Comments on: Creative Professions, Creative Outlets

By: Harry~DayDream

Harry~DayDream — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:05:27 +0000

I aim to make writing more of a profession, so I guess I am somehwre in the middle. Right now I discovered that I really want to delve into other arts. I can’t sing, I can’t play an instrument although I would like to be able to play the cello or the piano, but I’m drawn to photography and found out that I can draw like floral motives and swirls and jagged lines like symbols or tattoo designs and I will be starting to harness these small talents and be as creative as I can. I think that no matter what artists you are you always appreciate and feel pulled towards other forms of self expression.

By: DavidBCoe

DavidBCoe — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:27:45 +0000

Great comments. I think Michele is right: creativity begets more creativity, and there are lots of artist types out there who engage in a whole host of artistic pursuits. But I also know from experience that writers seem to be particularly passionate about other forms of art. Maybe it comes down to what Radish (great pseudonym, by the way) seems to be getting at. Writers constantly draw upon experience, and other forms of art provide grist for the mill, as it were.

In any case, fun stuff.

By: Radish

Radish — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:58:23 +0000

Is there something inherent in writing that makes us seek out other arts as well? Are those of you who write professionally also engaged in other artistic pursuits? How do they influence your writing, if at all? For those of you who write more as a hobby, do you have other creative hobbies as well, and if so, how does these other forms of creativity interact with your writing?

This is weird — my S.O. and I were discussing this just last night.

My own creativity won’t allow itself to be funneled down into a single form of expression. I play classical guitar for my own pleasure, and through music I understand rhythm, cadence, and structure. Photography taught me how to frame the subject to lead the eye, and how to balance the lights and darks within the composition,… and just how stinky stop-bath can be.

After several years as a freelance illustrator, I now prefer to capture my own visions in paintings and drawings, deciding what to include in [or omit from] the composition, or just hint at within the visual narrative. This all goes into the writing, too.

And there’s the fencing I did for a few years [and yearning to get back into it] that helps me write my swordplay scenes.

Yep. Everything goes back into the writing.