Am I a Producer, or a Consumer?

[austinmcconnell]

 

Here's something I'd like to get feedback for from all you creative types. What methods do you use when coming up with ideas for your craft? Do you find yourself too distracted by the noise of things like instagram, twitter, Facebook, etc? How do you stay focused and make your work a reality?

[richg101]

good topic.  but one that will probably not yield much interest here since its quite a deep subject.  

 

I think your sentence "What methods do you use when coming up with ideas for your craft?" is a superb highlight of the current phenomenon of lots of individuals who consider themselves as 'creatives' when really they are not so.

 

I think a better sentence would be:- "What methods do you use when realising / putting in motion and ultimately seeing through your ideas?"

 

It shouldn't need method to think creatively in my opinion.  It's something you either are or are not.  A true creative head is always seeing creative opportunity and if anything the main holdback is the delivery of these ideas into a completed physical object or creation.

 

The really successful ones are the guys who see their strengths and weaknesses and seem to naturally surround themselves with like minded collaborators.  Online forums are a great source of information, but unfortunately are very unhelpful at driving a personal project forward since they give a false sense of being around like minded people when 90% of the time they are the other side of the world.  It's a lot harder to go out and join a theatre club and meet real people, but i imagine this method will ultimately bring more productivity.

 

For me, I only ever undertake things i feel are worthy of my time.  I try to block out what others are doing, while maintaining an awareness of my surroundings, selectively picking and choosing the finest creative output from others and allowing it to influence me subconsciously.