What does it mean to be “creative”? Is there such a thing as a “creative personality”?
I’ve wondered about this for many years, probably because I’ve always been a bit strange and over time I’ve realized there are other people out there who are a bit strange in the same way. (Some of you may be even be reading this blog.) They are determined to write, paint, act, dance, draw, play music, etc., whether or not they ever have any success at it. True, some may eventually get so discouraged that they give up their creative callings, but then they often become miserable human beings.
Most other folks don’t really understand where these “creative” types are coming from, and I’ve rarely read a good psychological profile on the subject. You’ll see articles offering tips on “how to be more creative,” or profiles of artistic geniuses, but seldom any analysis of what makes the average creatively-motivated person tick, for better or worse.
The closest thing I’ve ever found was in the book WHO ARE YOU, REALLY? by Gary Null (yes, the natural-health crusader) who suggests there are seven types of personalities, and one is “Creative Assertive.”
Excerpt from his profile: “A true Creative Assertive HAS to paint, make films, dance, do stand-up comedy, write, sculpt or whatever. The need is nonnegotiable, really, and sometimes it gets in the way of ‘normal’ functioning.”
(It sure does.)
He also talks about the energy cycles of the creative person, the highs and low that comes with feeling you’re onto the best idea in the world, then afterward looking at your interpretation of it and thinking it’s pure, unadulterated crap. In most “creative types,” that’s not biopolar–it’s all part of the process, swinging back and forth between the spontaneous and critical sides of our brains.
Another wonderful quote along this line comes from George Bernard Shaw: “A true artist will let his wife starve, his children go barefoot, his mother drudge for his living at seventy, sooner than work at anything but his art.”
You’ll notice, Shaw doesn’t claim that this artist’s work is necessarily brilliant, just that he can’t not do it! That’s the tough part. If you’re more practical than Shaw’s artist, you may make a living at something else and take excellent care of your family, but there will always be a second or third shift in your day as you try to fit in the work you need to do for your soul.
Finally, I’ve wondered if there’s an ethical flaw in this kind of single-mindedness. Creativity often means spending much time alone, mining your private fantasies for usable material. Are such people inherently selfish? Or is the work they’re doing a form of “giving back to society” in itself? (And does that depend on whether anyone’s buying it?)
I’d really love to hear from some other folks about this — those who may identify with this description as well as family and friends who care about and put up with them. Please comment!
This is a great post! Yep, I can also relate and I have a similar quote on my website, because a creative person is driven in a way that most can’t understand. Your creative persona sustains the soul. Without it, I feel almost off-balance. It’s a totally different than the persona I wear in my current position. But when I put my hands on the piano keys, when I let stories in my head come to the page, there’s nothing to describe the satisfaction inside. And you can’t completely bury the creative in you. Somehow, it will find a way to surface. It’s not selfish to fold inside yourself and let the spark take over. Most of us don’t let our families starve, but creative people are driven to explore endless possibilities. ~ Mickey
First comment!
I love the Shaw quote, cynical as it is.
Creative people are often said to “think outside the box.” For those who are really creative, maybe there is no box. Maybe they are thinking outside the circle or the octagon, or staying inside the box and rearranging the box into a shape that suits them better. Creative people can make an art form out of everyday activities like cooking or housecleaning, if that’s what interests them. Sometimes people who are really creative seem not to be quite on the same plane as the rest of us because what they’re seeing goes beyond what we normally see.
I’ve given this a lot of thought. I do think all people start out creative as children, but a lot of factors can interefere with that natural imagination and creativity as they grow up.
I’m considered a “creative person.” Theatre, writing, arts & crafts have been life long obsessions, but I am limited in my resources. I need to prime the pump with reading either books or art journals or watching a show, and I need downtime to digest and then create. Being a wife and mother there have times when I haven’t had the time to do anything artistic at all. But when I was homeschooling I had plenty of time to be creative. However, now that I’m back to teaching much of my creative energies are taken by my students. I sort of wish I could just stay home and create. But I do take art classes and continue to hone my writing skills nonetheless.
There was a period of my life when I wasn’t married and was free to create as much as I willed, can’t say I was very happy. I think I need a balance between living my life as a wife and mom and living as a creative person. Soon DS will be out of the nest, and I’ll have more time for my art but I know art will never be able to fill the hole in my heart.
I’ve always liked how author Selina Rosen has described writing – it’s an addiction. You might dabble in it at first but once it grabs you, you can’t do without it. Make sure you want to commit yourself so deeply before it’s too late! lol.
I believe creativity in many ways is a voyage of discovery of ourselves. Turning over ideas, possibilities, and more. It’s a muscle, and the more you use it the stronger it becomes.
As to the selfishness aspect, that is a trap we must work to avoid and it can be hard. But making sure to schedule things around the family but also getting them to give you some space, it can be balanced against other things. A give and take that can be beneficial for all.
Thanks for the post!
For artists it’s a right brain thing. We’re wired that way from the start. What happens from there is the nurture part. My mom gave my sister and I pencil and paper and we sat quietly drawing while my night shift dad slept. I don’t know if those right brained girls would be artists if there was no pencil and paper. My brothers got pencil and paper too but they can’t draw to save their souls….they’re writers!
Creative starts with that brain thing and grows when given the means.
Creative people come in all styles-responsible, crazy, lazy, drunkards, kind folks, bad folks. They are like the rest of the human race. One difference though we are compelled to do something creative even if we have other talents that’s the one that calls to us!
There was a time I cursed the heavens when I couldn’t get a job as an artist. I called out,”Why couldn’t I have become an accountant!” It was not my destiny! Even though I’m great with numbers (strong left brain too) there were other plans for me.
What can I say we feel good when we create and better when we get paid for it! It’s a gift and a burden.
I believe, and I know this sounds so Pollyanna, that everyone has a gift. Some are athletes or accountants or whatever. Here’s the thing it’s when we’re pushed away from that gifted self that’s when we’re miserable.
A lovely and thought provoking topic, and one I (as a fellow ‘slightly stranger’ person) have often wondered about myself. I wanted to post this on your Live Journal, but it wasn’t being cooperative tonight.
I know that it seems to be inherent; as you suggested, a part of your personality type. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t wonder what was beyond the next curve of the road (preferably a back road…the one less traveled, you know 😉 ) and I also clearly recall how incomprehensible some of my family found that trait. Before I realized I wanted and needed to write, there were still always stories to be told.
I have friends who are very black and white, logical, and not given to my odd flights of fancy. Sometimes I marvel at their organization, their ability to take life in such manageable bits. Mostly though, I can’t imagine I could survive that way.
As your sources suggested, I MUST create. There is always something that ‘needs’ to be written, drawn, carved, acted, cooked, created. And I have been delighted to see this attribute pass on to some of my children. Notice I did not say all. Yes, I managed to raise a couple…out of eight, the odds were I should get a few of each, lol…who, while I am certain they are creative in their own ways, are not artistically inclined. Much more practical souls. I suspect they will be far easier to live with as marriage partners one day 🙂 My kids don’t starve–cooking is also a chance for creativity and imagination.
And when they are in bed or happily involved in their own activities, there is at last quiet time to express the passions so deeply ingrained in my soul. After all, with a large family, time management is another thing requiring a creative approach!
I shall have to check out the book. Sounds like an interesting take on the concept. To all kindred spirits out there..keep creating. It makes the world so much more amazing
Pamela, I apologize for the LiveJournal mixup. It was set to screen for “Friends” and I didn’t realize it. It’s fixed now. That’s why I like to post in two places, just in case.
You have eight kids? Wow, you really are creative–in every sense!
Nahhhh…I think the kids part is more ‘crazy’ than creative, LOL!
I think creative people like that sense of accomplishment when they work on something and have a finished product. It also seems that creative people have a parent or family member who was creative. Maybe not in the same way, but they had that same drive to make things, whether physical or written. Of course there’s always the exceptions, but I think as children, if we’re encouraged to be creative, we tend to grow up being creative.
A thought-provoking article. Yes, I’ve always had a drive to create, maybe because I was a shy only-child with lots of time to imagine. During my early 20s I got hooked into a group where an educated and authoritative woman, who had done studies in creativity, insisted that with my personality, no matter how hard I tried my creative efforts would be inferior. It took me years to work through the damage that did.
My mother was a practical type (“Creative people are peculiar. Don’t associate with them.”) who insisted that my first task was to earn a living. So I did. But always in the back of my mind I had to be a writer. I majored in Creative Writing in college–produced a dreadfully inadequate novel–and looked for work that would involve writing, but ended up drafting grant applications for other people. They got the kudos and the bucks.
I’ve always been a vivid dreamer. I dream plots and write them down. A few evolve into short stories, but most are novel-length in size. I have a whole interior world, ancient times through medieval, that throws out stories and images constantly. In the raw, they’re melodramatic, overwrought, illogical–and have to be refined. That is my joy and my task.
Glad to hear you’re still at it, Christie! Keep the faith.
I also had a very practical mother who was sort-of proud of my writing ability but never really encouraged the fiction part. My father was a bit more supportive, but I don’t think either of them had much faith that I (or maybe anybody they knew personally) could make it as a novelist. Possibly my being female was a factor, since this was back in the era where women writers weren’t taken too seriously. (Not that we’ve totally solved that problem, but it’s gotten better!) I always felt when I was writing my fiction that I was sneaking off to do something I shouldn’t. But frankly, like a secret love affair, that made it all the more compelling! Also, I felt I needed to prove all of those people wrong who said it couldn’t be done.
So many different paths for us creative types! Creativity was not supported much in my family, just practical things, like getting a good job and holding onto it forever. Even though I kept journals for decades: wrote down my dreams, wrote dialogs with dream characters, wrote essays and poems, and drew pictures, I never thought of myself as a writer or artist. It was just something I did for myself.
Long story short, I was a psychotherapist and ended up training as an Expressive Arts Therapist. I had fun leading Expressive Arts groups for women, but grew more and more interested in my own creativity. I’ve been painting for seventeen years and am writing a fantasy trilogy. Now that I am retired, creativity is my main passion!
So I believe that everyone has a creative spark that can be nurtured. Expressive Arts focuses on the creative process, not the product, so it freed me from the “I don’t know how” and the inner critic, and the “comparer” – you know, the one that says “Picasso did it better. You can never be as good as him so don’t try.” etc. Even my engineer/physicist husband found himself having a great time painting at a painting retreat we went to last year! (Brave man – it was him and 17 women!)