Creativity is surrounded in a fog of myths. Just saying the word conjures up images of geniuses scribbling down great ideas with feather pens and Moleskine notebooks… or starving artists chipping away at sculptures all day.
The truth is, creativity is not about magic, and it’s not something reserved for the elite or a trait that only “naturally” creative people have.
Turns out, you can LEARN how to be more creative and consistently produce great work at any time. There is a process — a system — to coming up with “brilliant” or “genius” ideas.
Ramit recently interviewed Brian Koppelman, a renowned filmmaker, producer, and writer. He has worked on some of my favorite movies, like Rounders, Ocean’s Thirteen, and The Illusionist. He also created the popular T.V. show Billions, which has won many prestigious awards. Brian’s creativity has resulted in massive career success, and he’s spent years perfecting his creative process. We’ll show you how to use his best advice to become more creative.
Quick Tips on How to Be More Creative:
- Tip #1: Don’t be afraid to fail
- Tip #2: Don’t try to get it right on the first try
- Tip #3: Accept that creating can be uncomfortable
- Tip #4: Limit your time
- Tip #5: Reduce your anxiety
- Tip #6: Use rejection as a tool
Tip #1: Don’t be afraid to fail
Brian says, “Whatever your favorite movie is, at some point during the writing of it the screenwriter felt completely lost”. When you’re working on a big creative project, you run the risk that it will be a complete failure. People often forget this, because they only see the finished successful product. But we know that for every movie that gets made, there are thousands of movies that don’t. If you’re afraid to fail, you’ll never be able to get to that amazing finished product. Even if it takes a few tries to get it right, it’s worth it to create something brilliant in the end.
Tip #2: Don’t try to get it right on the first try
There are two steps to creating something new: the first step is making the first draft, or coming up with something from scratch. The second step is editing that draft into a beautiful finished product. If you want to be more creative, you need to be careful not to combine these two steps (most people do). When you’re creating something from scratch, you need to silence your inner critic and just create with as much freedom and passion as possible. THEN once you have a first draft, you can go back over it with a critical eye and make it better.
If you try to edit it while you create, you’re limiting your creativity in a big way. You have to be able to try something new, and edit it out later if it doesn’t work. If you edit it out before you try it, you’ll never know if that would have ended up being the perfect addition.
Tip #3: Accept that the process of creating can be uncomfortable
We all have times where we’re working on something and we think it’s terrible. Brian explains that when he was working on his ESPN documentary on Jimmy Conners, he would come home feeling like he made it worse rather than better. But you have to get up the next day and attack it again. Once you realize that this discomfort is part of the process of making something great, you can learn to work through this tough part of the process and become even more creative.
Tip #4: Limit the amount of time you have
You don’t need a lot of time to make something great. It’s actually a huge advantage if you only have an hour a day to work on your creativity, because it forces you to focus and work with intensity. If you give yourself too much time, it’s too tempting for your mind to wander. By limiting your time, you’ll produce more creative work at a faster pace. Brian also advises to “Leave yourself ‘a wet edge’, or a little roadmap for tomorrow, at the end of your creative practice”. This way your subconscious will keep working on it, and when you come back the next day, you’ll be able to hit the ground running.
Tip #5: Eliminate sources of anxiety
When Brian and his partner David Levien were writing their first screenplay, they were both working full time. Brian advises aspiring creators not to quit their jobs, because it creates too much pressure. If there is a lot of pressure on you to create something magnificent, it can actually thwart your creative abilities. Instead, focus on eliminating anxiety wherever you can so you can truly focus on your creativity.
Tip #6: Use rejection as a tool
A lot of times when we hear “No”, it’s crushing, and it feels like a huge judgement on our work and our character. But Brian points out that you never know what’s going on behind closed doors, “Maybe that morning the head of the agency said ‘hey guys, don’t tell anybody but we can’t afford to take on any new clients. So for the next month you need to pass on everything’”. Your work could get passed up because of something internal you don’t know about, but if you take it personally and give up, you might miss your chance.
Rejection can actually be a useful tool to help you look objectively at your work.
Take your Creativity to the next level
Overall, creativity is a skill that you can improve over time. If you follow the tips Brian laid out above, you’ll be well on your way to being more creative.
Once you’ve honed your creative process, you may want to take it to the next level. Many great creators have started businesses from their work, and you could too.
