The Necessity of Creation

I consider myself a writer.  I don't have a published novel.  All of my poems are really drabbles.  I've attempted a script or two but then never turned back to it.  But I am, 100%, a writer.

I may not be an authority on the subject, but I am frustrated when people say you should be doing this or you should be doing that to really be able to create.

The bottom line is: every individual is unique.  We all create differently.  Our ways of creation are all valid.

Some of us stare at blank ~whatevers~ for hours until we finally muster up the beginnings of something.  Some of us take long walks, listen to music and conversations, experience the world.  Others draw inspiration from other art (in fan fiction, this is especially obvious).

Each method of art - dancing, acting, drawing, game design, music writing - requires a different method.  But then, each person requires a different method.

I am not disciplined; I have a fickle muse, and inspiration is random and sporadic for me.  Getting me to settle on one idea is nigh-impossible.  For me to ever finish something, I need to allow myself to work on multiple projects at once (while at the same time actually working on them.  I am a lazy procrastinator).

I start with a vague idea.  Plenty of people make outlines.  Some people need to write out a couple of scenes.  Other people use character sheets.  All of these are different ways to start.

You do not need to be what they tell you that you need to be.  You just need to take a deep breath, and create.  If everyone were so focused on the how-you-should-be, nothing would ever exist.

Just because you have a different process of drawing from someone else doesn't mean your way is "wrong".  Just because you like to start at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a story doesn't mean you're "wrong".  Just because you take a fragment here and a fragment there and mash them together and mix them up and create a line from point A to point B doesn't mean you're doing it "wrong".  There is no such thing as a "wrong" process.

If you're creating, you're doing it right.  So please don't listen to the people who outline a specific way you need to do things.  You don't.  You're not any less of an artist - any kind of artist - for doing it differently.

Just needed to get that out there.