First of all, I know I haven't been on in nearly a month. I know that equates to being in a coma or dying, as far as bloggers go. Let's just say there were extenuating circumstances. The important thing is, I'm back!And now: THE CURSE!
The curse of creativity is when you are so taken over by an idea that you drop everything else in your life to pursue it.
I'm not just talking about ignoring calls from your friends and family for a few weeks or neglecting your children. I'm talking about pushing aside basic human needs in your hot-headed urge to get the idea down on paper, or canvas, or on your guitar, or in Photoshop, or on the computer.
Like sleep. "Sleep be damned!" says your mind when it's on fire with a creative idea. Food is another one. I personally adore food so much that I would eat chocolate chips out of the freezer for an entire day rather than starve myself completely, even for the world's best idea. But I have heard of folks who survived for days on caffeine alone.
My husband and I have talked about this curse before. He is a musician and songwriter who has stayed up many a night composing. For me, it's writing.
There's something desperate about the drive to get your idea out of your head and into a more permanent form. The drive is almost... let's not get too graphic here... procreative. It's a little disturbing. But it's the truth. It's urgent. It's a feeling of "now or never." If something thwarts your urge, you'll be frustrated. You'll get over it eventually, maybe even quickly, but you'll feel like you've been denied one of the very biological needs you shoved aside to pursue your idea in the first place. It can be that powerful.
For me, I was wide awake at 5:30 AM today with an idea for a screenplay. I gave up on sleep, got up and sat down at the computer. Three pages of notes later, I've written down all of the main characters, their histories, the basic plot more or less from start to finish, and even some dialogue. I'll let you know if it turns into anything.
I'd love to hear your stories of what happens to you when the creativity bug bites you.
Jen -
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts! I keep a creativity notebook - a great idea for a project, song, paper, saving the whales comes along and I log it in the notebook. It at least gets the idea down and removes it from my brain, which is already cluttered with myriad things! Sometimes I wrap back to those ideas and realize them; someday I will sell the unrealized ones and be rich! [not!]
I, too, tend to hyperfocus and can spend HOURS staring at my computer screen... to the detriment of my back, butt, legs!
My prime creative time is 11 pm-2 am; alas, those hours are not conducive to getting "real work" done - or perhaps I should just be a full-time creative! (-;