Creatively Recharging – The Climb #810

Wednesday 12^th May 2021

Creativity is a bizarre thing. I’ve often explained my creativity like a video games mana bar. If I create something I take energy away from that bar. If I work hard on a project I can drain it down to zero.

Yet if I take a break or do certain things, I can refill the bar.

One of the reasons for my obsession with World of Warcraft is I find it really good for refilling my mana bar. I do a writing session, then go grind a bit in game and I feel ready for another writing session.

However, I’ve been doing this quite heavily for the last year and as a result, I’ve got a touch of Warcraft burn out. It still works but the return is lower than it has been.

As a result I’m always looking for different ways to recharge. I can always tell when something is working as I’ll have a sudden burst of creativity and find myself with new ideas even when I’m not actively looking for them

Take time off is one way to recharge, but I’ve not really got time for that. I used to find that immersing myself in a box set was a good way as well.

My conclusion has long been that the most effective way is to envelop myself in a created world. There’s something about sinking into someone else’s creation that sparks my imagination.

I’ve recently been obsessed with Comic arc summaries on Youtube. There’s some great summaries that go through a major comics event and explain it to you. It’s like a synopsis, but one that goes into all the details. Whilst I’m doing my own read of the entire Marvel Universe that I started this year, there’s part of me that really loves this condensed form of storytelling. And I love that it’s so detailed that even when condensed, these videos are 4-6 hours long.

I’ve been dipping into them as I play Warcraft over the past couple of weeks and have done summaries of both events I’ve previously read (such as Civil War) and events that I’m unlikely to get to with my Marvel read for years.

I’m not sure what I like about this condensed storytelling. I suppose it’s that you get a lot of story for your time. And that coupled with the length of the videos means I feel overloaded with story in a way I love.

Today, I’ve come up with concepts for not one but two new novels. I’m really pleased with these ideas, especially as I can just leave them to sit and brew.

I just need to be faster at writing all these ideas. I’ve got a lot of work to do.