| HOW ARE CURIOSITY AND
GETTING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE CONNECTED? by Billie A Williams cc 2006 “Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don’t let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.” R.I. Fitzhenry Engaging your creativity is important if you are a writer hoping to make it in this competitive business. Re-engaging your creativity, re-awakening your creative genius can dramatically raise the total level of creativity. So how do you do that? According to statistics children under 5 years old scored 90% on creative ingenuity/originality when tested. By the time they were 7 years old they scored only 20%, but by the time they were adults, they retained only 2% of their ability to think creatively or originally. There are four areas of creatively that need to be excavated and enhanced equally if you are to turn those percentages around. We will look at them individually. They are 1. Having a high energy level for living, 2. Getting out of your comfort zone. 3. Peaking or tweaking your curiosity. 4. Having a flexible mind. Let’s look at high energy living first. Is your spirit willing while your energy level is next to empty? You will need to refill that well. You need to tell yourself for this hour, this day, you INTEND to experience more energy, more creative energy in both physical and mental capacity on all levels. You can cultivate your energy that comes from your passion for writing. Nurture it; tell yourself it is your job to create, and creating takes enthusiasm, which is the energy you need to create. Your curiosity is the fuel for your passion to write about what you want to know. That passion must extend to your subject, your story people. A passion that shows you really care about writing and these aspects of your writing. It would seem that the more you love something, the more energy you will be able to devote to developing that project. Now what about getting out of your comfort zone. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got,” says an old saw. Feel the fear and do it because of it, in spite of it, for it. Do it trembling in your boots, because you want to be all that you can be. But do it. Rejections, reviews, author days, book signings, author interviews, they are all a part of growing your career as a writer. You need to embrace your fear of the unknown. Force yourself to step out of your eco bubble, your environmentally safe, static, world into the living now world of a creative, eclectic, dynamic, liver of life. If you insist on playing it safe either in your writing or in your world, you’ll forfeit new growth, new experiences, as well as the courage you need to write about them with the honesty and verve that pulls you to best seller status. Flexible, open mindedness, a willingness to explore new ideas, investigate a new way of doing something—another way of thinking is our third challenge to enhancing our creativity. There is a danger in not engaging your mind in a plethora of untried ideas. If you’ve ever read an author who seems to write the same book over and over again, you understand what I’m talking about. You don’t want that to happen to you, and your writing. Explore, with an open minded, new attitude. With that new attitude, even the old can become new. A flexible mind, a seeking mind, an open mind is an energetic, alive, vibrant explorer of all that life has to offer. It will reflect in your writing. Curiosity about all areas of your surroundings, how things work, how people act/react/interact and how other cultures do things are only a few of the things that can peak your enthusiasm on the page. Curiosity leads you to discover your unknown you need to fill your well. Your stores of ideas, adventures to explore are depleted daily as you use them in your writing, your living, whatever it is you do, how you spend your days. Be a lifetime learner. Continue to stretch yourself, engage in new things. Books, online classes, classes at your local YMCA/YWCA, community colleges and university outreach programs, art shows, museums visits—even a visit to an antique store can spark a new interest or curiosity. Forget about the old adage “write what you know,” instead, write what you want to know and you will always have fodder for your curiosity and enhancement for your creativity. Evaluate yourself according to these four principles of creativity. How do you measure up in all four of these areas? Energy without being willing to take a risk, close mindedness even if you are curious will allow you to see only what you intend to see and as a result you will experience failure. You’ve heard said balance is key in every facet of your life—it is no different with creativity. IN order to increase your creative ability you must create an equal balance with curiosity, flexibility of mind, escaping from your comfort zone and increased energy. After you have evaluated yourself in each of these areas, ask a trusted friend or two to rate you. Consider the pooled findings. Work on the areas where you cored the lowest. This will help you create the balance you need to get the most out of your creative efforts. Work to balance your strengths and improve your weaknesses. Create a whole, well-balanced you and your creativity will soar. Your writing will reflect this passion, this energy. “Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who have minded beyond reason, the opinion of others.” Virginia Wolf ============================================================================== Billie A. Williams is a freelance writer, novelist, poetry writer, plays and screen play writer with more than 15 novels published and various columns in online magazines. She has several non fiction books available, her first play for community theater, an adaptation of another author's novel is due out this summer. You can find out more about her and read excerpts of some of her novels at her website www.billiewilliams.com |
| HOW ARE CURIOSITY AND GETTING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE CONNECTED? |