The 4 Steps of Creativity

Personally, I'd like to be stepping through a garden full of tulips but all we've got around here is snow. Apparently winter isn't looking at the calendar. So I'll have to get a bit creative in my thinking to pretend all the white I see is really red and purple. How will I do that? With the following handy dandy list...

THE FOUR STEPS OF CREATIVITY

1. Preparation
This is the work phase. A writer prepares by researching, reading, or revising an earlier work. A musician plays scales. An artist visits art galleries. I just might whip out my gardening books and start planning a layout.

2. Incubation
This is when your conscious and subconscious mind collide to work on an idea, or weed them out, so to speak. The realm of possibilities is where you need to let your thoughts wander. This is the time to sit and ponder and not get sucked into Pinterest or Twitter. I will start thinking of color schemes for my yard.

3. Illumination
This is when the drive finally kicks in and you're at your peak. Ideas are flowing like crazy-go-nuts. You see your story clearly. You know your characters. It's magical. It's at this point you'll mow down anyone silly enough to get in your way as you speed toward your computer...or in my case, as I grab a shovel out of the garage.

4. Implementation
Your ideas are ready to roll. This is when that written piece flows out your fingertips. Or a canvas is slathered with paint. It may not be easy for an outsider to recognize your masterpiece yet, but you know it's there. It might take you awhile, but you keep pounding away at it. These are the gardening days I'm looking forward to when I fall into bed exhausted after working all day in the sun.

One last thought: except for the incubation period, the creative process is generally social. It's a rare great idea that comes from a person sitting an thinking by himself. Networking with others and incorporating their ideas into your own is like the rain on a garden. It helps it (flowers and ideas) to grow.