Deepa Shankar
ThreeFish Consulting
A few years ago, I read a blog post where the central theme was that creativity is not something effortless, or a talent that you are born with; but something that requires hard work and dedication. Creativity is something that can be built. I went down a few rabbit holes following that idea and, in my burrowing, I came across Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit.
Even though I had never heard of Twyla Tharp nor had any interest in, her profession – dancing…or choreography, to be more precise – this is a book that I return to every now and then.
“In order to be creative, you have to know how to prepare to be creative.”
At some point in time, we all might have thought about someone – Oh she/he is so naturally creative, (that too with a touch of envy!)…or thought, I simply can’t be creative. Well, Twyla’s book addresses this sentiment – she talks about what we all can do to become creative.
The book is peppered with fascinating examples from the lives of people from different fields as well as her own life. What makes it different? Well, there are practical exercises throughout the book – which discuss how we can build and nurture our creativity. The author outlines concepts and follows up with exercises for each of these concepts.
She doesn’t pretend to say that the route is an easy one. On the other hand, she insists that it requires dedication and commitment, but outlines the habits that help her stay creative.
While it is tough to pick favourites, three of her concepts stood out for me :
- What is your Focal length ? What is the usual lens with which you observe? Do you comfortably see the big picture or do you zoom into the details? She shares a few marvelous examples of famous writers and their styles – and explains how knowing your style helps in realizing what might be needed in different occasions
- Before you think out of the box, you have to start with a box : So logical, right? How do you create a box which has all the results of your research? Where do you store all the ideas that come to you, or the points that you might pick up while reading/listening/watching which sound interesting but you don’t really know how and where you might be able to use?
- Skill : “Skill is how you close the gap between what you can see in your mind’s eye and what you can produce,” the author shares how the truly great ones have never taken the fundamentals for granted. Her exercises help you prepare an ‘inventory’ of your skills – which is the first step – before you can identify where you need to focus.
The Creative Habit is an easy read, and yet – not a book that should be finished on a lazy Saturday afternoon. You will reflect on her examples; you will need to pause and do the exercises. Each time I leaf through her book, and pick up a random concept to read, I come back with something new. I recommend that you give it a go!
