Creativity -- Part I

I have been diligently working on my novel over this month. My progress has been extraordinarily much better than what it had been during college. I was able to complete my second pass in about two weeks. However, it was with trials and times of slow progress, much of the foundation work was unstable at the climax and required much rewriting. Regardless, I was able to get the novel touched up and now I'm doing a third pass with subplots, continuity, and clarification in mind, which is surprisingly complicated in its own right. This got me thinking. On a day where I had to work all day (I really don't look forward to them because they are depressing and stifling to my muse) I was reminded of something Stephen Kind had said, something that I've heard him say several times and perhaps you have to: "You can't teach creative writing."

I've recycled this quote several times. My creative writing class was helpful to me. I learned much from it and was glad to have taken it. This should've been more than enough for anyone to stop the thinking about the subject but I didn't, because I realized the real improvements in my writing came from writing more, reading, revising, and looking over other writer's material.

So I thought further. I got to thinking about creativity in general.

I use to draw; mostly consisting of Dragonball Z characters, dinosaurs, and variations of Godzilla monsters, basically copying what had been made. This was during my middle school and high school days. In my latter days of High School I got into making comics. The main attraction was painting them in water color. I wasn't very good either, the paintings were messy and I seriously overused the paint. But I loved it. I even did pottery. That was fun too, and I even got pretty good at it. But however good I may have felt about what I was doing, there were others in my grade creating stuff that was simply breathtaking. Vast, lush landscapes with life-like animals wondering them. Drawings of people that looked as if someone had taken a photograph.

I then realized that the art teacher never held a regular teaching sessions. I'm talking about when we sat down and he went through the basics of each craft. Instead, what he did was have students gather around him and watched as he performed a certain craft, then we tried to create from there, whether it be painting, pottery, drawing, carving, whatever.

I even participated in music (band). I have a fondness for percussion, and still do, I would love to learn how to play drums. I know I have a natural talent for it. I constantly hear beats in my head and listen for them in music. All I would have to do is practice. But there were those in band that simply couldn't grasp the concept of their instrument, the scales, how to use it, etc. Then there were those who could learn the scales, but never anything more. And then there those who had the gift.

All of this thinking made me come to a question: Can creativity be taught?

"Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing. Innovation is the production or implementation of an idea. If you have ideas, but don’t act on them, you are imaginative but not creative." — Linda Naiman


You can teach someone how to draw a straight line, the basic shapes of certain objects, but not the details of drawing the human face. You can teach someone the basic notes on a guitar, but not how to play an amazing solo. You can teach someone how to write a proper academic paper, but not the concepts of writing a novel. You can teach someone how to paint at a basic level, but not breathtaking images of landscapes that appear like photos.

I do believe classes can give people the tools they need to develop their art. But how many classes/seminars does someone have to take before they start receiving duplicates of the tools they already have? Was Beethoven taught how to write Moonlight Sonata? Was JRR Tolkien taught how to write Lord of the Rings? Was Leonardo da Vinci taught how to paint the Mona Lisa?

So what you have to ask yourself is this. How important is education to art and creativity? And what are we tapping into when we use creativity?

The next two blog posts will cover with these questions. I will be introducing two different bloggers (and friends) so they can answer these questions. Creativity is an interesting beast. It lives in us all, even in those who think they have none. While creativity is something that is debated about, one thing can't be denied, our creativity grows the more we use it.

Keep Writing.

J.G.A.

Dreams

Been an interesting week, and it flew by too. I mean, Christ, it's already Friday, how the hell did that happen? Of course, this is to be expected when living in the world of summer break. The previous weekend was fracking crazy with work and it left me seriously out of my mind and wickedly tired. Took Monday and Tuesday to recover. Also met an adorable Chihuahua named Foxy on Monday. She had the biggest eyes ever, I seriously couldn't resist her gaze. She ended up sitting my lap for nearly two hours. I gotta get me one down the road.

Anyway, I had some things I wanted to get off my mind in this blog post, so here it goes.

Ever notice how dreams tend to come and go? Like, for example, you have two weeks of extremely vivid dreams? Then you'll have that stretch where you can't remember any of the dreams you had? Lately, my dreams have been extremely vivid. Which I'm not complaining, because the imagery of such dreams are incredible. A lot of the ideas I've written have been inspired by dreams, might explain why some are so damn difficult to write.

Dreams can be weird, beautiful, or even terrifying (especially if you're ill). Your brain is most active when you're sleeping, or when you're going through REM (Rapid Eye Movement). Anyone have a cat or dog? Ever notice when they sleep they start twitching and making weird grunts and whines? We do the same. It's also when we dream. The cool part about dreaming is there seems to be no understanding for where they come from, or even why we have them. But, if I'm not wrong, I think I heard somewhere that when your dreaming is when the subconscious is running wild, thus the dreams.

Your dreams have meaning. Looking at them for their face value makes it's difficult. If you've been following my blog, you'll know I've been ranting constantly about how a change of mind can lead to a positive directional change in life. This has allowed me to understand dreams better. Another part of this has come from long conversations with my mother about dreams and what they mean. Dreams speak to you in metaphors, they speak with images, it's all they have over there, so you have to meet them halfway if you want to hear what your subconscious has to say. It takes time, patience, and a willingness to listen in order to understand what your dreams mean. Sometimes it's minor, other times it's something serious.

I won't deny, however, that some dreams are just too messed up to understand.

Sometimes, however, those dreams lead to ideas. James Cameron came up with the idea for Terminator through a fever dream. He described a chrome skull appearing through a wall of flames. He has mentioned several times he loves nightmares because the imagery is so much more vivid and usually gave him ideas. In addition, we've seen dreams influence Hollywood. Inception anyone? Another that comes to mind is Vanilla Sky, although the movie wasn't well received, acts II and III was pretty much all a dream. Star Wars is another example, mostly in Episode II and III however.

Sometimes dreams will slap you in the face to get your attention, like dreams of fire, pay attention to those. Have anyone you don't get along with? Feel envious of? Unspoken anger? They'll show up in your dreams usually involved flames or the color red (the color of anger). Go to bed thinking of something, say, how you want to go on a vacation for example. Your subconscious will usually respond. I had such an instance once where I had a dream and felt pure elation. I was so happy, so excited, then I woke up and was seriously depressed to realize it was a dream. It felt so tangible that I thought I was living that dream. Three weeks later, I was going down to Georgia for vacation (without parents) and having all the same feelings I had in the dream. That ladies and gents, is called deja vu. Everyone has had that.

If you are so inclined to respond, what are your thoughts on dreams? Most people are usually just weirded out by them or don't see the need to talk about them, but I'm always interested to hear/read opinions from others.

Keep dreaming!

J.G.A.

Summer Goals and Plans

With summer break in full swing, I've been gradually settling myself into focusing on my writing. I must say it's almost a little odd because I keep expecting homework to rear its ugly head and shout, haha! here I am! thought you'd get rid of me did you? But seriously though, knowing my time outside of work is free to do as I wish is a gift I love about summer break. With some of this time, I've established some goals and wanted to share them with you so I can hold myself accountable and make sure I accomplish them.

My most important goal is to finish my horror novel. I wrote the first draft last summer and it has been an on/off working experience since. However, I've been working steadily on it for the past two weeks and I'm about to reach the climax. But there is still much work to be done. The novel isn't terribly long, but the subject matter covers several subjects and I'm still learning how to get all them together.

I suppose, as an added bonus, I should say that looking for an editor once I feel the novel is ready should be on my goal list too, but I've been focused on just trying to get the damn thing done. Working on a novel is truly difficult work. I always thought it was just writing the first draft, but nooooooo, it's the revision that gets you.

Another goal of mine was to wrap up a novella I wrote in March of last year. I haven't looked at it since the end of last summer and feel it could use a good clean up. I'm trying to get what I've written done so I can get them out on the market, but novellas are like the Twilight Zone of stories. Too long to be short stories, too short to be novels, and with few places to submit for a home, it'll be interesting to see what happens when I turn my attention to it later in the summer. Still though, it'll be fun to work on it, as writing is, even if the work is difficult (sometimes like shoveling shit from the sitting position).

The last goal, which I've partially finished, is to wrap up two short stories that have received much feedback from fellow writers (thank you! you know who you are) and get them submitted. I've already done that with one, the other needs another look over as I think the subject matter still isn't quite where I want it. The story could also use a better title, something a little more specific than "Night".

In other news, I've been keeping up with my reading, which is always a plus. Currently rereading Stephen King's On Writing and it's been great. My understanding of writing has grown since I last read the book and I'm able to better understand some of the things he talks about. Also, as a personal/independent study, I'm reading The Elements of Style by E.B White and William Strunk Jr. If you haven't read the book, I recommend it. At only eighty-five pages, you'll find the book to be straight to the point and extremely helpful, regardless if you've been writing for a year or fifteen.

Before I wrap this up, there is just one more thing I want to add, I'll be brief too. Do you think: "Good God, what was I thinking?" when you go back and read the first draft of your story? It happens to me a lot, but something I read in On Writing struck me like a hammer and I had to read the line three or four times. It goes something like this, "The first time you write a story, you're telling yourself the story. The second time around, you are removing what isn't needed so you can tell others the story."

By the way, who else is excited about the new Batman movie? It's a comic book movie sure, but Christopher Nolan sure is a hell of a story teller.

Let me wrap this up with a video. Enjoy!

Keep Writing folks!

J.G.A.

Making Noise with Your Writing

Going to try to get into the grove of blogging regularly again. College has ended for summer and now I have more free time, but I can't really think of what to blog about without feeling I've been reiterating the same thing. I try to focus on writing when blogging, but I only know so much, and there is only so much I can say before I just start speaking my opinion. I could talk about this, that, and the other, but in the end; writing is usually just about instinct and following what you feel is right.

Regardless, I'm going to talk about writing anyway. And yes, it will be my opinion, because damn it, I have something to say! :)

Sent out some of my short stories to be published and I'm still waiting to get a reply from some. I have two more stories I should finish so I can submit them as well. One of them is quite good too. I did get a couple rejections though. One of them said: "It wasn't quite the right fit." For whatever that was worth, I figured I would just keep plugging away.

The biggest quest for a writer is to find a place for themselves in an already heavily crowded creative department. I have mentioned this before, but there is a lot bad writing out there, and if those folks can make it, you can make it to. But how do you? Well, you need to do a couple things. First, do you remember my previous blog post? You know, the ones that had the six rules of success? If you do, gold star for you! If not, well, check out my previous blog post, I'm only going to highlight which ones apply to writing.

1.) Break the Rules
Yes, my first rule is breaking the rules. My first Creative Writing teacher eventually became more of a hindrance than helpful. She believed everything had to follow rules. That stories were meant to follow guidelines and formulas. Once again, this goes back to what I mentioned before: if the story is good, who gives a damn how the story is put together?

I wrote a story called Hellhound, which was a combination of journal entries, audio logs, third person narration and newspaper articles. I sent it to a sci-fi/horror writer to look over and she basically didn't like it. She did have some points; said the writing needed to be tighter. However, when I sent the story to a couple other folks, they thought the story was really good, needed some more editing, but good. What's the point you ask?

WRITE A STORY THAT MAKES YOU STAND OUT.

This leads me to my second rule.

2.) Don't be Afraid to Fail
As far as I'm concerned, anything that is creative is going to get a lot of rejection. Because let's face it, while the arts is the best form of self expression, it's just another form of entertainment for most folks. In order to write a story that breaks the rules and hasn't been written before, you have to shed your fear that the story might not work. You just have to take the dive. No matter how crazy the story might be. As long as you believe what you're writing is good, keep pushing, someone will like the story enough to publish it. You can't let your fear prevent you from breaking out of the format striving for originality.

3.) Write like You've Been In the Industry
This is my own rule and in my opinion, the most important. No matter what kind of story you're writing or the approach you're taking, you have to write with a level of arrogance. Don't act with arrogance though, read what you can, edit what you can get your hands on, listen to other writer's advice; but when you sit down and write your story. Write like you've been doing it for years. Use bold words, take chances, don't hold back your punches. Editors and publishers are looking for stories that will grab them by their white collars and slap them around and then pull them in. Treat your first novel much like the opening song of an album. Something that will grip the reader and want them to read more. Start with something explosive, whatever that may be. But write with power, purpose, and confidence.
 
4.) Trust Yourself
All of the previous coincide with trusting yourself. If you don't do that, none of these rules will work. If you don't, then maybe you should dig deep inside and decide if writing is what you want to do.

5.) Work Your Ass Off
Writing isn't a glamorous job, it's not even fun most of the time. Those who love telling stories will say there is a lot heavy lifting involved. If you want to write and make a living; you have to prove it by rolling up your sleeves and digging in your heels, because no one is going to notice unless you work your ass off.

The amount of opportunities this country has to offer is incredible, and they're there for the taking. It just depends on how much work you're willing to put into your goals/dreams to achieve them. But if you trust yourself, and don't give a shit about what others say, you will reach your goals, no matter how narrow the field is.

So when you sit down in front of that nasty blank page, think of something that will grab the reader's attention by saying: "Hey you! Yeah you! Get over here, I have a story to tell so sit down and listen up!"

So break the rules, don't be afraid to fail, write with purpose, trust yourself, and work like hell. You will succeed.

J.G.A.

Disconnection Leads to Connection

Hello! Been a while since I've been on here, or even on social media. Needed to figure some things out, and the results have been anything but disappointing. Let me start from the beginning.

Last week, I became aware that I was spending far too much time online, looking at blog stats, looking at Facebook, Twitter, going to the Astral Tide forums; basically all forms of social media was clouding me from the real world around me. So I disconnected.

What did I discover?

First, how much more time I had in the day. I knew I was spending too much time online, but this really made me realize exactly how much. In addition, it also made me realize I had a bit of an addiction going on (which is stupid) with Facebook and Twitter. I had to fight the urge to go online and see what others were doing. However, once those days passed, I began to focus on me and what I was doing, which was mostly getting as much homework done as possible. But backtrack to day two of my disconnection, I came across a speech on YouTube that Arnold Schwarzenegger gave to USC graduates called "The Six Rules of Success". They are listed as stated (also paraphrased from the forty minute speech).

1. Trust Yourself
What is most important about this rule is digging deep inside yourself and realizing who you want to be. Not what, but who.

2. Break the Rules
There are rules about everything in life, so many that apply to so many aspects. It's impossible to be a true original or maverick if you don't break the rules. Be the first to do something that hasn't been done before.

3. Don't be Afraid to Fail
You can't always win but don't let fear of failure prevent you from making decisions, or you will never push yourself. You push yourself because you trust yourself and your vision, and you know success will come. You have to be willing to fail if you ever expect to grow.

4. Don't Listen to the Nay-Sayers
Never listen to anyone that says you can't do this, or you can't do that. This goes with being a true original, being the first to do something that hasn't been done before. Never listen to 'you can't', always listen to yourself 'yes, you can.'

5. Work Your Ass Off
There is no way around hard, hard, work. Of course, there is nothing wrong with having fun. But remember when you're out there partying, horsing around, or whatever it is you're doing, someone out there is working hard, getting smarter, and winning. None of these rules of success will work unless YOU do.

6. Give Something Back
Whether it is to your community, state, or country, find a way to help others in need. Tear down that mirror you look into everyday, and see there are others in need. It will give your more satisfaction than anything you've ever done.

What hit me the most immediately was rule number three. I listened to that part of the speech over and over and over. I even took out a piece of paper and wrote down the six rules and pinned it up beside my bed so I could look the rules over before I go to sleep at night. As the days passed, I kept the rules in my head, and the other that started to sink in was TRUST YOURSELF.

The beauty of this is that in being disconnected from social media, I had cut off the distractions and simply enjoyed the true beauty of life and enjoyed true silence. Because when you listen to the quiet, you can hear your inner most desires speaking to you, whether you think they are or not.

This past Tuesday, I woke up feeling rather gloomy, even slightly depressed. Another day of doing the same old shit. I enjoyed a hot cup of coffee and was about to take a shower when I peered out the family room window and felt a realization wash over me. I'm bored. And not just a little bored, really, really, bored. I had been bored since I graduated high school in 2007. Then I thought: Who do I want to be?

I want to be someone who challenges himself, someone who goes outside his comfort zone, someone who strives for greatness, someone who is unbiased, open, and logical, someone who travels. I want to leave the tiny, stagnant town I live in. And finally, I want to be more than just an author. I want to get involved in acting, voice acting, directing, play writing, screen writing. I want to get involved in music. I want to be a dancer.

After this realization, I looked through USI's degree programs. At the time, I was signed up as an English major. But when I looked through the University's Theater Arts program, I knew what I wanted to do, I switched my major and made my minor Creative Writing. I plan to take some technical, government, rhetoric, and even poetry writing classes to expand my writing skills.

This all came from my realization that through the first twenty-three years of my life, I've never truly challenged myself. I'm tired of being bored. It's time to see what I'm made of. But with this massive shift in mindset, came the fear that this might not work. Even my mother was apprehensive about what I was doing. And she had reason to, I had never been involved with plays in high school, or even middle school, and those in grade school, well, how can one really act when they're afraid to express themselves at a base level? Yeah, I was afraid. But I thought: I don't want to do anything else. Do I want to major in English? Yes, but only because it's what I'm comfortable and familiar with. I have a deeper, more personal desire to be involved in theater, the possibilities from that interest me so much more than anything English could offer. Then I thought: why am I afraid? I'm going to do this anyway, so I might as well get over it. And it was like something clicked. If I failed, or found I didn't like theater, I can change my direction, but better to have tried and failed than never try at all.

The future is bright, and I think for the first time in my life, I'm moving forward without fear to hold me back. Fear, it's all the same, and it hinders.

These rules have changed my life. Schwarzenegger has made mistakes, but who hasn't? He's still an extremely successful individual and a self-made man. I will go on in life with this rules in mind, reciting them everyday, and studying them every night. I hope USI is ready for me, because I'm going to light it up!

I hope the rules help you as much as they did me!

J.G.A.

March and #Writemotivation Wrap-up

I discovered (pleasantly I might add) that I have the evening off so I figured one thing I could do was type up a quick blog post. I don't know how often I'll be able to blog while college is in its zenith, so this might be the last post until college wraps up on May 4th.

First thing, I have been accepted to the University of Southern Indiana (USI). Been trying to get all my ducks lined up so I can attend this coming fall, in addition to extra homework (papers basically) from Ivy Tech along with working everyday has made things extremely hectic and stressful. I'm trying to get everything USI requires of me (signing up for housing, immunizations, tax transcripts, verification worksheet, etc.) done so I can enjoy summer while forgetting I have plenty of time to get everything done. I mean, orientation for USI (where I'll sign up for classes) isn't until June 1st. I can't except any loans offered to pay tuition until after July 1st. Just gotta remember to breathe.

In other news, I finally finished Hitler: A Study in Tyranny. I'd been reading this book for about two months. It was far different than reading fiction. Thirty pages of reading was really diving into the material, to understand everything I read. Non-fiction is usually like this for me anyway, but when half of the book is about politics, it takes extra effort to understand everything. Eight-hundred pages later, I realize Hitler was a genius, but downright evil and insane. He knew how to appeal to the masses, to touch on the heartbeat of the German people who hated the Treaty of Versailles the Republic had signed at the end of World War I. It was the foundation which Hitler used to rise to power. I can only imagine what Hitler could've accomplished if he had hammered Britain into defeat rather than concerning himself with Russia and then the U.S.A. after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. After that, (wars on three fronts) it's not hard to see why Germany collapsed.

Also wrapped up The Green Mile. I've read the book before, but it was fun to read it and analyze the structure. Currently reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Very interesting so far. The writing is very straight forward. It's a no bullshit kind of approach which is refreshing considering the past two books I've read. I love Stephen King, but sometimes he can get carried away with words, something I'm guilty of doing myself.

Speaking of which, I finished applying KT's critiques to short story White Haze and was able to trim off six pages. I plan to go back and read through it again to make sure everything flows. Working on the story has changed how I look at writing. In addition to reading American Gods, I'm learning the importance of saying something once and moving on. Funny how things hit you. But hey, at least I'm learning.

With White Haze taken care of, I'll be able to return my attention to my first WiP horror novel. Something I'm very much looking forward to because I have some fresh ideas I want to apply. I plan to plot the story (something I never did when writing the first draft) and develop the story from there. Not sure how long this will take, the novel is kinda like unkempt hair that you're trying to comb. With 30 hr work weeks and college still going strong for another month, time will be limited. In addition, with the weather getting warmer, I'd like to ride my bike more often. The last day it was eighty out here, I surprised myself with a healthy six/seven mile bike ride and I felt great after it too.

That's about it. March has been one hell of a month. I hope everyone has been doing well. I look forward to summer, the end of the current semester, and vacation time.

Keep writing folks!

J.G.A.

What I Found

 


7,204 words is what it took to finish up my latest novel. It's really quite nice to have finished the story. I've put the most effort into this novel than I have any other story I've written. It's funny when I look back and think about where I started. All I was trying to do was create a different tone for a novella I'd written last summer. A tone that would seem more mature and just a tad more flushed out (plus the beginning just sucked). Instead, what I got was a novel that wasn't just more mature than anything else I've written, but a learning experience in plotting, keeping track of details, and a lesson in multiple character management. In the sense, the story transcended and became something bigger, something better.

I'm a stickler for writing stuff I've written before, and this falls into that category. However, having a model to follow allowed me to create an inciting incident that started the story nicely. One that flushed out the three main characters from the novella more, but also a beginning that would set the tone for the novel and determine the ending. So when the reader reaches the denouement, the reader will (I hope) feel a since of irony but also feel sorry for the tragedy that had befallen the characters. But not to be outdone, I put in a little touch of hope at the resolution that introduced the story: a butterfly. Look it up its symbolic meaning if you get a chance. :)

Writing the novel took about a month and a half. Writing is always a journey. Short stories, I usually have to complete in one day, unless it's something that exceeds fifteen thousand words, because a short story is so easy to screw up. Novels are an adventure with characters that become your friends, people you know everything about, people you can predict their reactions to situations, they're almost like family. For this story, it was doubly nice to meet familiar characters, but also made the goodbyes a little more sad.

So the first draft has been completed. It wasn't easy, but I did it. And I feel like a different person coming out of it. It's a stepping stone for the next novel I have working in my head to which I plan to start when college is over. I even have a idea for a short story I'd like to get out, but I'm going to take a couple days off and just relax. Maybe get some extra homework done, maybe take an extra long bike ride, or maybe finish this damn book on Hitler I've been reading forever.

That being said, here's the updated goal list for March #writemotivation.

Finish first draft of WiP
Apply KT Hanna's critiques to short story White Haze
Get back to shelved WiP

I'm on track to accomplish these goals since I finished the first draft a few days early.

How's the goal check list looking for anyone else?

#writemotivation to all!

J.G.A.

P.S. When I'm not writing my own projects, I write for a side project called Astral Tide. A series collaboration between Z.M. Willmot, myself, and S. Huang. You can check it out here. If you like post-apocalyptic sci-fi, horror, fantasy, drama, you might just find some interest in the running series.