Everyone has a creative side. Granted, in some people it may be more dormant than others.

Lately, my creative side has been more active than in the last few months. I'm not exactly sure what to attribute it to. This site has helped, having something to write about has helped, and my relationship has helped, but there isn't anything I can really pin down as being a muse.

Another similar question would be how does your creativity really get jump started once it has a muse?
For example, today I was working on an essay/review. All day I've been thinking about it and I haven't been able to sit down and do it because I didn't know what I was going to say. Then, while pulling something out of the oven a few hours ago, the first sentence came to me. I struggled to remember it for a little while longer until I could get The Bug to bed and then when I sat down and typed in that first sentence, the rest of the review flooded out of me in the span of maybe five minutes.

Is there anything that breaks that dam inside you when you're being creative? Writing, painting, whatever. The first line always seems to me to be my dam-breaker. Whether it's a musical progression (I write music too) or a rhythmic line for my poetry or a hot introduction to a story, it always seems to be the first line. It's almost like a hook, but directed inward and not outward.

I'm absolutely fascinated by that right now because I spent the day frustrated with The First Line.

So how is it with you? What is your muse? What awakens your muse (besides morning sex)?

~Ang

When others say 'creativity' I think of writing poetry, playing music, painting pictures and potting pots. I can do all of those things, but I don't consider them creative because, for me, they are technical exercises. Someone has taught me how to do them and I can reproduce their teachings with great competency. Can I play any piece of music on the piano from sight? You bet. Can I make up music in my head? Not on your nelly.

My creative self is buried deep in numbers. My muse is any unanswered quantitative question. Give me a set of data and a question you'd like to know the answer to, and I'll take it to a level you never thought possible. I love data, I love programming, I love solving numerical problems. I am an engineer, after all. I also like playing the piano and sewing and potting pots, but these are the things I do to relax my brain from its usual excited frenzy of data and possibilities. They are little different from cleaning the house or going to the movies in terms of the mental energy I dedicate to them.

Does this make me odd?

dp

FANTASTIC!

I don't think it makes you odd at all. If it does, then I'm sure one of my sisters is equally odd.

Do you ever randomly come up with quantitative questions that you then have to answer or you can't focus on anything else? If so, where is the strangest place that's happened to you?

I think I'm thirsty for input on this subject.
~Ang

The human mind fascinates me. Sociology, 'the human condition', socioanthropology, ways of problem solving, stuff like that.

Anytime I start wondering why my mind works a certain way, I start wondering how everyone else's work in that same vein.

Creativity is such a diverse subject that it's amazing to see how different peoples' minds handle it.

~Ang

Labatt,

The May Consumer Reports says that 600-1600 DPI models are "the most basic in capability". The 2400s are "for more detail with line art and photo enlargements" The 3200 models are "the most capable models, but overkill except for line-art editing and large blowups" They didn't review any Lexmarks in that article. Mine's a 1200 dpi and it seems fine to reproduce "everyday" stuff like photos, scrapbook layouts, etc. I'm not an artist though.

HTH,

Katie

I got a great deal on my Epson CX3200 and absolutely LOVE it.

Have you looked at Overstock dot com? We got our laptop there among many other things and to this day if I'm considering a major purchase of any sort, I'll check there as part of my research.

~Ang

Good question Celt, you know sometimes I need to be provoked into creativity.

*provoke*
*prod*
*poke*

Feeling creative yet?


Sometimes I need to be provoked (whether by a conversation, an article, whatever) but others something just slams into my mind with abandon and I can't get rid of it until it I get it out into whatever form it needs to be. Like The Song That Never Ends.

~Ang

You betcha.

~Ang

I usually find my creativity stimulated by extremes in emotion whether it be stress, love, hate, passion, anger, etc. They usually inspire me to do something.

Very simple for me... music. Depending on the song, I get massive imagery going. Lately, I've been hooked on a Bob Dylan cover ("Lay Lady Lay") by a group called Magnet. I can see the whole story happening as the song plays through down to the tiniest details. This happens to me with almost every song I hear, even hard core rap.

Yeah... creativity... it comes and goes, about 7 months ago, after the loss of a close friend, his sister brough up the fact that he was going to write a book about some of our previous exploits. In an e-mail, I told her I'd do it. Yeah that was 7 months ago... I haven't written shite, When it comes to that particular subject... I'm not at all creative. I need to find a Muse, heh.

~Ranger