Create. Every. Day.
By Dan Blank | February 26, 2016 |
My wife was sick with the flu this past week. For five days straight, she was in bed, completely knocked down.
What that meant is that, in addition to everything I normally do, I had to take care of her, and take full responsibility for our five-year-old son.
No, I’m not pretending I’m a superhero. Most parents do more than that every single day, for years. But I do want to use this to frame my prompt to you:
CREATE EVERY DAY.
That you can — and perhaps SHOULD — create every single day. Yes, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. I want to share an example from my own life. I’d love if you could add your own in the comments.
The Struggle to Create
The thing I hear most often from writers is this: “I’m struggling to find the time to write.”
That, before they can even get to the idea of improving their craft, to publishing their work, they are concerned that they simply can’t even get a first draft down on paper.
Their books live only as ideas in their heads. And because of that, they live day to day, disheartened with this aspect of themselves.
Sometimes, they view this creative ‘failure’ as a failure in their character, or a character flaw.
That is incredibly unfortunate, how quickly our professional failures can feel like personal failures. So when I suggest what I do in this post, I’m viewing the value of the habit of creating not just as a professional imperative, but a personal imperative.
Every Day
Two weeks ago, with zero preparation, I decided to start a daily vlog on YouTube. A vlog is a “video log,” basically a video diary.
What that means is that every day, I script, film, edit, and publish a 2-8 minute video. Seven days a week. Even when my wife had the flu and I felt maxed out on time and energy. For instance, this morning I uploaded a video of an amazing hidden library in my town.
What I learned in this process goes far beyond the ability to create every day. I also learned that:
- Every moment can be a creative moment. For instance, as I type this I’m sitting in Starbucks, I have my phone set up on a mini-tripod taking a time-lapse of a beautiful sunrise. I realized that even the most mundane and ordinary moments of my day can be filled with moments of creativity.
- The more stories I tell, the better I get at it. Did you ever read part of a story and wonder how the author beautifully told a story from something pretty simple? What I’m finding is that it is possible to tell a story every day. Or, dozens of times per day. This week I edited together a little video of me making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for my son as a way of illustrating what it means to take care of him while my wife is sick. The subject matter, the edits, were all a way of illustrating that story beyond “My wife is sick.” Because I vlog every day, I create a story every day. That means that every day, I am trying to tell a better story than I did the day before. I am always in storytelling mode.
- A daily routine encourages greater honesty in my work. A daily deadline can be easy on some days, difficult on others. The nice side effect of this is being more honest in the stories I tell. The topics I choose. The way I can share it. There isn’t time to edit down a raw idea into something that is shiny, and perhaps, too shiny to seem authentic. It is authentic because of deadline. While that may not be what you want in a finished novel, it is a great practice in the everyday process of creation.
If you are wondering why I am talking about recording videos if you are a writer, I would say that is part of the point. So much of my life is spent writing. It is nice to have a creative outlet that taps into a different well. Expending creative energy in visual storytelling inherently makes me a better storyteller in my writing.
Be a YES in a World Full of NO
In the past couple years, I have seen loads of blogs and videos about “the power of ‘no’.” Personally, I see “no” way too often. Yes, I understand that the advice others share is supposed to mean, “Dan, when you say no to something that isn’t important, that frees you up to say yes to work that matters.”
For myself, I focus instead on YES. On saying YES with more emphasis. More rigor. Beyond what is reasonable.
For each of us, this “yes” is different. It can be to family, or your job, or a creative project. What I have found in these past two weeks is that when I said “yes” to the vlog — my life was fueled with more creativity.
It was a positive motion, not a negative motion. An embracing of what could be, not a closing off of what shouldn’t be.
To me, there is was something that felt good about that.
Be Diane Keaton
I will leave you with this: Be Diane Keaton.
My friend Anny Rusk shared this on Facebook, a reshare from Wendy MacNaughton:
This was a recent Vanity Fair cover where Diane Keaton stands apart by being herself. There is a great backstory on the photo that illustrates the wonderful collaborative process of the creative team working with Diane, ending up with Diane wearing an outfit of her own design.
But what is missing in that backstory is how the decision was made that the other women would have a certain serious look, at a staged angle, and that Diane would simply be smiling, her entire body squared with the camera.
Every single person involved in this photo (both in front of and behind the camera) is a unique individual. What Diane’s stance, smile, and clothes do is simply remind us of this. To be “for” Diane Keaton does not mean that you are somehow “against” anyone else. Everyone here is wonderful in their own unique way.
What “Be Diane Keaton” means is this:
Be a creator. Be yourself. Be a great collaborator.
And what that means for you can be different things in different moments.
Can you create something new every single day? What would it be? How can you make that happen?
-Dan
Dan Blank is the founder of WeGrowMedia, where he helps writers share their stories and connect with readers. He has helped hundreds of authors via online courses, events, consulting, and workshops, and worked with amazing publishing houses and organizations who support writers such as Random House, Workman Publishing, Abrams Books, Writers House, The Kenyon Review, Writer’s Digest, Library Journal, and many others.
Thank you for this. It has taken me years to realize that not only can I be creative every day, I need to. I was recently sick for almost two weeks and the lack of creating was probably the worst part.
Thank you so much Kevin! Glad you are feeling better now.
-Dan
Should be a word for nodding like a bobble-head as you read. Bobble-heading? Doesn’t sound positive enough. But yes to all this. Give yourself more credit. In high school you weren’t as sure of yourself, perhaps, so you had cheerleaders (quite literally cheerleaders who would use your name in their chant. “If he can’t do it, next guy can”, I’ll never forget). Now you need to grab your own pom-poms. As bad as I would look in a pleated skirt, I cheerlead for myself now.
Every day I compose, I chronicle- I just don’t always write it down. It all counts!
Thank you so much Will!
-Dan
A personal imperative to create. Great line.
Thanks Carol!
-Dan
Hi Dan,
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your emails and your programs. It’s been a huge blessing to have discovered your work and the gift of encouragement you offer to those of us who are writers, artists, musicians, etc.
As I read this article, I was again encouraged, because much of what you have written recently resonates with my values and goals. I have often been the one anomaly who strives for authenticity in a community of cookie cutter people. And that’s been a hard road more often than not. But what I’ve discovered is that there are some people out there who share my desire to be myself and to focus on my “yes” with confidence and gusto. I appreciate that you do that – and that you share the struggle in doing so, as well.
Thanks so much for this and all of your articles. As a writer, I love how you coach us in a subtle but powerful way! And you’re right – we have to be intentional with what we do with our time and how we view life, even its simple gifts and moments. I have two girls with special needs, so my free time is limited. But what I’ve done is learn to be more deliberate in what I do and how I view that free time. Instead of wasting it, I try to use it for writing and for telling stories about the otherwise ordinary and mundane parts of my day that have been profound teachers to me.
Blessings and peace to you!
Jeannie,
WOW — thank you so much!
-Dan
Make art every day. Yes! There are a million ways to do it. I think most people just don’t realize it because they think making art has to be BIG. ART. They don’t count all the little moments that BIG ART is made of, whether it’s making pancakes for your children, singing in the shower, or dashing off a postcard to a friend. My husband and I write to each other daily — it’s a habit formed from 30 yrs ago — and I can’t imagine not doing this.
I’m so glad you didn’t call taking care of your son babysitting. You’re a good husband and father :) I think children enjoy the change of pace that dad brings.
Thank you so much! That is very kind of you.
-Dan
Vijaya, love that. Art indeed is a little dance step you do at the top of the stairs, when no one’s looking. Watching a lost red balloon’s path through the sky can be an artful moment, a small pause of tang in a “typical” day.
I just wrote a single paragraph in my WIP that was the result of last night’s mulling over something missing there from the small amount I’d written yesterday. I hope to write some more later, but what I did was a nice pancake.
Dan, I’ve enjoyed several of your videos, and always get warm bread out of your posts—thanks.
Now this is a unique post today, Dan. I use the “power of no” a lot these days because there’s so much drivel out there. I mean I really don’t have the time to care when someone posts cherries in the shape of a heart topping their oatmeal and writes about it. I get your point on the Diane Keaton thing, and this is especially hot right now with so much anti-establishment, anti-everything thinking.
Since we are still in February, in Women In Horror Month awareness and celebration, your post prompted me to think of Mary Shelley’s words on creativity. “Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos.” There are real discoveries when daily life gets crazy. Chaos is beautiful!
Thanks Paula!
-Dan
Loved this entire thing, but “Be Diane Keaton,” (and that cover) is an unintentional marketing and branding lesson in and of itself. Bravo. I’m going to share the hell out of this one. :-)
Thanks Grace!
I love this, thank you! I really enjoyed the library video. Wouldn’t it be beautiful to have a video with all the poetry at the Central Park Zoo, the way you highlighted the words at your museum but also showing the faces of people reading it or reading it to children?
Thank you Beverly!
I love what you say about ‘yes’, Dan. Yes and no are both choices, but giving voice to the positive is much more life-affirming! So instead of saying no to lunch with a friend. I’m actually saying yes to my work. And instead of being full of ‘I should-be-writing’ angst yesterday while hanging our with my favorite four-year-old , I practiced the art of making up stories with her! And thanks for the dose of Diane this morning! She’s a bright light. Awesome message this morning…as always.
Thank you Susan!
I discovered when raising my children that I could pull creative moments into that experience. Having a conversation with a 5 year old is creative–you learn a lot and you learn how to relate back to them in a DIFFERENT way. Cleaning your home can be creative IF you’re either thinking about your writing as you do it or finding something within the process that triggers an idea. (after cleaning I always did some small creative thing with my home.) Taking a walk again allows the creative mind to seek out ideas. It’s all about believing that your mind is fertile and you have to dig up the good stuff. Thanks for this post and I hope the flu stays away from your household.
Thank you Beth!
For me, storytelling isn’t something I do in front of a keyboard only. Living with story is a way of life. Everything is a stimulus for story. The way the light filters through the window and is captured in the curve of a spoon, the laughter from two huddled strangers in the supermarket parking lot, the senior lady wearing a hat pinned with silk roses, all are catalyst for my personal slant on storytelling. Living with story is a way of life. Writing the story requires a lot of living with story, to navigate just where I’m going to go, and to recognize that place when I finally uncover the directions that were always there and now, with my acknowledgement are going to get me there. Creation is a lifestyle, it requires a lot of space to just be.
Thanks!
Keaton sounds like a right pain in the arse!
I completely disagree. She sounds like a nonconformist, but if you read the linked article she definitely made the effort to work with the photographer and planned photo shoot. A right pain in the arse (male or female) would show up late, inappropriately dressed, and throw fits about the options presented.
And I love her juxtaposition in the photo–it’s a great counterpoint!
David,
Read the article I linked to, written by the Vanity Fair team. (Thank you Alisha for pointing this out!) Diane’s involvement was part of a larger creative process. EVERYONE involved contributed to the overall shoot, and Diane was a consummate team player.
-Dan
I love your ideas and message to keep our storyteller muscles in shape by using them everyday. As a writer, some days my words don’t rush onto the page. Picking up chalks or just a pencil and drawing either my way around the stoppage or on another unrelated project helps my manuscript flow again. Video sounds like a fun addition to the mix.
My opinion – Diane Keaton is the bomb!
Thank you Kristi!
Dan:
Create Every Day. There’s something wonderfully Zen in that, like a mantra. It reminds you that every act can be a moment of creation, or of destruction — to the mind, body, and creative spirit. It’s a little way of building up the world, rather than tearing it down
Christine: I love that perspective — thank you!
-Dan
“The more stories I tell the better I get.” I learn this lesson every Friday, since I took Dan’s advice to send my newsletter weekly instead of monthly. My newsletter/blog consists of a personal story that ends with a life lesson. Emphasis on story telling. The weekly deadline is hard on my perfectionism. This week I got behind schedule; on Thursday I was still composing and sorely tempted to delay publication for a day, to continue editing. I resisted that urge. It was well past bedtime when I finished and scheduled delivery for Friday 8 a.m. I can tell you that story (a funny tale about taking a yoga class from a substitute teacher) did not live up to my perfectionist standards. However, by 9 a. m. Friday, my subscribers were already emailing compliments to me, as many as my newsletter usually gets. A writer whose work I really, really admire said, “That’s good writing Dawn.” A yoga teacher said she planned to share my story with the yoga class she was about to sub for, and then give it to all her fellow teachers.
That weekly deadline forces me to write more stories, and “the more stories I tell, the better I get.”
Dawn,
LOVE this! Congratulations on how your writing is making the days of your readers even brighter!
-Dan
No wonder Woody Allen liked working with her. There’s something quirky about her that makes her stand out.
thanks for this
Anne
Thanks Anne!
Be a YES in a World Full of NO! Dan, really an exceptional article and like the way of your creative works. As well as Struggle to Create also an amazing one. Great lines. Like it.
Thank you!