Howdy Otterites! Francis here on a long overdue Francis Friday. Been busy of late but am back to talk of cool things, just like my compadres have been doing so well otherwise.
I love to riff of some of the things the other guys lay out – privilege of going chronologically last. Was struck by Robert’s most recent post about having a ‘place for your stuff” as the late great George Carlin put it. Robert as usual is 100% correct. To be creative in any manner – we must have a place/space/methodology of some sort. Period and amen. And let’s face it, the desire to create is a basic human desire too many of simply us shunt aside, not realizing we are imperiling our own long-term happiness when we do that.
Robert spoke of his space and yes, I have one as well, but I’m not really going to go into it. It’s my preferred spot, but I can adapt very well to many locations. Give me a desktop preferably, as the monitors are big and easier for me to see, and I can probably manage wherever it is. My ‘Library’ at home is where I love to be, but I can smack around a little at work during breaks, or on the kitchen table with my beloved MacBook. My iPad is an awesome tool as well when I’m in the easy chair and I can even do some on my phone while waiting in line somewhere. I use Microsoft Word as my primary tool which is nigh-universal and my working files are all connected via Dropbox, so as long as I’m fastidious about saving and closing, I can bounce from tool to tool without missing a beat.
All of which leads me to the point I wish to pull forward from Robert’s post. Ultimately, everything is about mindset. That is how the creative act happens. Deliberate action directed towards a specific goal. The proper place influences and fuels this, but in the end, we create because we want to.
I see this on Quora all the time, where folks will ask about how they can write a bestselling novel and loads of published authors all chime back the same way – just sit down and do it. There are post-production caveats galore of course – “the magic is in the editing”, “don’t be afraid to trim and cut mercilessly” and especially “take feedback seriously” and “work to improve” above all. But in the end, they all say the same thing Robert did. Find that sweet spot system and use it. For all the talk of how you cannot make “genius work on an assembly line basis” (a James T. Kirk quote, BTW) nothing beautiful happens without an ordered, persistent approach. Some may be short term, like cooking the perfect steak, or agonizingly long like writing your debut novel. In the end, they all happen because we devote ourselves to them.
Drive, folks. Drive is the essential element. It really is as simple as that. No matter what you want, it only happens if you work at it.
And since it would not be a Francis Friday without a video clip, here’s a very young George Carlin, performing perhaps his most famous material:
Most excellent, sir! Also love the use of Michaelangelo. Any Mike makes it a good post automatically. Though this would be just as good without.
Very correct about Drive. My bit about clearing out the distractions was very much aimed at this. Hard to put the mind in drive when there’s so much “stuff” in the way of the gear shift.