Nothing can focus my creativity quite like a project. This may seem obvious, but it’s one of those obvious techniques I cannot repeat to myself enough, of cultivating and harvesting inspiration so it can nourish my creativity, transforming it into a blog, an article, a poem, or a story. Giving my project a title, a plot, a general idea of a plot, thinking about what I want to do or say in this project helps me focus on it, giving my work direction and energy. The more detail and thought I put into it, the more focused upon the project I will become.
Not that I want to plot too much out in advance. There’s always a point where I have to let go and surrender to the creative flow, letting my words take me where they want to go. The planning, however, gives that flow direction. Channeling some of my creativity in advance into a project creates landmarks, helping me control the flow, determining its general course. This gives the words even more force as they thunder down the path laid for them in a way that feels quite natural. After all, I’ve shaped the project’s nature, plotted its course. The creative energy I’ve channeled into my work follows a smoother route, rushing and gaining speed as it does, flowing into the pathways waiting for it. The more direction I give the project, the more force my words have.
Has this ever happened to you, dear reader? Does a project help you focus your own creative energies? How much detail helps you strengthen that focus? How much constricts you?