I watched my daughter sitting at the table colouring in this afternoon. She selected colours at random. The sky was purple; the skin was blue. The lines of demarcation were merely suggestions when it comes to colouring in.
And I didn’t correct it. As a parent it is easy to step in with good intentions and say, “The sky is blue, not purple.”
Or, “A person’s skin colour is pink or brown, not blue.”
She was more interested in colouring in and being creative than “getting it right.”
Being Creative Is A Process, Not Necessarily Getting It Right
When you are doing something creative, don’t worry about “getting it right” on the first attempt.
Enjoy
The process of creating should be enjoyable and fun. Be in the moment and revel in the construction.
Experiment
Creativity is about experimenting and having fun with new ideas. For the month of February I took on the creative challenge to write a poem on a Post It note every day. You can see the results here: Post It Note Poetry.
Errors
Make mistakes. Do it in an unconventional way. Learn how others do it and reverse their process.
And every once in a while, colour outside the lines. You are allowed to, you know.
A Fullness in Brevity - Adam Byatt 