what would happen. His group (along with others) developed their skills in the magical world of Ea’ae through the ages. Yip could see and feel magic (chi from his view) for that very reason. Other creatures, places, and beings evolved and developed in their own way as well in response to these energies, helping create a unique, vibrant world.
So, for me, creativity is a spark that seeks to answer, resolve, or frame a question, one generated by an idea that develops over time.
Writing is being lucky enough to capture, but never fully do justice to, this process.
Here’s to questions!
First and foremost, thank you for your email (and thinking anything I write is creative)!
Generally, I find being creative is a process of getting out of the way and letting ideas come. Writing is the process of putting those ideas on the page. When the writing is going particularly well, I feel as though I am channeling the story, merely recording what is going on and arising from the imagination. So, for me, successful writing is often about getting out of the way of the story (and myself) as much as possible and letting it come.
Writing and creativity are also reactive. That is to say, they respond to circumstance and take off from inspiration and belief. Particularly in the belief that something will come.
To facilitate this process, before I go to bed at night, if I am ready for the next scene and do not have one in mind, after I close my eyes, I will envision recent story events and then trust ideas to come. Imagination does the rest—thoughts and story events spark further ideas.
Keeping the mind relaxed and flexible is another way to be open to inspiration. Don't try to force ideas, let them arise from your interests, experiences, and work.
Another way to work on creativity is to perform thought experiments, particularly as idea starters. Be the Einstein of writing and work through ideas. Create scenarios and find the answers. What would happen if..? What if..? How would..? These questions and others open whole new worlds.
Examples…
In my day job, I work in a research lab. In talking about katanas and sword fabrication (as one does in an R&D lab) with a co-worker, I mentioned that there was a sword-maker who claimed to have recreated Damascus steel. He had this steel tested and validated in the material science lab at the school where my co-worker did his Ph.D. work. This sword-maker calls his blades Angel Swords. As we were talking I thought, “What if angels had swords?” Then I thought, “What if these angels used their swords to fight the demons that threatened that world?” Then, “What if those demons defeated the angels and the angel swords rained from the heavens?” And, “What if only the honorable or pure of heart could take up these swords to fight the demons?” “What if the least likely possible hero picked up one of these swords?” With a few more thoughts, I had the basis for Soul Stealer before our conversation had ended.
Similarly, for Spellslinger, I performed a quick thought experiment. I thought, “What if there was a world like the Wild West but with magic?” “What if wizards there used guns in lieu of wands?” “What if these wizards were like that world’s knights (a bit like the gunslingers in Dark Tower but with a full range of real magic)?” Then, “What story would I tell?” “How about a classic Western tale of revenge…except with dragons?!” As I wrote, other ideas came like, “What if there were reasons for the things these gun knights wear (e.g. their cowboy hats protect from demonic possession and not just the sun)?” So, the story fed upon itself from an original idea and a few questions.
As a scientist and ecologist who has read more than my fair share of fantasy, I also am a bit disappointed that there are so many magical worlds where the magic is not incorporated into the fabric of the world itself. Or, if it is, only superficially. Aside from there being magic in these tales, the places, people and things are often very much like our world, filled with people like you and me. Things do not exist in a vacuum (even in outer space). If there is magic, things would evolve to take advantage of it, make use of it, or adapt to it. Otherwise, why would there be wizards or magicians there in the first place? So, I wondered, “What if we lived in a world where magic was real and our beliefs with it? What if we could interact with magic? What would that world be like? How would magic be incorporated into the fabric of the place? How would that world and its creatures evolve together?” The Chronicles of the Fists trilogy developed from these questions using a more mature, fleshed out version of a martial arts monk character (Yip) I first envisioned in junior high school. I inserted this mystical martial arts ascetic in a western fantasy setting to see what would happen. His group (along with others) developed their skills in the magical world of Ea’ae through the ages. Yip could see and feel magic (chi from his view) for that very reason. Other creatures, places, and beings evolved and developed in their own way as well in response to these energies, helping create a unique, vibrant world.
So, for me, creativity is a spark that seeks to answer, resolve, or frame a question, one generated by an idea that develops over time.
Writing is being lucky enough to capture, but never fully do justice to, this process.
Here’s to questions!
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