Just this past Wednesday, August 22nd, I had the fortune of attending a talk by Marc Silber about his new book Create. His presentation was very eye opening to what will aid people in lighting that creative fire within themselves.

Being a writer myself, my creativity is very important to me, it is a huge part of me. Upon hearing this applicable advice from Marc himself but advice he shared from some of those whom he interviewed. It was awe inspiring. 

 

The First Step

He introduced the five stages of creativity: Visualization, knowing your tools, work your craft, edit and share. Step one: visualization, is immensely important to the creative process. The level of importance of visualization Silber expressed provided much clarity as to what many struggle with: how can you begin something without visualizing what you want that something to become?

 

With visualization being such an important aspect to creativity, there is always room to strengthen that skill. Marc Silber told us how to do so: visit museums as often as you can. It doesn’t matter what your creative genre is, something will spark. 

 

 

Think about it: you’re surrounded by paintings, sculptures, and history. Soak it all in and let your creative process lead the way.

How does it make you feel?

What do you see?

How was the subject of the sculpture or painting captured?

 

Your friend, the Notebook

Hand in hand with visualization is always carry a notebook. As creative people, we have no idea when an idea will pop into our heads. We don’t want to lose that. 

 

 

“Keep a notebook. Travel with it, eat with it, sleep with it. Slap into it every stray thought that flutters into your brain.” – Jack London 

 

You could be doing an everyday task when all of the sudden a wonderful idea will pop into your head and with a notebook nearby you can write it down before you forget. Don’t let your wonderful ideas slip away from you. My favorite thing Marc said about having a physical notebook is that it isn’t digital. This notebook isn’t something that will crash or freeze or erase all of your work. People can be so enticed with having the best form of technology to hold all their notes that it is easy to overlook the simple beauty of a physical notebook. Marc stated that with this notebook you can also look back and learn from yourself; build from the notes you took.

 

Know Your tools

Speaking of notes, make a note of this: know your tools. At first, I didn’t quite understand but Marc explained very well, both at the talk and in his book. He explained that understanding every nook and cranny of your tool(s) will allow you to fully express your creativity. Sometimes people want the newest and greatest tool but don’t understand the tool very well. They spend so much time adjusting and fiddling with their tool that very little time is put into the art itself. Your art is a beautiful part of you and it deserves your complete focus. Don’t let a lack of knowledge and understanding of your tool stop your creativity. You may get so wrapped up in all these cool tools to use with your art that you end up not creating anything, according to Silber.

 

“You have your vision, you have your tools, it’s time to get to work. It’s that simple.” – Marc Silber

First Creative Barrier

Silber referred to one of the creators he interviewed for his book, composer David Campbell to introduce the topic of barriers for creators and how to overcome them. As a very successful composer with 425 platinum or gold albums taht he has been a part of, it’s amazing to think he had any doubts or barriers. According to Silber, it is common for people to believe that when someone is that good or as successful as Campbell, they must have been prodigies or have been successful in this area since they were young. The truth is, everyone has barriers to overcome within themselves for their creativity. To give us an idea of the advice we’d read about in Create, Marc told us what Campbell said is one of the biggest barriers a creator faces: self- criticism. 

 

There is a right time and a right place for self-criticism. You don’t want to start self-criticizing right when you’re coming up with ideas because that’s definitely not the right time. Even when you’re in the middle of a project and you start to have those invading thoughts of, “oh I don’t like how this looks,” don’t stop just yet. Keep going and finish the piece before deciding.

 

Step in the Right Direction

As a writer, I am always questioning whether or not what I am writing is good enough. It is for that reason, I have never actually finished a chapter. My own self- criticism has stopped me from expressing my creativity. I learned that during this talk as well as when I read Create. 

 

I could go on and on about how much this talk and about Create helped me move forward with my creativity. It is still a daily struggle to have that self-confidence in my writing. However, I now have advice from professional creators on how to approach my self-doubt. And that’s just the first step.

 

All of this is just the tip of the iceberg of the insightful and helpful advice gained by Marc Silber and his book Create. Gain your self- confidence, learn how to perfect your visualization, make time for what you love, find your support system and share your work with the world. 

 

It is not an easy path but it will be worth it.    

Be sure to check out his book, Create: Tools from Seriously Talented People to Unleash Your Creative Life.Learn more here.

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