1/25/14 1/25/14

How Childhood Play Leads To Creativity

Just read this article, Give childhood back to children: if we want our offspring to have happy, productive and moral lives, we must allow more time for play, not less - written by Dr. Peter Gray, research professor of psychology at Boston College. His thesis is that it's human, even animal nature for children to play - an act that helps them develop a myriad of skills from conflict resolution to creativity. But this ability to play is being threatened by education systems around the world, replacing free times with schooling or unorganized play with formalized athletics. Anyone who's watched a cat video featuring more than one kitten knows that constant play is critical to understanding a person's physical and emotional boundaries, among other skills learned.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLDbGqJ2KYk]

Gray makes the point that

"... Even more than in the past, creativity is a key to economic success. We no longer need people to follow directions in robot-like ways (we have robots for that), or to perform routine calculations (we have computers for that), or to answer already-answered questions (we have search engines for that). But we do need people who can ask and seek answers to new questions, solve new problems and anticipate obstacles before they arise. These all require the ability to think creatively. The creative mind is a playful mind."

As I came out of working on a Saturday yesterday, an act that is by no means rare in the working world, especially the fast-paced world of advertising, I found myself craving a bit of play, of creative inspiration. Just as children's playtime is being threatened, adults find themselves increasingly working all hours. In New York, it's not uncommon for the phrase "I had to work over the weekend" to be some form of bragging, or even considered a right of passage to success. But how does this effect our ability to be creative or make original connections? At Miami Ad School's Planning Boot Camp, I remember our first Weekend Workshop teacher taught a class on the overall strategic process - informing us that the trick to coming to an insight is to walk away from the work at hand after absorbing every bit of information you could. Take a walk. Go for a run. Go to a museum and as your focusing on something else, connections will be made in your brain.

So if you find yourself actually having a few minutes to yourself during the workweek, go outside. Take a walk. Actually make use of that game room your company installed years ago. Flip through the magazines at your local magazine stand. Go to a museum. Or dip onto a store-filled street. Because in the world of creativity, success doesn't just come with sheer willpower and hard work but rather, freeing up your mind to play.

4/30/13 4/30/13

New Beginnings

I think it's appropriate that I follow up my last post about the trial and tribulations of living in the East Village with one about new beginnings. Many things have happened over the last four months that have helped remind me that the only thing that's constant is change. I mean seriously.. I'm always moving.. figuratively and apparently, literally.I had a birthday. I suppose 32 puts me squarely "in my 30s" but I'm entirely okay with that. I'm also okay with sharing my age because most people mistaken me for 24, which I can imagine is a hinderance in business situations. I digress.

Recently, I've experienced many fortunate things. But thanks to some very bad luck, I was, and am still am able to fully appreciate how much my life has turned around for the good. At least for now. One of those lovely experiences was a Tribeca film screening of Mistaken for Strangers. On the surface, it was a documentary about the lead singer of The National, Matt Berninger, filmed from the perspective of his brother, Tom. But the brilliant film had so many other layers, about the relationship to ones family, ones self and the creative process. I hope to pass along the inspiration with some take aways from the movie and Q&A session;

• Regarding the creative process, when you reveal the pain and struggle you're going through, that's when the creativity flows. It's funny - so often it seems as if popular musicians or actors just appear out of thin air. Sometimes we learn afterward that they actually struggled for years before hitting it big. We all work hard but how many of us have held side jobs, lived as paupers, and consistently had to keep smiling and performing in the face of rejection? And through all of that, reveal our deepest selves through our performance whereby revealing our vulnerability is actually what helps us connect to our audience. So maybe the key to success is revealing our humanity - revealing that we're all just people going through the same struggles, with the same needs and concerns.

• It takes crafting to tell the truth. For the last few months, I've been in the throws of pitch after pitch at work. I research both the market and consumer. Then eventually, after my brain has been saturated with facts, some sort of story formulates in my head, or is usually scrawled haphazardly on a scrap piece of paper. Then eventually these notes make their way into a PowerPoint. And finally, I go back through the links and PDFs of research to find data points to back up my story. But in the end, it's about finding one truth. Then figuring out how to tell that truth. I am so amazed as to how clearly this process relates to so many other areas of my life. It has helped me in writing my novel. It has helped me figure out myself and how to tell my own story. What is the truth for how I live my life? What dots can I connect from my past, my habits or my behavior that reveal who I am and what truth do I choose to tell? And it has helped me see the world differently. The truth is subjective. It is formed by how you see the world and how you organize facts. So figure out how you want to tell it.

• Don't stop. I can't tell you how many ups and downs I've had over the last few months. Or maybe I should tell you given my above statement. Mostly it's been related to my living situation that is one day away from being completely resolved (hopefully!). The other day I was exploring Bushwick and found myself in a magic shop. Actually, I think they're called Magick shops. Yes, I bought a few inexpensive rocks and a ring in the hopes of ridding negative energy and symbolizing new beginnings. I am entirely aware that this could be complete nonsense but it makes just as much sense as baptism, touching a torah, saying a prayer, wearing a cross.. you get the idea. We look for external forces to help us get through our lives. We view these objects, chants, or rituals as a means to guide us in the right direction. But the truth, that I sometimes don't want to admit, is that no external force is going to save us. It's the way we behave after performing these rituals, whether it makes us more loving, more confident, more at ease or more determined, that helps us get through the hurdles. The only way you can change your situation is by changing yourself. So don't stop and keep going because you'll get through it.

11/28/12 11/28/12

Advice from Jake Johnson From New Girl On How He Writes

In New York, it seems like everyone has a side project; an idea for a novel begging to be written, a startup idea itching to be actualized. But how on earth do we self propel ourselves to work on our other passion while maintaining a successful full time job, a social life and even perhaps a relationship? Fast Company interviews one of my favorite characters on T.V., Jake Johnson from New Girl on how he writes while being part of the ensemble to a hit T.V. show. See interview below.

BY: JOEL KELLER

Jake Johnson, who plays grouchy Nick Miller on the Fox hit New Girl, talks to Co.Create about how he was able to sell a pilot while working the grueling hours on his day job. Hint: He treats "show business" like it’s just that: a business.

It isn’t often that you hear about someone treating the second word of the phrase "show business" as seriously as the first. Jake Johnson is one of those people, and his approach has allowed him to sell a pilot to Fox while playing Nick Miller on the same network’s comedy hit New Girl.

The pilot, called The B-Team, is the fourth pilot idea Johnson has sold, the second with his current writing partner, television director Max Winkler (whose dad just happens to be Henry Winkler). The "soft pitch" for this idea, according to Johnson, is about a group of people who have been lied to and cheated on and otherwise wronged in life whose A-Team-like mission is to get revenge for others who have been equally screwed. But, they don’t have any special powers or skills. "So they’re not a powerful group," he says, "they’re just regular people that are just sick and tired of other people getting fucked over. And so they form a team and it’s not the A-Team, it’s the B-Team."

Johnson would define himself more as a writer than an actor, having studied creative writing at the University of Iowa, then at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. But from almost day one he realized that, in order to maintain control over how his writing is produced, he’d have to do something else in addition, which is when he turned to acting. He talked to Co.Create about how he’s able to make the time to write and generate ideas while spending the grueling days shooting the show, and how he tries to not get too high or too low in a business where there are usually nothing but highs and lows.

DIVERSIFY SO YOU CAN PURSUE YOUR PASSION IN THE WAY THAT YOU WANT

My transition happened in New York. I had a play produced at the Ensemble Studio Theater and I was I think 21 years old and I was writing a lot of plays at the time, and the director kind of took the play away from me a little bit because I was young and he was experienced and I guess that’s how it works. And he directed it in a way where I wasn’t at any of the rehearsals, and I went to opening night and I hated it. And I was very embarrassed by it because it was just not the kind of show that I liked, and so I decided that the stuff that I would write, the only rule would be that I would be in it and direct it.

And so an old writing partner and I started writing plays and performing them throughout New York City. And then we traveled around the country with them and did a bunch of festivals and fringe festivals.

FIND WHAT MAKES EACH JOB INTERESTING TO YOU

What I get out of writing is more the intellectual side of it, and I get to see the whole story, and I get to think of the whole arc. And I get to control what happens with everything and it’s more of almost like a mental exercise of it all. And what I get out of acting is the exact opposite and it’s just purely living in the moment and it’s more emotion based and physical based and I’m not thinking of anything greater than what’s right in front of me.

LET YOUR CURRENT JOB INFLUENCE YOUR WRITING

Well, when I first read the script of New Girl it was called Chicks and Dicksand it was a real ensemble piece. And then when they got Zooey Deschanel I think it was such a coup and they were so excited that the show went from Chicks and Dicks to New Girl. And they moved the story around a little bit to really put emphasis on the fact that we’ve got this great breakout character named Jess Day played by Zooey Deschanel who’s one of our best actresses. And then I think as the show went on and the way that I saw it as a writer was, it felt as if they had that and then they started realizing we don’t have enough life, because you just can’t do a series based on one person.

So they started really highlighting Schmidt and saying, “Can another character break through?” and, credit to the writers and Max Greenfield, they did. And then I think they thought now we’ve got this going, let’s see if we can push everybody through and they’ve now really given everybody ample opportunity. You know every script Jess has great stuff, Schmidt has great stuff, Nick has great stuff, Winston (Lamorne Morris) has great stuff, Cece’s (Hannah Simone) got great stuff. And so now we’re at a point where they’re giving us the looks and now we just all have to hit our shots.

When I went back to writing I realized two things. One, I need to build the model that potentially has five interesting characters. So I will not create something unless it has a built-in ensemble, but you need a star to anchor that ensemble. And so somebody in there has to be the Jess Day or the Sam Malone from Cheers; somebody’s got to be your leader who breaks you into the television world and shows the audience who we’re following first.

IDEAS IDEAS IDEAS

So what [Max and I] will do is we’ll talk on the phone throughout the day and a lot of it is how you and I are doing this right now like when I’m driving to work. Or you know he’s directing The New Normal these days and so while he’s at work or if we have a break we’ll just get on the phone really fast and talk things out. And this idea happened because we started scheduling times where we’ll sit and say Saturday we’re having lunch from twelve until three o’clock, and we’ll spend the first two hours just pitching each other TV show ideas. And so throughout the day something will happen and you’ll think, "Oh that’d be funny; what if we did a show about you know a young reporter blah, blah."

So I’ll think of like ten to fifteen different ideas and he’ll do the same and then we get together and we just basically pitch each other. And we pitch until we both feel like that is one that works for him and works for me and we both like it. And then we both think about it on our own and then we just start emailing and texting and calling each other and both of us obsessing on the idea. So that I’ll be in my trailer, I’ll be at work, and I’ll finish shooting and I’ll come back and they’ll be three emails about the idea, and I’ll just respond to that. And then we save all those emails and then when we get together on the weekend we have all these documents about it. And so then we just keep forming it and keep forming it and then in terms of our writing process we write it individually.

So we’ll say, “All right, you take the first stab at the first act,” and then he’ll take two days and write it, and then I’ll have the pages and in between scenes or on weekends I’ll block off all of Saturday and spend 10 hours and do a rewrite on it and so we just kind of tag team it.

KEEP UP THE SAME PACE YOU HAD BEFORE YOU GOT THE STEADY GIG

When I moved out to Los Angeles I had eight hundred bucks to my name and I was working as a caterer and at a casino and just really scared of going to zero and having to leave town. And I was working constantly like so many actors and writers out here who aren’t working yet do. Every night I was on a different stage performing, during the day crashing commercial auditions to try to get in and writing whenever I wasn’t catering a wedding or working a day job. So I would work an eight-hour shift, get off, go perform, come home and write, and be sleeping five or six hours like everybody else out here who’s struggling.

When I started actually working and making a living as an actor my pace didn’t stop because that’s just how I do this business. And so now the fact that the things I am pitching are selling, well it doesn’t change the fact when I was just performing on improv stages five nights a week I had a bunch of TV ideas. You know I’ve written probably 15 screenplays and I’ve outlined 15 to 20 different TV shows, but nobody has heard of them. And so now the fact that I’m getting the opportunity, I’m not actually doing anything that different so it’s not as if I’m like very disciplined, I just don’t know how to do this business any other way.

[Now] I’m working on a television show instead of being a waiter. Otherwise, it’s the same process. In this business if you don’t obsess over stuff nothing gets done. So rather than working for an eight-hour shift and then going to do a live show that takes two hours, well I’m just at FOX dressed in a flannel and jeans playing Nick.

DON’T GET TOO HIGH OR TOO LOW ABOUT A PROJECT OR IDEA

I don’t think there’s time in this business to mourn losses. So if we find out that The B-Team is dead the next day we schedule a lunch and we sit together and we start re-pitching. And I think that the likelihood of things getting on TV are so rare, the likelihood of one going from idea to pitch to script to pilot to being on air to being successful is such the lottery that you’ve just got to keep trying.

That’s being in the business. That is auditioning for three hundred commercials and missing them all, and being on stages night after night and not getting things, and you keep going and then all of a sudden things start coming. There are just so many people trying in this game.

My approach to it is less emotional than a lot of people I know. I think a lot of people when they get rejected they take it very personally. And so if they have a TV show and they’re pitching it and they sell it, and then the network doesn’t shoot a pilot, or they shoot a pilot and they test it and it tests poorly and it dies, people allow that to crush them and then they have to build themselves back up and I don’t believe in that. I’ll put my heart and soul in a project but I understand that the likelihood of it still going is so rare that a bad review or a failed project doesn’t emotionally have that big an effect on me.

I think I’ve missed so many fucking times that to get hurt every time I miss it’s just not realistic. It’s too exhausting. Because I’m on a nice streak right now people will talk about the successes that I’m having, but even now if people saw the amount of rejection and the amount of fails I’ve had on a weekly basis professionally…if I was a batter I’m not hitting a thousand. This business is like baseball, if you hit three out of ten you’re a great hitter.

4/4/11 4/4/11

A Visual Life: Intel

Intel has this great video series where they create mini documentaries about varies artists; photographers, musicians etc., that I found via PSFK (of course). Michael Wolff, a designer, talks about the muscles of creativity. He shows that creativity takes childlike curiosity and an appreciation of ones surroundings - noticing how colorful and beautiful things can be, to develop the muscle of imagination and creativity. He is so right. The world is such a completely fascinating, beautiful place if we just open our eyes and really look.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTfAzjBTokc&w=640&h=390]

6/25/10 6/25/10

Friday Morning Inspiration - Scott Belsky

I wanted to share with my readers one of the most inspirational, informative talks I saw during Internet Week New York a few weeks ago. Part One:

Scott Belsky, from the creative network Behance and author of "Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming Obstacles Between Vision and Reality" spoke about idea generation and actually working on ones creative endeavors. He studied people who make ideas happen and how they push them to fruition; Google, writers, photographers, etc. And he realized the success of the idea has nothing to do with how great the idea is. Wouldn't it be cool if our society was an "Ideatocracy," he asked. For example, you'd never see a bad movie again. But obviously that's not the case so he spoke of the creative process and how to complete a project.

Most people get a project plateau right after the initial idea realizing they have to actually execute it. The biggest problems is that we're in a "reactionary workflow" constantly inundated with communication. We're constantly reacting to emails, Tweets, status updates, etc. instead of our own work. Ignore the clutter. Set aside time (use a timer) where you're off the internet or can discipline yourself NOT to check it.

Managing projects are key. The more organic the project flow is, the more likely you’re going to stay on top of project. Break projects into arbitrary increments of time. Milestones. Tasks associated with milestones. And adjust milestones to other increments of times – and reconsidered and innovate.

Scott says meetings are usually called by top people who are insecure about where they are in the process. Ha! He advises every meeting to have an "action step." Cancel weekly status meetings. Do meetings while standing up so people are less likely to chit chat.

Scott believes that when you open your email and Twitter, your whole day is wasted. Stop reacting to what’s coming to you. It won’t make you fall behind. This echoes my dad's process of working first thing in the morning. Think about the big picture. Think about urgent vs. important.

A common theme running through Internet Week is to get a product or service out there without perfecting it. I agree with this sentiment. It's how Rent the Runway got their website out. And according to Scott, often times IDEO does rapid prototyping - seeing an object materialized so they can refine it. By putting a product out there right away, you realize you’re either horribly wrong or right. It's better to be wrong early so you can fix it.

Use community to gain traction with your ideas and leverage that community. Chris Anderson of Wired puts his idea on his blog first. If it’s so easy to replicate by someone else, then he believes its not worth doing. By seeing how people engage – he’ll judge how good it is. Then his bloggers hold him accountable to complete the idea.

Scott found three types of people while trying to profile successful creatives:

1. Dreamers - They always come up with something new. Think, "maybe we should also do this." They get high off of new ideas.

2. Doers - The Debbie Downers or the world. "Here’s why we can’t do that. Timeline isn’t there. No budget." They poke holes in dreams. They're annoying but important and thrive off of execution.

3. Incrementalists - They have a weird innate ability to jump from dreamer to doer. Jump from idea to execution. They create too many things but nothing to scale. None had truly been successful.

So now that you've figured out what category you fall into, how do you get things done? You partner up with a doer. Partner up with a Dreamer! Or an incrementalist. But wait. There's more! Stay tuned for Part Two!

12/7/09 12/7/09

Blog Re-Post

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

10 Ways to Increase Creativity

Re-posted from a new blog discovery- Dumblittleman

I'm excited that I'm headed in the right direction. I definitely talk to anyone and everyone, read about all types of subjects, try new things, etc. Now if only I can stick to my creative projects.

Read Widely and Deeply
Whatever field you’re in, reading can only help. Go to the library and check out some good books – and don’t make all of them ones in your area of expertise. Why not get a novel you’d never normally read, or a book about a topic you have no knowledge on? This can jump-start your brain into working more creatively as you try to assimilate the new information based on what you already know from your own field.

Try New Activities
Another way to get your brain in gear is to try something totally new. Whether it’s salsa dancing, pottery or a medieval reenactment, taking up a new hobby can help shake things up and encourage you to think laterally. For example, you might be inspired to write an article using your new interest as a metaphor for something in your main field of work.

Talk To Strangers
Children are warned about “stranger danger”, but as adults, we shouldn’t be too afraid of talking to new people. We naturally associate with people who are like ourselves – the same income bracket, the same dress sense, the same career or industry – and this can stifle our creativity by making us feel that “everyone’s just the same”. Branch out. Chat to someone you don’t know in the cafeteria. Say “hi” to the person next to you in line at the coffee shop.

Reject Your First Ten Ideas
One great way to generate ideas, if you’re stuck for inspiration, is to sit down with a blank piece of paper (or a blank document on your computer) and list at least twenty ideas. Reject the first ten: they’ll almost always be too “normal” and bland. You have to get through these easy ideas in order to be really creative. If you’re writing a short story for a competition on “murder” for instance, the first ten ideas you have will be the ones that judges see time and time again.

Experiment: Don’t Be Afraid to Fail
We’re often wary of trying new ways of working or new activities because we’re afraid we’ll fail. But there’s no shame in failure – after all, as a baby, you failed countless times at walking, talking and potty training… but you’re an expert in all of those areas now! The path to success often requires trying out a lot of ways which don’t work.

“If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not
discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” –Thomas Edison

Make Connections: Link Two Projects
Do you have a stack of half-finished sketches or half-written short stories languishing in a drawer? One very effective way to reignite your enthusiasm is to combine two different projects. Take a character from one of your short stories and insert him into the plot of a different one. Mix that fantasy dreamscape sketch with the steampunk idea. Take an idea from that zany game you were designing and put it with the brainteaser series that you had planned.

Take An Unusual Perspective
If you’re working on a long-term creative piece, like a blog or a novel, it’s easy to get stale. Try adopting an unusual perspective. You might write a scene in your novel from the point of view of an inanimate object, or through the eyes of a character whose state of mind has been altered by alcohol or drugs. You could try writing a post on your blog from someone else’s perspective. For me, one of the most memorable posts on Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger is “5 Things You Should Know About My Dad the ProBlogger”, purportedly from the viewpoint of his (at the time) one-year-old son:

“You see my Dad reads more than he writes. I think he does this because his writing gets better after reading what others say and because it means he’s
learning more about his topics.”

Do Your Chores
This might sound like odd advice – after all, chores aren’t exactly creative. But physical activities like vacuuming, washing the dishes or scrubbing the floors leave your mind free to wander – and it’s surprising how many ideas can occur to you when you’re not sitting staring at your desk.

Use A Different Medium
If you’re a writer, try drawing for a change. It doesn’t matter if you can’t draw – use stick figures – but this can help jolt you out of your comfort zone, allowing you to approach a problem in a new way. If you’re a painter, try making up a tune and words for a song. If you’re a graphic designer, use modeling clay or create a collage. Don’t limit your creativity to just one medium.

Daydream: Keep Asking “What If…?”
The final, and most important tip for enhancing your creativity, is to daydream. Stare into space. Let your thoughts drift. Think about your project when you’re going to sleep at night – unusual thoughts often crop up in that half-awake, half-asleep state. Don’t try to force or rush creativity; give yourself time to let your ideas simmer away in the back of your mind.

6/9/09 6/9/09

10 Ways to Increase Creativity

Re-posted from a new blog discovery- Dumblittleman

I'm excited that I'm headed in the right direction. I definitely talk to anyone and everyone, read about all types of subjects, try new things, etc. Now if only I can stick to my creative projects.

“If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not
discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” –Thomas Edison

“You see my Dad reads more than he writes. I think he does this because his writing gets better after reading what others say and because it means he’s
learning more about his topics.”