My "art" that I have spent decades doing, is playwriting. When I expressed to friends that I was struggling with a new play that I was writing, a question from one made me think. She asked something like, "If it doesn't flow, maybe it's not meant to be. Isn't it about the flow?" I guess there is this romanticized view of creativity and art, that those lucky enough to be gifted with it, can just go with the flow, and there you go. There is a "flow" aspect to creativity, but it is also craft and work. I think flow might be inspiration. Somehow you get an idea, and you want to do something with it. But then you have to do the do. How are you going to shape the narrative? Maybe it's different in other genres, but in playwriting, and writing, in general, there is work - struggle, and craft. Flow also can encompass the work, the struggle. If you believe in your project, whenever you work on it, even if it's a lot of writing and rewriting, deleting, erasing, building, rebuilding - work - it's ALL part of the flow. Flow includes the struggle. But to persist, you have to remember why you're doing it. What's so important that I have to spend precious time trying to figure it out? Eye on the prize, so to speak. The prize being your vision, your mission, your statement, your purpose, your thing. Whatever it is that keeps you doing what you're doing. Update: 1/3/19: I have been so sporadic with this blog. Why didn't I post this back in May when I wrote this? I don't remember. I must have got distracted. And since then, Dance organized a playwriting group at Aloha Theatre where she is a board member, and over the course of 6 weeks, I was able to finish a one-act play (I think this one that I wrote about in May). So it's inspiration, effort, and timing. I needed the group and hope it continues.
1 Comment
5/2/2019 06:11:59 pm
Person like you who loves art so much deserves nothing but praises. You are actually making several studies about it, and please know that every effort has been appreciated! It is very important that you believe in your own capacity and you know that you can do it. You are the very first person who must do it. If you don't believe in yourself, how would you expect other people to believe in you? I know that it's quite hard task to do but art is universal; you can always express yourself in the best manner that you want!
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AuthorDiane Aoki is a writer who explores other modes of creativity as her intuition leads her. Archives
January 2021
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