I have a great idea but…I feel too inexperienced, too clumsy, too {insert insecurity here} to do it justice. So I throw it away. That beautiful silver thing gets crumpled and stuffed into the trash can.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
I’ve learned that, in the creative process, there are a many steps to it, and most of us don’t feel highly qualified.
But there is a rhyme and reason to the process. I’ll show you some steps I take that work for me:
1. The Junk Drawer
Every creative person (yes, that means you) needs one. I have a physical drawer stuffed with bangle bracelets, the sketch for my wedding ring design, and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mask (I was Rafael, in case you wanted to know), but the junk drawer I’m talking about is for holding your ideas.
Gather every scrap of song that tripled your heartbeat, movie scenes that make you cry every time you watch them, poetry that drives electric chills down your breastbone, a wedge of color that wakes your taste buds, a photo that entices you toward international adventures…
The first step is to stop throwing away what enchants you. Stash them in a physical drawer, scrapbook, notebook, or computer file–whatever works.
Then spread them out and see what fits together. Does that music gain meaning when you overlay it on the photo? Does that bit of poetry sound like an aria when you put a certain color next to it?
Next time I’ll talk about Pinning, the process I use after I consult my junk drawer.
Wrestling with a creative idea right now? Sifting and searching for something new to create? Share your stories!
