A plain piece of paper.
A blank canvas.
The flashing cursor on an empty computer screen.
All creative endeavors start the same way. With an empty medium waiting to capture the story, truth, and message that needs telling.
All with the same designation – Untitled.
With that blank canvas comes a host of emotions, ideas, and fears. I’ve been there. You’ve been there. And Blaine Hogan [Twitter|Blog] has been there.
Blaine has been involved in creative endeavors since the age of 9. He’s been a professional actor, and is currently serving as a creative director at Willow Creek Community Church outside of Chicago, IL. Recently, he released a book exploring the scary thing known as the “creative process.”
The creative process doesn’t start with the blank untitled document, it starts long before then. It starts within (or at least it should) long before it ever sees the light of day.
The creative process is often a romanticized thing. Not only by people who consume art, but by those of us who create art. It’s can also be a terrifying thing.
In UNTITLED:Thoughts on the Creative Process (Amazon affiliate link), Hogan offers a refreshing and realistic view of the creative process. Untitled is written in a simple to read and engaging style, but is full of challenging insights that, no matter your creative discipline, are valuable.
Hogan starts by acknowledging that the creation of any art is hard work. Ideas are easy, but executing is hard. The stark truth is that “no one cars about your ideas…they only care about what you make.” It’s in the execution that art is created. Art that tells stories and challenges people. Art that conveys beauty and opens us up to deeper things. And that is scary.
As Hogan asks, “If really good art is really, really hard, then who really wants to do it?” Therein is the challenge of the creative process. It’s not just coming up with an idea that makes someone a creative individual. It is the execution of that idea. The creating of art. Even when we are stuck and uninspired. The challenge is to continue to turn the untitled document into something that matters.
One of the challenges that Hogan presents in the book is that the creative process doesn’t begin when you turn on your computer. The blank canvas isn’t the beginning, it is hopefully the continuation of a journey already begun. The creative process begins inside of us. Art comes from the inside out. This is part of what makes it messy and hard. To create truly moving art, it most come from a place of authenticity. To create from authenticity, we need to process and understand our own story, otherwise the art will lack depth and center. Or it will be a scary dumping on unsuspecting people. Hogan quotes Parker Palmer in saying, “If people skimp on their inner work, their outer work will suffer as well.” I found this to be an incredible valuable section.
As the book continues, Hogan talks about how risk, awkwardness, fear, failure, time, and stillness all affect the creative process. Sometimes those things work for us, and sometimes they work against us. In the end, they can’t be ignored. If they are, then the art will be easy to ignore. Or not even come to exist.
I don’t want to give the whole book away. You need to get a copy for yourself.
Art isn’t easy, and the creative process can be scary. But it can also be a beautiful experience. Creativity is as much a journey as it is a destination.
As Hogan says, it takes time. And it’s worth it.
This book is full of valuable insights and lessons. Lessons Hogan has learned on his own creative journey and continues to learn. As I read it, I highlighted multiple thoughts. It will actually take much longer to process fully than it did to read it. I greatly appreciate how he handles these topics and challenges us as one who is also on the journey.
If you are involved in creative endeavors, I highly recommend that you get a copy of Untitled. It’s available in all the popular e-formats. If you’re part of a creative team, find a way to get a copy into the hands of your team-mates to digest and discuss.
Note: I received a free copy of this book for the purpose of writing this review. My opinions and endorsement expressed here are completely my own and not biased in any way by receiving a copy of this book.
