A while ago a few friends of mine read the book the motern method, a manifesto on how to be creative and tap into your creativity. Largely a theme that resonated with my experience is learning how to go from ideation to execution. Here are some of my observations throughout my creative process, hopefully in the same way I found inspiration in the methods of Motern, there will be something of value to someone here.
If you have an idea but no audience, make it anyways, this just means you don’t know how to market yourself, this is largely due to a lack of 2 things
information: how do people in this industry even make money or get followers/ provide for themselves
confidence in your abilities: if you thought you were super good at something you would have confidence for example if you are a painter and think your work is good you would feel fine bringing your portfolio to a store or selling on etsy, if you practice and feel confident in your skills you will be able to later on, learn how people in the industry market and sell
Basically - go and make it, people will either come or they won’t. Maybe they will see it one day 20 years from now. Doesn’t matter. Make it exist. The rest will come. More notes on getting an audience later in the document.
The most rewarding projects are collaborations
although they also might be the most challenging, they require really putting aside all of your ego and showing up. Anything you are working on is going to be iterated upon and the idea is going to shift and change, be okay with these transformations, be fluid in making decisions and pitching ideas and do not take it personally when they are redirected or discouraged. Collaborations will also keep you on track especially when you work on things that are not along the traditional path of directly making money or is a sillier idea, people will be fast to throw stones and not understand the motivation you are working on it for. A collaborator will help when it feels like you should give on the idea, because of 1 other person thinks its a good idea, then you will have the steam to keep going with it.
Not everything needs a f****** purpose. maybe the purpose of some things is that it does not have a purpose. do it who cares.
Document everything: everything I make or do, I add to my website (mackenzie.ceo). At the moment it takes a few seconds and I might be annoyed to take the scans or make the post, but there is no feeling like being able to go back later and see everything I have worked on and have this huge portfolio to represent my art and interests.
For example, my modeling work, I am here on a visa for my software role, because of this I cannot work under contract and instead do freelance. This is extremely seasonal and I will work on it for a few months of the year around when new catalogs for new collections are coming out. The rest of the year when I am not actively searching or applying for roles, a way that I will get work in this area is by having my portfolio or digitals on my public portfolio (my website and instagram for this industry). People will stumble across my website online and go through it and inquire about roles upcoming they would like for me to work on. This is a much more passive way for me to find gigs, and gives me time to work on other projects due to this organic discovery.
Keep a list or bingo sheet of all the projects you want to have in motion, review frequently, cross off items when they are complete.
From the motern method: if you keep having ideas and not actualizing them when you have an idea your brain is going to start dismissing them, encourage and train creativity.
Getting an audience
flyers on the street
post on reddit
post on twitter
join groups of like minded individuals
send it to me! or danielle! or my other weird friends who love random creative stuff
collaborate with other creators!
gift your work to friends and family: forces it to be of a certain quality
Try really hard to not have any projects that remain open for a long period of time, make something, finish it, go back in a few months and make it better. Or make a better version of it. This is not to say to give the project the amount of effort it is worth in the first place. Ensure you are doing it and trying to best of your abilities, but do not dwell on the final details or minor things that you do not know how to do and procrastinate. Finish the project, cross it off, add it to your personal portfolio or website or substack or instagram even. Show your friends. Get feedback. Look at what you made and compare what is different and what you like or don’t like compared to the inspiration or reference or your idea originally and consider what you would change, and how. Next time do that. Iterate, rinse, repeat.
Challenge yourself to explore areas that maybe take elements of what you like to make and blend it with either another talent or area of your life or interests. This is how the best art is created in my opinion. The intersection of two areas in way that is unique. Then again, not all art needs to be original.
If deadlines don’t work for you for side projects, break down into quarters of the year or monthly deliverables. be realistic in your estimation and set aside time. i struggle with working on something in sections rather than getting it all done in one night, to get around this i try two things
when i start the project initially fragmenting it down into smaller pieces that can be picked up at a later time
being realistic with myself, trying to set aside a time to sit down and get as most of it done as i can knowing this is how i operate, and later using these fragments if i run out of time and need to come back to it later
Exercise your craft under constraints. For example I will challenge myself to write and only time box an hour and have to post the article when it is completed or the same for painting. Anything that does not get done within then, does not meet the deadline. you will think of creative ways to express your point, faster. Creativity thrives under constraints, even if they are artificial blockers.
how could i do this but cheaper
how could i do this but faster
how could i do this in a way that looks more like this expensive technique?
how could i do this without using the colour blue? / a different medium / inverted?
I especially emphasize the time constraints because it is additionally rewarding to when you finish an hour of working on your idea whatever it may be to immediately have something to show for it, to draw to a completed piece of your work, is a feeling that will make you want to post it and iterate and feel motivated to create the next piece, changing what you could and would have. Do not make the mistake of waiting around to complete one last thing, because there is always one last thing. Sometimes the best thing you can do, is to stop trying so hard.
If something has been on the to do list for years and months, you likely don’t want to do it. Either because you don’t know how to start, or because you aren’t that interested in the project to begin with.
Take the steps to learn where to start, instead of assigning time to work on the greater goal make the first step the learning about that goal phase.
If you know what to do and just don’t want to, give up on the idea, work on something you would want to do instead of dragging your feet on this and not getting anything done.
I have seen so many of my friends give up working on a project that is a good idea because there maybe has been someone who has done something similar in the past. While copying is never good, any way that you execute an idea is going to be different from how someone else executes a project and therefore your touch on it is what is going to make it unique. What if people stopped writing books because someone had already written a story or the bible exists ? Think of all the great art we would have missed out on. Even in the same way a cover of a song you are trying to follow entirely their roadmap and process, is going to have your own spin on it intentionally or not. Needing to find something so unique to work on is overrated and often a waste of your time. Generally the original artist is going to appreciate that you were inspired by their work. Do your ideas, give credit where credit is due and move on. It is arrogant even to assume that if you did something the original artist would care so deeply that you have “copied” their work. What makes you think yours is going to be so grand or impactful that is render theirs insignificant. Any progress is good.
Super obvious but surround yourself with like minded individuals. I find myself inspired whenever Danielle posts, that I should post something or get back on my Substack grind. When I am back at home in Toronto my parents or siblings do not quite understand the why behind many of the these projects or will say something like, “ I hope you are working this hard at your day job”. Allow yourself to know and use your talents for things that are not just your career, often these will be more rewarding. You don’t need a why, the why is because you want to, because you had the idea that is why. Do not fall into the trap that everything you do has to make money or go towards this one end goal and pigeonhole you into being the best software engineer, or the best writer. Nobody is only good at one thing and if they only worked on the tasks they are assigned by a manager or supervisor the world would be a much less colourful place. Give yourself the grace and time to invest into these interests.
You do not need to be good at something to do it. Ideally you are great at everything you try your hand at, you will probably feel more drawn to work on projects that you are naturally gifted at. Do not just hone the talents you find easy, allow yourself to be bad at your hobbies and do not allow others opinions of your work to discourage your creation. If you like to paint but are shit at it? Who cares, make a bunch of bad paintings, you will likely find a technique that makes it easier for you and looks unique and interesting. They say you are your own harshest critic; this I do not believe, as the negative opinions of others will echo in your head when you go to pick up the paintbrush next time. Drown these out, for I would much rather create 100 bad paintings, than never make one. Next time someone criticizes your work, think of their portfolio, and then continue knowing that you are already ahead of them by being inspired. I feel badly for these people because it is clear many people have shut them down to the point of ruining their perception of impact and value. Just because you don’t see the merit in my projects does not mean that they are not impactful or purpose-driven, even if that purpose is just to fill my time.
Self promotion is cringe. Accept that, and then do it anyways. Exposure to your art is the only way that you are going to get an audience. And once you are known for doing these kinds of projects people will no longer look at you weird when you send them or ask their opinion on stuff, they will start asking oh what have you been working on recently. As mentioned in the motern method, our favourite singers and songwriters are having a team of people promote them and we don’t see that as cringe. Learn how to promote your art, if that be social media or trying to get exposure in a local gallery or some local shops, AI is your friend. Tell it about your project and ask what are ways that people promote this kind of art, find your niche and start cranking out content, and leave it on your portfolio to get organic exposure when people find you. Organic discovery will always feel more rewarding, but you need to put in the ground work to allow that to happen. Exposure is everything really making sure you create this brand and platform is going to be so rewarding, you just have to be brave enough to do it. Feel embarrassed for those that make you feel embarrassed because they will never be able to reap these rewarding results and will have nothing to show for their criticism. Unless of course they become a critic or something, but being a professional hater is for people who can’t create, and what a sad existence is that?
Exposure is everything. Make as much as you can, as good as you can, and get it out there.
You are the worst judge of your art (from Motern Method), many of my art pieces I have made I thought were the best thing I have made at that time and when I showed it to my roommate Obinna, he likes all of the ones that i had been planning on starting over and redoing- this has taught me to if I don’t love it obviously to work on it until its something of a finished product, but to ask around and get different opinions. I ended up leaving them and now they hang in my living room and I have gotten more compliments on some of these pieces than on any of the ones that I have felt super proud of. Everything is relative.
Now you may be asking…
What are my qualifications to preach these things? I mean technically none, I have never taught anything about creativity and I have never been critically acclaimed for any of my art or passion projects, but god do we ever know how to see a stupid idea through to the finish line and make it blow up, thats for sure. If you really don’t believe me you can go through my website and see what I’ve been working on recently or previously (see that shameless self promo? not so bad was it?). Or don’t listen to me and write your own manifesto, for I will be so happy that the lack of content in mine has inspired something of your own. Or just wait until Danielles comes out which I’m sure will be super insightful and full of interesting things that even I don’t know about and we spend about 3 hours a day on the phone minimum. Maybe one day if I get super rich and successful you will come back to this and try to replicate these steps like a blueprint to the fame and success that follows and give it much more weight than my tiny but loyal Substack audience will now. If that is the case you are welcome. Until then I will just keep posting blindly, on projects that inspire me, whether any of you care to look at them or not.
very powerful! on #11 - i am ashamed/inspired that you have lapped me on manifesto writing and will finish mine asap