Just finished the War of Art by Stephen Pressfield. I liked his concept of Resistance. Resistance for him is a destructive force that disables you from being creative. In his words: ‘with ever tree of creativity that grows; comes a shadow. Being creative for him is about finding ways to overcome that Resistance.
In his book, he refers to Twyla Tharp who also wrote about creativity. They both emphasize the necessity of discipline and rituals. One can be chaotic about everything, but to become creative; you must possess discipline for your art (whatever that may be). Creating something and becoming good at it requires sacrifice and hard work. Great creatives have shown the capacity to dedicate themselves intensively without any guarantee of any type of return on investment.
According to both your ego; can block your creative potential. It’s not about you. It might be something that is in your genes from your ancestors. Nurture plays an important factor too. Who were your role models and what were your early childhood experiences?
The quality of creation depends on the quality of research. How one does research is reflected in their work. Everyone is curious and will investigate, but a creative is willing to dig deeper out of an extraordinary sense of urgency. They are able to overcome the Resistance that tries to prevent us from digging deeper. Beginning a creative process is difficult and scary. But the start of an artwork is not the same as beginning a creative process. You don’t have to start at page one.