Original Creatives

As writers, we are original creatives.  I don't think we recognize the importance of this vital role often enough.  While others watch movies or play games on their smartphones, we immerse ourselves in brand new worlds of our own making.

When I'm out writing in cafés I overhear the conversations of other people.  Most of them are recycling  what happened in a TV soap last night.  They spend hours analysing other people's creativity.

As writers, we are the special people who create the worlds that most of the population spend their leisure time immersed in.  We are the ones who dream up the characters, the settings, the storylines of TV dramas, movies, and novels.  We are the ones who conjure up complete worlds out of nothing.

We also have the courage to put our heads above the parapet and share our creations with the world. We take that stream of ideas out of our heads and put them on the page.  We shape and hone them, we give them a plot, and we send them out into the world to be judged.

Julia Cameron, in the Artist's Way, draws attention to how special and courageous we are, and to the various ways creative monsters can destroy our vision.  Whenever I need reminding of the value of what I do, I turn back to her work and read her words.

Without original creatives nothing new would get invented and our world would stagnate.  And without writers, nobody would comment on that world, or get us to question and challenge it.

Just as Greek theatre questioned and challenged politics and morals centuries ago, so today we as writers continue to question and challenge our present world.  But we know that "author preaching" doesn't work.  The best way to get our point of view out into the world is to wrap it up in a damn good story.  

Original creatives do that, skilfully weaving plot, characters, and message into a package of story that informs and argues as much as it entertains.  There will always be a need for original creatives in human society, and I feel proud to be counted among their number.