Creative Mondays #035 – Multiple projects at once.
Today I want to talk about a creative thought that hits close to home. Having too many projects going at once. This is something I have a particularly rough time with. I usually have way too many creative projects going at one. At any given time I have ideas for audio podcast scripts, video podcast scripts, Throwing Toasters songs, completely new show ideas I want to develop and more.
I got the book Jim Henson’s Doodle Dreams and was looking through it and came across this quote by Jim Henson:
“Try to keep enough balls in the air so that when some fall to the ground, you’ve got others up there.”
I immediately loved that quote because I felt it really capsulated my feelings about how I work on creative projects. I read that as:
Be working on a bunch of projects so that if some of them don’t work out, you’ll still have others to work on.
The inherent danger in this, though, is that you have so many creative projects you are working on that none of them get done. This is certainly something I run into, however I like to think I prioritize creative projects pretty well. I will focus on one particular project and work on that one for awhile, but in the meantime I’ll be making small amounts of progress on other ideas. I find that working on multiple projects also keeps me from suffering burnout working too much on one project. Moving from project to project keeps the creativity flowing in my mind. Of course any creative project that someone is paying me to create takes precedence over personal ones that do not pay because, you know, money.
When working on multiple projects, also be careful about ‘bleed through’ unless it is intended. Bleed through is when elements from one project creep into another. I find this is more of an issue for me when I’m writing. I’ll look back through the stuff I’ve written and see that I’ve used the same names or same strings of dialogue. This is fine if I was writing multiple stories involving the same characters but often I am not. Bleed through won’t kill a project, it’s just something to keep an eye out for. In my case, I don’t want people saying, “He’s just writing the same story over and over again.” (As a side note to this, I do often write the same of similar jokes across multiple projects if they fit. I figure if one property hasn’t ‘made it’ and there’s a really good joke in it, there’s no reason not to use to make another property even better. That’s not bleed through as I’m doing it on purpose.)
When working on my own creative projects I often wear many hats: writer, producer, performer, editor, publisher. I can do all those jobs and often do. Though I’m not a rabid fan of Seth McFarlane, I do admire his work etheric on Family Guy. He created the show, writes it, performed in it and more. Back when there was a possibility of a Dr. Floyd television show, I was eager to do all those things should the show go forward. In my own projects now, I’m excited to do all those things.
Sometimes, I find, we MUST be all those things in our own creative work. At least until we are as famous as Seth McFarlane and we can have other people cover some of other aspect.
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Are you an artist handling multiple creative projects at once? If so, how do you keep them all straight and get them all done? Let us know in the comments below. Have a great week!
Creative Mondays #034 – Stick to your core.
NOTE: Saw a huge uptick in traffic to this site from Canada this past weekend. Just saying a big, warm hello to my pals up there. Hope you enjoy what you read and can’t wait to see what originally creative things you come up with.
This week I’m going to start by telling you a story. Around 2000 or 2001, I went with three friends to Canada to pull a ‘Grateful Dead’ and follow the band, Barenaked Ladies, on tour. All three of us were huge fans and we had decided to follow them to three stops on their Canadian tour. It was a lot of fun and the shows were great. Through the Barenaked Ladies fan club, The Ladies Room, we had amazing seats. Front row two nights, second row the other. Barenaked Ladies is a great band to see night after night too because, while they do play some of the same songs, they change the setlist up a lot from night to night and work in a lot of older, obscure songs. So, days were spent driving or exploring the towns and at night we rocked. Even one night, hanging out with the band at a bar afterwards.
But on the third night, right before the show, I was sitting in the front ready to rock when all of a sudden a weird feeling hit me. It took me a moment to work out what is was. But suddenly, it clicked. I was bummed because for the past few days I had been watching other people (Barenaked Ladies) pursue their creative talents and all I had done was sit and watch. In that moment I realized that I didn’t want to be here passively watching, I wanted to be creating. At that moment I made a rule for myself that, while going to concerts to watch is a great thing and creatively inspiring, I would never again ‘follow’ a band on tour for multiple shows. I’d much rather spend those other nights working on my own creative pursuits.
I’ve always come back to that moment in my thoughts over the years, though I’ve never really known how to put it into words other than, “I didn’t want to be watching anymore, I wanted to be the one creating.” I’ve never really talked about it to anyone over the years and wouldn’t have even considered it as a topic for a Creative Mondays until I was browsing Austin Kleon’s tumblr page and came across this chart and description he had reblogged from a tumblr user named Craighton Berman. This chart and description described exactly how I felt about that night.
I’m the type of person who needs to be close to the core. I have to be. If I spend to much time away from it and in the COLLECT area, I begin to feel like I did that night at the Barenaked Ladies show. I need to Create A Little Everyday. I need to be close to that core.
There’s nothing wrong with being a collector, not at all. It’s just not for me. I’m only happy and comfortable when I’m as close to that core as I can be.
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Where do you fall on Craighton’s chart? What steps can you take to get close to the core? Let me know in the comments below.
Creative Mondays #033 – Hang on, helps is on the way.
Here’s a cold, hard fact about creating: No one is going to care about your art project as much as you do. Let me add to that, no one is going to care about your project as much as you do unless you are paying them. When money is involved, you will find people who will help you out. Now this is a fact, yes, but it should never be a roadblock to your creative pursuits. It’s just going to make things a little bit harder to keep going.
No one is going to care as much as you do and that is fine. That’s the way it works. If you are creative and have creative friends, I’m sure you think their ideas are amazing, but they aren’t as important to you as your own ideas.
While Dr. Floyd was a creative idea that was created between two people, myself and Doug, in the end there was really only one of us who wanted it to keep going. The other person felt we had put several great years into the project but, besides coming close to a TV deal, it hadn’t really bore any prospect of becoming something that would make money and that created a bit of a rift between us and we went our separate ways. It just wasn’t as important to the other person.
For some creative artists (painters, writers, etc.), practicing their art is a solo activity, so not having other people around to lend a hand is fine. But for some other creators (podcast producers, filmmakers, etc.) you need other people around to help make your dream come to life. But even though the fact that no one else cares as much as you do exists, you can still make progress on your creative projects, even if you need friends to help you carry them out.
One way to get people to help you is to barter. You’ll help them create on their art and they will help you create yours.
I’ve found this the most effective way to get help on a project. I’ll offer to make a website for someone or help them film a video. In exchange, they’ll help me on my project. Just make sure that when you are helping with their project to put as much time and care into it as you’ll want them to put into yours. I find it’s always fun to help people make their creative ideas come true and, hopefully, people find it fun working on mine.
Warning though, some people are takers. That’s just the way it is. You’ll help them but you’ll get excuse after excuse when the time comes for them to help you. At least you’ll be comforted to know that you aren’t like them and you are willing to help out a friend. Sad, but that’s the way it is.
I don’t mean to make it sound all doom and gloom though. One very good way to get people to help you on your creative project is just to ask. A lot of times they’ll say yes. Or offer lunch. That’s a good one too. My office in Burbank is right across the street from a very popular cuban place called Porto’s. I’ve had many a recording session that either begins or ends over at Portos and I always attempt to pay, especially if they’ve just recorded some dialogue or done some puppets for me.
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When you need help on a creative project, how do you go about getting it? Let me know in the comments below.