Books on creativity

[Dappy777]

What is the best book you have ever read on creativity? I mean a book that offers really good advice on how to cultivate creativity/be more creative. I just finished John Cleese's book and thought it was excellent. I don't want something long and self-indulgent. I want something that offers lots of practical advice that really works.

Stephen King - On Writing. I don’t agree with all of it, but the vast majority. Obviously it’s about creative writing and not creativity as a broader topic.

The Artist’s Way is supposed to be good

Thanks. Yes, I've heard good things about King's book. I will have a look. The thing I liked about Cleese's work was that he didn't focus on any specific form of creativity, he just looked at creativity in itself – what you need to do to allow new ideas to form in your mind (basically switch off the ego).

Have you read it? It does come up a lot when I google books on creativity. The thing that put me off was the stuff about God on the blurb. Is it specifically Christian, or is it just vaguely 'spiritual'? I don't mind a bit of New Agey Buddhisty stuff.

I really enjoyed Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. It seems a bit woo but I've seen lots of artists describe their creative process in a similar way. I'm studying art and she definitely influenced how I work.

I’ve dipped into it (The Artist’s Way) but not read the whole thing. Apparently it inspired Elizabeth Gilbert amongst others. It shares some concepts that I’ve picked up through my own exploration of myself in psychotherapy, and I love its idea of ‘morning pages’ where you write a few pages first thing before outside influences start to clutter your mind. Focusing on what arises from within you. It’s similar to how Eckhart Tolle talks - he pauses before answering questions to make sure the answer is coming from what feels right within his body, not his intellect. That’s what true creativity and authenticity is IMO. I’m quite flexible in my views on God and I’m not bothered if some interpret the spiritual/emotional aspect of health through the language/framework of religion, so the references to God don’t bother me - to me it’s just a word to describe that creative force that rises up from within you.

You could give morning pages a go without reading the book. If you google ‘morning pages’ the AI gives you a guide.

I read Big Magic years ago, that’s good. Similar stuff.

I really enjoyed this. In fact I listen to it on audio book quite regularly which I highly recommend.

Ah, yes, that's another one I've heard of. I don't mind a bit of woo woo if it works. I suppose a lot comes down to the language you use (one person might say their ideas come from God, another from the Muse, another from the pre-frontal cortex, but all be talking about the same thing). Yeats believed his poetry came from a 'spiritus mundi' (rather like Jung's collective unconscious). And both Robert Graves and Ted Hughes had some wacky ideas about the sources of creativity.

Did you actually use any of her practical advice? Did it work? I put John Cleese's advice into practice, and it was kind of helpful. His basic belief is that to be creative you must switch off the tense, straining part of the mind, and that you can do so by playing – fiddling with lego or plastecine, etc. It is also vital to have zero distraction and zero noise (not easy to find on this crowded island).

The switching off the thinking bit of your mind is also Elizabeth Gilbert's advice. Basically, she says there's an infinite amount of creative ideas floating around waiting for someone to catch them and make them into something - a story, a poem an artwork. She says she never expects her creativity to make her money. She makes money to support her creativity. Each time I finish a painting I try to listen for a prompt telling me what to do next.

Yes, I agree about the source of creativity. I have tried writing poetry, and have found that when I use the 'rational' part of my mind, I write garbage. Any poems I have written that I quite like have bubbled up from my unconscious.

I enjoyed The Power of Now, and when I read John Cleese's book on creativity, I could see a lot of similarities. Both urge the reader to switch off the tense, straining part of the mind and be in the moment. I'm sure you could use Tolle's work to help someone be more creative.

It's fascinating the way ideas appear. There really is something spooky about it. I know there are cases of scientific breakthroughs appearing in people's dreams, and Milton used to wake up with long passages of Paradise Lost there in his mind. He'd then rush downstairs and dictate it to his daughters (he was blind). Someone once said he basically dreamed the entire poem. Or, to put it another way, the entire poem was dictated to him by his unconscious.

I haven’t read it, but Stephen Pressfield’s War of Art is often recommended.

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin is often mentioned. I have not read myself so can't vouch for it. There are a lot of YouTube videos about it so maybe worth a peek at them before deciding if the book is for you

I liked The Artist's Way and didn't think it was overly religious. Morning pages are really good

I came on to say this. It’s a really good read.