Some Necessary Truths about Creativity #IWSG

As many of you know, I’ve been working on game design and I’ve discovered—much to my delight and distress—that it’s very similar to writing. Because of this, I’ve learned a few unexpected truths about creativity I’d like to share with you today.

Game design, along with writing, can be frustrating. This may not come as a surprise to many of you, but I think it’s a truth we live with on a surface level until we’re sunk in the thick of it. When we’re not feeling the frustration, we can brush it away, shrug, and say, “Sure, frustration comes with anything creative. It’s part of the deal.” It’s harder to say that when we’re experiencing the angst of something not working the way we want/need.

Frustration is the doorway through which doubt can creep. Resentment for the project can rise, a sense of failure can take hold. The extremes don’t happen every time, but the frustration is the seed from which all those nasties can bloom. It's important, even crucial, to understand the truth that yes, setbacks can happen when we’re creating something from the heart, and it’s okay. It doesn’t make us failure if a solution doesn’t come to us right away. It doesn’t mean that’s the end of our writing/game design/[insert creative outlet] career.

Game design, along with writing, is slow. Writing an outline for a new manuscript can take me a month or more. Then writing the first draft can take another month or three or four or five... Then there’s all the rewriting, editing, and tweaking. The same goes for game design. Planning what I want for the game takes forever. Then designing the pieces, building them, thinking up puzzles and interesting levels, then implementing them in a way that actually works in the environment and on the platform… takes an eternity.

I’ve learned testing is crucial. Test often. If I spend the time making everything look pretty before I’ve tested it, then I’ve potentially wasted a lot of time if at the end I discover it has to be redone from scratch. The same goes for manuscript writing. If I spend days, weeks even, prettying up a scene without checking to see how that scene works in the story, then I could be wasting time. And once it’s pretty, it’s even harder to throw away if it doesn’t work.

Because anything creative takes time to get right, because it can be frustrating, it’s important to remind yourself why you started in the first place. It’s important to celebrate the little victories—I actually got a mini puzzle working in my game. I was so excited to see it working that I celebrated the event even though in the big picture it was such a little thing. It helped me focus on the win rather than on the mountain of work I’ve yet to accomplish. And it’s important to remember your love for the project. That love will get you through fire.

What are some truths about creativity you’ve learned? How do you bolster yourself up when the project is dragging its feet?

This post was written for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. We post on the first Wednesday of every month. To join us, or learn more about the group, click HERE.

Confidence in Creativity #IWSG #GCAP14

As some of you know, because I’ve delved into the game development world, starting up my own indie game studio, I attended a gaming conference in Melbourne last week. Technically it was two conferences, but the one I’m focusing on today is the Game Connect Asia Pacific 2014 (GCAP)  The final keynote speaker was Rami Ismail, game developer ‘and business guy’ from Vlambeer, a Dutch indie game studio. As the final keynote speaker, he gave an awesome talk about confidence in creativity. Because a lot of what he said can be translated for any creative pursuit, writing included, I’m going to share the gist of his talk here for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group.

First he explained what confidence is and isn’t: It’s an internal force. It’s about trusting your choices. It’s not about pushing anything on anyone. It’s not about arrogance, exaggeration, or lying.

While it’s intimidating to talk about our work, it helps to know that normal doesn’t exist. We’re all weird in our own special way and that’s interesting.

Likewise we have to believe in what we create. Find the passion for what we do by asking ourselves why we started the project in the first place. Stopping at, “Because I love it,” is a mistake. Dig deeper and find the fundamental truths about your game/story/creation. Then communicate what you are excited about with your work. This will help you stay motivated to finish the project and it will help you with marketing once it’s out there.

There is no way to improve except to try and possibly fail. Dare to be vulnerable.

As you can imagine, the whole room was buzzed by his talk. I certainly felt newly inspired for my own creativity and I hope to hold onto that motivation for a long while.

What motivates you with your creativity? What conferences have you recently attended that gave you a fresh insight and boost to your motivation?

This post was written for the Insecure Writer's Support Group where we share our encouragement or insecurities on the first Wednesday of the month.

To join the group or find out more, click here.

Photo: Sunset on the first night in Melbourne.

Note: For the next two weeks, starting this weekend, I will be unplugged so you won't see me around the blogsphere, the twitterverse, or the FB...world(?) and I won't be able to answer any emails either. Yikes! I'll share what I've been up to on Monday 24th.