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comment by specialk16
specialk16  ·  4036 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: How do you generate ideas and how do you keep track them?

What a fantastic comment. I wish I had any kind of creative talent, music, writing, or drawing. I find myself having all these ideas and all these images going around my head, they are mostly an escape mechanism I use when I'm feeling extremely anxious (especially when I'm surrounded by many people) or when I'm seriously considering a trip to the 69th pole of the Golden Gate Bridge, but I just don't know how to put them in words, much less in a drawing. I guess these things just come naturally to people like you, I mean, your post was beautifully written after all.

Whenever I do manage to write something, I scrap it after a few pages, and if I look back at the stuff I've saved I cannot help but cringe at how badly written or how cliched it is. I'm not a native English speaker, but if I try to write in Spanish, I begin to worry about the accents and other grammatical complications of the language until I just cannot write any longer.

I wonder how did you feel in you mid twenties. I share the same perplexity towards the "extrovert kind". I keep reading (especially on reddit) and people keep telling me how making connections is the most important thing you'll ever do in your life. Well, tough luck, because I'm literally incapable of talking to people I don't know. At some point during my previous job I realized it takes around 6 months before I even feel comfortable talking to someone new. But I digress.

I have a good job, even though I dropped out of college, but it seems every day I am reminded of how much I hate corporate environments. Working in software development, am I the only one convinced that all these metrics, all these methodologies, all these meetings, just kill creativity? Living everyday life, am I the only who is incapable of feeling any connection with anybody else?

And yet, I see people my age, already starting their own businesses, a few of them getting their first kick starters, all of them already finishing their degrees... I would ask my self what am I missing but I'm well aware that I either just can't function socially or I'm simply too lazy and uninterested in the rest of the world. Depression and anxiety might just be a pathetic excuse.

But I digress. Again. As proof of my incredibly shitty writing skills, you are probably wondering what the hell am I babbling about since I keep switching subjects every two seconds.





cwenham  ·  4036 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'm replying to this just after @humanodon, so I'll begin by pointing over there and agreeing with it.

Buy or borrow the DVD for Pixar's The Incredibles and watch the special features. They show storyboard sketches for an early idea they had for the beginning of the movie, and it is cringe-worthy. It's not that bad, but it's cliche--a "psst! These guys are actually superheroes, but noone at their backyard barbecue really know it!" opening. They toyed with it for a while, then dumped the idea in favor of what was evolving to be the movie we'd see in the cinema.

Early efforts almost always suck, and the best artists are the ones who abhor their early work, but some pieces will suck slightly less than other pieces. As you read more good fiction, look at more good art, listen to more good music, you start to develop a taste that helps you identify which pieces of your early work are less crap than other pieces.

They may still suck, but now you cannibalize them and try again with something else. Again, most of it sucks, but some pieces suck less than others. Maybe an idea or two will survive more than two or three generations, but the more you do it the more nuggets you get that have been bred for survival. After a while (which can be decades--you might have heard of the "10,000 hour" rule) a lot of your stuff is better than crap.

You should watch another movie (a documentary, actually), and one that I didn't see until last night when I couldn't sleep: Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Near the end, the 3-star Michelin reviewed sushi chef laments that he doesn't have the nose of his favorite french chef. Sense of smell is paramount, especially when you're serving raw fish, and while Jiro considers his nose to be very good, he thinks it doesn't hold a candle to Joel Robuchon.

We simultaneously learn two things: the ability to sense what's good is instrumental in being able to produce good things, and someone who thinks his senses are bollocks compared to another guy can still be a freekin' 3-star Michelin chef.

Jiro, like you and I, is intensely self-critical. He sees his success as the product of constant refinement, getting a little bit less crap each year through practice, experimentation, dedication and inspiration.

As for introverts living in a world of extroverts, it is a source of constant stress. Most of the population are extroverts, which I think is partially why contacts and networking are so important. Extroverts tend to think in terms of people, introverts tend to think in terms of things. An extrovert is more likely to pick someone he knows, an introvert is more likely to scrutinize a CV and study portfolios. Ah well.

Don't compare yourself to anyone of any age, especially if they're doing things that you don't really want to do. Take some time to really think about what you want and what you think you want. Kickstarters and businesses might be what you want, or you might only think that's what you want. Give them a shot if you want to be sure, but if you find that you're not enjoying it, then it's not what you really want.

Expertise and creativity take years to develop, and all endeavors that lead to success take daily, habitual effort, and you won't find the energy to keep that up for years and years unless you really like doing it.

humanodon  ·  4036 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'm gonna jump in here. Creative talent needs nurture. It doesn't spring forth from one's head, fully formed. The cringe is good. Don't get used to it, look at it and try to use it to make the next one better. Worry is not good. Have you tried having a drink or something and just letting your mind wander when you sit down to write? Minds should wander, it's what they do.