I keep an eye on what's being written about creativity and I see it mentioned often in three contexts: the arts, business (as in "creativity and innovation") and, more surprisingly, sports, especially soccer.
I'm not a big sports fan but this got me to thinking how players are creative and whether there's something the rest of us can learn from that. Three ideas came up:
1. They base their actions on what is, not what they wish. Every moment they are analyzing the reality of the situation on the field. It doesn't throw them if that's different from what was planned or hoped for.
The lesson for writers: Keep an eye on how the business is changing and where the new opportunities are. Publishing (including self-publishing) is changing rapidly as are strategies for selling your work.
2. They are flexible--they respond quickly to the current conditions.
We may not care for the decline of physical books, for instance, but if we want to have our work reach people, we need to adapt to the changes that are taking place.
3. They celebrate wins along the way. They go crazy when they score a goal--even though they may still be behind on points.
Writers sometimes forget to celebrate the milestones they achieve.
4. They don't let setbacks stop them for long. OK, some of them have trouble with this and end up getting a red card, but the best ones let off a little steam and then get right back in the game.
In our game, rejection letters are one of main setbacks, and too often we let them get to us. Keep going, we're looking for that one publisher/producer who gets it.
5. They take advantage of luck
Sure, there's a lot of skill involved but sometimes a bit of luck comes into it, too--and good players know how to take advantage of it immediately if an opposing player slips, for instance.
Writers need to pay more attention to potential breaks that come their way. I've talked to writers who had an expression of interest from an agent, or a chance to meet a producer but didn't follow it up. In fact, I've done that myself.
6. They count on teamwork.
Although writing usually is a solitary activity, you also need to be able to get feedback from peers, information from others about agents, publishers, etc. and help promoting and marketing your work.
7. They treat each game as a new challenge. The best teams don't let their last game's loss get them down nor last game's win make them cocky.
Each new writing project is its own thing, too. Not selling the last one shouldn't bring us down, nor should we assume that if the last one was a success this one automatically will be, too.
(There are more strategies for writing well and successfully in "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon and other book sellers.)
