Answering out of order and piecmeal cos last night of E3 deadlines.
It's not that I'm embarrased of the word creative, it's just that I have two singular problems with that word.
1)Creativity is the least part of being an artist. (For the record, it's not a word I use a lot but sure I consider myself an artist.) People who do macrame and post weird pictures of C.S Friedman characters pashing off with Soul Reaver can say they're being creative.
It's a word that seems to go hand in hand with relentless amateurism. Which is good. Everyone should be able to access their creativity, be that seashell paintings, knitting or writing stories about Captain fucking Kirk. But I don't know any person with a serious body of work who rates the creativity that highly. So I tend to keep away from it.
I'd wager shiny tuppence that you'd partially agree with the proposition that coming up with ideas is the easy part.
Work is what makes you an artist. Working and by my personal defintion, being read is what crosses that invisible and possibly arbitrary line from hobby to not-hobby.
2) I see the word 'creativity' co-opted by corporate culture. You might remember that I posted a link a while back where some meatpuppet salaryman was talking about 'creative class'. When in fact, he was talking about 'thinking'.
But yeah, you're right. We're drifting towards semantics.
You know - I've been published since 95 and pretty much continually since 99. (Not artistic stuff always, however) And when I introduce myself as a writer, I'm still ask 'Oh, are you published?'
Because I'm a horrible person with the personality of a meathook, I have long since stopped being antsy over it. I'm proud of my work (when I'm not extravagantly embarrased by it)and I still feel that little surge of pride when I say 'Hi, I'm a writer.' Perhaps that is a sick thing but there it is.
If I can't take my work seriously* then who else is?
no subject
It's not that I'm embarrased of the word creative, it's just that I have two singular problems with that word.
1)Creativity is the least part of being an artist. (For the record, it's not a word I use a lot but sure I consider myself an artist.) People who do macrame and post weird pictures of C.S Friedman characters pashing off with Soul Reaver can say they're being creative.
It's a word that seems to go hand in hand with relentless amateurism. Which is good. Everyone should be able to access their creativity, be that seashell paintings, knitting or writing stories about Captain fucking Kirk. But I don't know any person with a serious body of work who rates the creativity that highly. So I tend to keep away from it.
I'd wager shiny tuppence that you'd partially agree with the proposition that coming up with ideas is the easy part.
Work is what makes you an artist. Working and by my personal defintion, being read is what crosses that invisible and possibly arbitrary line from hobby to not-hobby.
2) I see the word 'creativity' co-opted by corporate culture. You might remember that I posted a link a while back where some meatpuppet salaryman was talking about 'creative class'. When in fact, he was talking about 'thinking'.
But yeah, you're right. We're drifting towards semantics.
You know - I've been published since 95 and pretty much continually since 99. (Not artistic stuff always, however) And when I introduce myself as a writer, I'm still ask 'Oh, are you published?'
Because I'm a horrible person with the personality of a meathook, I have long since stopped being antsy over it. I'm proud of my work (when I'm not extravagantly embarrased by it)and I still feel that little surge of pride when I say 'Hi, I'm a writer.' Perhaps that is a sick thing but there it is.
If I can't take my work seriously* then who else is?
But I must say, those last are very good points.
*Not boorish, I should hope!