Every Monday is Tip Day! Grab a cup of coffee and get over the Monday morning bump with tips, tools, and inspiration from Perch.
This Week: Embrace Constraint
Many times as I am working on a creative piece, such as the short story draft I have due this weekend, I find myself wishing for the perfect creative environment. The right music, the right atmosphere, peace and quiet, no responsibilities, time to myself, no to-do list waiting. I find myself wanting to get away so I can get down to the business of creative work.
And sometimes that is what is needed. But many times, it’s not.
Creative retreats serve a necessary and valuable purpose, but let’s be honest – we can’t go on retreat every time we have a deadline. We can’t hide ourselves away every time we have a project on our plates. (Unless we’re J.D. Salinger, that is.)
I’m learning that the best thing to do in these types of situations is to embrace the constraint – whatever it may be. For me, it’s usually time, but sometimes its resources or knowledge or space.
This week I’m on a tight deadline, so I’m embracing the constraint. I’m shifting some things in my life around, carving out time to write, and setting word count goals. I’m talking through my plot line with my husband while we’re running errands and rehearsing scenes in the story while I’m in the shower. (You do that, too, right?) When I’m folding laundry, I’m working through elements of each character to make sure they are consistent.
And I’m writing.
Creativity does require constraint, and these bursts of creative work have been far more effective for me than a weekend-long brainstorming session. Will I need a thorough round of editing and feedback? Absolutely, yes, but the time constraint has helped me flesh out the elements of the story that matter to me most. I am also relying on my gut reaction about the story direction more, which I tend to circle around to in the editing process anyway.
Those are the ways that I am keeping my creative work top of mind because time is my constraint this week. What is your constraint, and how can you embrace it?
Related posts:
- Every Monday is Tip Day! This Week: Instant Inspiration
- Every Monday is Tip Day! This Week: Be Intentional
- Every Monday is Tip Day! This Week: Set a Deadline
- Every Monday is Tip Day! This Week: Start Off on the Right Foot
- Every Monday is Tip Day! This Week: Create a Vision Board for 2010
Social poster
Downloads
- No documents for download.
[...] it to a digital image), and you only have one or two adjustments to work with. Instead, you have to embrace the constraints and revel in the imperfection. After a while instant film becomes about manipulating imperfections [...] 
Track comments via RSS 2.0 feed. Feel free to post the comment, or trackback from your web site.
[...] it to a digital image), and you only have one or two adjustments to work with. Instead, you have to embrace the constraints and revel in the imperfection. After a while instant film becomes about manipulating imperfections [...]