We're Different Creative Beasts

Teaching creativity is hard. Figuring out what approach you should learn is like finding the right foundation to match your skin tone. There are some approaches that will be an obvious misfit and then there will be a ton of things that work "ok" but aren't "THE THING". Kind of like "warm ivory" on cold toned skin with pink undertones. Not terrible, but not quite a match either.

And then there is the approach that works for you.

If you are lucky, you stumbled on it through a teaching experience. Most likely, though, the right creative approach for you is something you have to figure out by trying different things until they stick. After a while, the mental drawer of rejected processes will look like my "not quite it" make-up drawer. Full to the brim.

When you're done, though, there will only be one foundation left on your counter. Well, two, really. It's a seasonal thing, just like creativity.

Thankfully, there are ways to narrow it down. Once you have figured out which one of the two main creative types you are, you can try things more methodically.

I call the two types "intuitive" and "constructive".

The intuitive type pulls things seemingly out of thin air. These creatives just noodle around on the piano and suddenly there is a song. Often melodies, poems, or drawings just spring out of them fully formed. They go idea first and then apply structure to the work later.

The constructive type works the opposite way. They start with patterns and forms they know and construct the work consciously from the beginning. Over time, though, the structure morphs and the new ideas creep in.

Here's a musical example for this:

An intuitive type just hears a melody in their mind and then add chords later. A constructive type picks a chord progression they like and hums until they have a melody.

When they're done, you can not tell one from the other anymore. Both have arrived at something new. They just got there on different roads.

Both still need a ton of craftmanship to execute their project after the initial creation phase. It doesn't matter if you got to the idea intuitively or constructively, an idea without skilled craftsmanship to back it up won't leap off the page or make people dance.

So, before you give up on creativity altogether, figure out which type is dominant for you and learn how to speak to that type. What works for intuitive types will often not work for constructive types and vice versa.

Know whether you need to start doodling right away or take the time to put down the grid first. Then make your way from there. The work will carry you.