One of my pet peeves is that scene in movies where a writer finally writes their masterpiece, or a painter finally paints their greatest work, and they do it all in one go.
The work just pours out of them, as if there was a tap inside them that just needed to be unblocked, and now that it has, let genius spring forth!
What a crock of BS.
At least for me…
For me, the creative process feels like trying to hack your way out of a dark, dense jungle with only a blunt pocket knife. You never really know where you’re going, you don’t know what you’re looking for, and every step is a hard, tough slog.
On a good day, you are propelled forward by hope. Hope that in the end, it will all be worth it. That you’ll find what you’re looking for (whatever it may be) and life will be- if not great- at least a little brighter.
On most days, however, you just want to find the quickest way out of that fucking jungle!
Every now and then, you find a small clearing in the jungle. A moment of inspiration hits. You take a breath. Things are easy for an hour, a day, a week.
You build. You create.
Things kinda sort of work. If you’re lucky, they really work. (Oh my God, this might be it! I’m finally going to finish this [insert project here]!)
Those moments are wonderful. And fleeting. And rare.
More often than not, you find the clearing somehow unsuitable. The moment passes. The light fades, and before you know it, you’re back in that jungle, alone, hacking away in the dark.
Back to not knowing where you are going or if you’ll ever get there.
That, my friends, is how creating and creativity works for me.
I wouldn’t wish this misery on my worst enemy.
And yet, I can’t see myself ever doing anything else.
SGN