There's an old adage that states "there are no stupid questions.” Well maybe there's no stupid questions, but there are questions that won't help - that will lead you into a wall. For example: "what should I shoot / paint / write?" Those types of questions are too big and they fail you because they create an expectation that there is a "correct" answer - a solution, when instead you should be looking for a path. This mistake is understandable considering our entire lives we've been tasked with finding the "correct answer" and then rewarded when we find it.
I believe creativity is about asking questions, not for the answers - but for their ability to activate your curiosity. A creative question sparks ideas or moves you into experiences that generate creative activity - which often leads to more questions (and that’s a good thing).
For me, creativity is about paying attention to, and occupying, one’s surroundings by allowing them to saturate your inner space. Those surroundings could be about the outside world (environmental, social, political) but they could also be about your inner world (psychological, dreams, memories). I’ve recently become friends with a woman who asks really interesting questions - ones that make me question myself and how I respond to the world. She’s an actor - so I’m thinking it’s part of her curiosity to better understand the “why” so she can create the “what.”
Being curious about the world, about people, about how things happen - these are all places to start. This is essentially asking yourself the question of "what is happening here?" This type of question brings in your observational skills and is a surefire way to access ideas because you're starting to partner with your surroundings.
A good question is one that gives you a path to explore.
Being curious is really about being interested.
Observational Exercise:
Pick a location that’s got something going on...even consider a place you’ve been to often, but never really took the time to look at. Get a comfortable vantage point and just observe. Feel free to bring a notebook/sketchpad and spend time watching what’s happening in the environment and what it tells you. Experiment with a sense you don’t normally use creatively:
- if you’re a visual artist - write down everything you hear, fill the page with quotes. Describe the sounds - how long do they last, do they hurt your ears - what do they mean? Close your eyes and imagine them as a soundtrack.
-if you’re a musician - pay attention to the light. Does it change during the time period you’re there? Is it natural light, artificial, are there different color temperatures in it? Does it have hard edges and/or soft? Are there reflections on the surfaces...are they smooth or textured?
-if you’re a writer - take a sketchbook (especially if, like me, you don’t draw!) and do short sketches of the scene. Do them in pen, so there’s no erasing or trying to make it look good.
Bottomline - have fun and allow your mind to wander. Creativity is NOT something you have to be born with - it's in everyone - it's just a muscle that responds to exercise, faith and attention. The more you allow yourself to believe that you are creative, that you have important and interesting stories to tell...the more it will be true.