The start of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Proud Mary is one of those rather iconic bursts, instantly recognisable when you hear it.
It’s there because when writing that CCR album, John Fogerty was listening to a lot of Beethoven. Fogerty was impressed with the opening of the Fifth Symphony.
Read MoreCollaboration is powerful because of these very reasons. Playing with ideas and perspective can be confronting, but going through that process can be exhilarating. It brings chills and goosebumps. It brings surprising results.
Read MoreWhen you find the right collaborator then your creative process gains fertility. There are new ideas coming in. New energy. Other people are better at some part of the process. And a truly wonderful collaboration shares a combined understanding of the work.
Read MoreAll roads might lead to Rome, but you still have to find the road that works for you. There are many different ways to write and find your way through your story. But what works for someone else doesn't mean it's the way for you.
Read MoreMy main gripe with films about artists is how it’s shown that they come up with the work. Often the films disregards the process and show the work as coming down all at once. Appearing from the ether fully formed.
This cheapens the work of the artist.
Read MoreTrusting the writing the process and following it where it goes takes strength and dedication. Finishing the song, putting it down to the record, then turning to the next tune is a cycle that meant they learnt so much in their process, and were open to new ideas to weave into the songs the next time around.
Read MoreBeyond the obvious point of having a finished work in your hands, there is so much value in seeing through a project to the completion. Similar to how trees need the resistance of the wind to develop their strength, completing a project gives you the strength to grow. The strength to stand.
Read MoreFrank Zappa had his guitarists to leave a little water out for their instrument if they weren’t going to play it for a few days. It was a way to honour the muse. To keep the communication open. To accept that there was something that was not so easily defined about the creative process.
Read MorePart of a series on tackling creative block.
Read MoreWork is never created in a vacuum. And if we try to do that, then that’s a mistake. The audience will never engage with the work in a vacuum. The book, or novel, or song, or film… is relative to everything around us.
Read MoreJohn Swartzwelder is a reclusive writer best known for writing a huge amount of the strongest early Simpsons episodes. He also wrote for Saturday Night Live. Now he writes novels. His writing process involves getting the idea out quick. Finish the first draft as fast as possible. Then work deeper in the rewrite.
Read MoreWhen you give away what you think you should be hiding, the story becomes something else. Sometimes the structure falls apart. You need to have things happen in a particular order. But sometimes changing it takes away the scaffolding that was just there to build the important structure. It’s worth experimenting.
Read MoreIn 1994, Brian Eno was given a brief for a commissioned piece of music. You’ve probably heard it – the Window’s Start Up Sound.
Read MoreIn Jack Kerouac’s Belief & Technique for Modern Prose, he wrote many aphorisms for writing.
The key point for writer’s block is number twenty-two.
22. Don’t think of words when you stop but to see picture better
Read MoreThere are times to plan writing. There are times to stop and think about what you’re writing. There are times to write.
When you stop to think about it too long then you get in your own way. Trust in the process.
Read MoreWriting technology doesn’t have to do everything. But it does have to work for you. Finding what works for you – the process and limitations you’re comfortable with – and sticking to it can inspire creativity and a work flow.
Read MoreThere are always things that will go wrong. There are things that will make that particular creative moment – the draft, the acted scene, the musical take – unique. The chaos in seeing how an artist reacts is what makes a performance interesting. There are some strategies you can use to welcome chaos into your own creative process.
Read MoreWhen we work within limitations that we set ourselves, we rely on our inspiration and creativity to find solutions. This makes the story work. There are problems we could get around by breaking our own rules. But these rules keep us honest as writers. It forces us to find an answer that draws from the world we’ve written.
Read MoreThe legend goes that while recording When Doves Cry, Prince was unhappy with the mixing process. He said to the another singer that he wished he could remove the bass line. The singer asked why he couldn’t?
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