When Are You Being Creative?

[Steerpike]

I recently read a small essay by Jeanne Cavelos who said that when he teaches creative writing classes, most of his students list creativity as a strength, but never a weakness. They believe that by the very act of writing they're being creative. But this seems to be a bit incongruous with the fact that most of them are turning in derivative works. As an editor himself, Cavelos said he lost count of the number of horror novels he went over that began with a prologue featuring the monster rising from its previous state of inactivity and offing some poor schmuck in the most gruesome way imaginable. Sound familiar?

So my question to you is... well there are several actually. Are you being creative just by performing card tricks? Are you an artist just because you know 20 variations on the Sybil cut? Are you really being creative at all?

Think about it.

 

[scarecrow1]

I would say your not being creative if your just doing routines or effects that other people have already published. So what if you can do Tivo 2.0, doesn't make you an artist OR original.
That's what sets artists apart from the rest, we create new (which is really not true, as I believe nothing is "new") things, we don't just copy what everybody else is doing.

That being said, magicians still have to use things that have all ready been created, otherwise we would have very little material and sleights.

 

[Chris W]

Honestly, HELL NO! I've been in magic about a year and 9 months. I'm still working on performing the tricks I know well. I refuse to be the guy who keeps buying tricks but can't perform them well. I do try to have a creative patter on certain things. But I'd be lying (like lots of members here) if I said I was being creative. I thihk this will come with time and performing more.

 

[canadamagic]

When I am creative I don't show anyone for months until after I have created it. If I am going to put my name on something that I created it has to be perfect, I always make sure that it is original all through. I am also annoyed be people that will make variations of the same thing that others are. We don't need another variation on Tivo 2.0!

 

[visualartist]

So my question to you is... well there are several actually. Are you being creative just by performing card tricks? Are you an artist just because you know 20 variations on the Sybil cut? Are you really being creative at all?

Think about it.

Well,im not in that particular category,but I do try with my other effects and overall performance.
But I admit to sometimes just forgetting a script or actual performance so I try to have more of a presence,if that makes sense. And try to communicate everything through the eyes and body language.

 

[Steerpike]

That's what sets artists apart from the rest, we create new (which is really not true, as I believe nothing is "new") things, we don't just copy what everybody else is doing.

To borrow from Cavelos's essay, there's nothing new in the sense that no one is going to invent vampires all over again. But there's a stark difference between Bram Stoker's original "Dracula" novel and Stephen King's "Salem's Lot" that makes all the difference.

For a video game analogy that might be a little closer to some for the younger members, do keep in mind that Half-Life and Portal both have fairly unoriginal plot structures. "The earth has been invaded by aliens," and, "Trapped in a secluded building with a homicidal AI," respectively. But they're both luminary examples of fantastic storytelling in their medium. It's less what they did, and more how they did it.

To wit, one of the reasons I ****ing despise people who tell me the cake is a lie is because they completely missed the god damn point. The cake was not put in there to "TOTALLY RANDOM!!1!" or just goofy. It was GLADos attempting to approximate human emotion based on her limited understanding of how emotions and sympathies work. Same with the companion cube. It was a motif used to illustrate the gulf between the human mind and artificial intelligence. It was smart, subtle, and humorous in the blackest way possible.

That is being creative.

 

[visualartist]

That's what sets artists apart from the rest, we create new (which is really not true, as I believe nothing is "new") things, we don't just copy what everybody else is doing.

.

Keep in mind that you dont have to make "new" effects to be creative or artistic in the magic universe.

 

[scarecrow1]

Keep in mind that you dont have to make "new" effects to be creative or artistic in the magic universe.

True...(word count)

 

[KeoSilver]

quote]I recently read a small essay by Jeanne Cavelos who said that when he teaches creative writing classes, most of his students list creativity as a strength, but never a weakness. They believe that by the very act of writing they're being creative.[/quote]

I think my composition teacher read the same essay, because that sounds almost exactly what she went over today. What I tend to have trouble with is organizing thoughts the “Madman” of an essay’s beginning into a concise essay. Or in magic words I find I have to many ideas but have a hard time taking all those ideas and putting them into something worth my time. But I suspect this is not your original intention of the post.

But this seems to be a bit incongruous with the fact that most of them are turning in derivative works. As an editor himself, Cavelos said he lost count of the number of horror novels he went over that began with a prologue featuring the monster rising from its previous state of inactivity and offing some poor schmuck in the most gruesome way imaginable. Sound familiar?

Guilty as charged, but in my beginning it is a hetero couple at a popular make out spot and this escaped loon goes and cuts them to bits…..Fricking original right?

Okay enough screwing the pooch.

So my question to you is... well there are several actually. Are you being creative just by performing card tricks? Are you an artist just because you know 20 variations on the Sybil cut? Are you really being creative at all?

Think about it.

Well the first two questions are really not the interesting ones to me so I will answer the last.

Am I really being creative at all? To be honest I like to think of myself as being creative, but I did what you asked and thought about it some. I have come to the conclusion that I am not very creative. Well I mean…….how can I explain my thoughts?

*Steals analogy from Shrek*

My creativity is like an onion. On the outside there is a rugged skin that has little resemblances from other onions in the batch. This outer skin is my own creative presentation of certain effects. But once you peel away that skin, the onion becomes more and more similar to the other onions in a batch. In other words, the presentation I use and call creatively mine is actually based off of other people’s creative presentations.

It isn’t even presentations that are magic related either; most of the stories I call original are based off of others before me. Many scifi worlds I explain are based off of something I read and liked and basically lifted and reworked it with my twisted mind. My creative process is like going shopping for ingredients, to make effect stew. That is a better way to express what I mean, I take bits and pieces of others works, add a little special spices I make myself give it a shake and twist and bam. Original recipe magic stew, and it tastes delicious…most of the time.

Though I have found it easier and easier to use creativity and my process the more I use it...It's almost like an untrained muscle that is slowly shriveling away.