044 - Rustley Packet Man - I’m Going To Kill You!
He enters the library and the pristine silence is broken
Image by Davide Cantelli
He enters the library and the pristine silence is broken
Welcome to the Editor’s Journal; A daily thought on writing, the creative process, art, work, the world and how it all goes together. Every morning I rise early, I sit here in the quiet of my kitchen and I write whatever’s prominent. There’s no clever headlines and no script, just open and honest thoughts. I hope you enjoy the read. If you like this article please offer some love by hitting the 💚 on the left
A couple of days per week I head into DBS, the college where I’m studying psychology, to get some peace and quiet. To focus and get stuff done.
Working from home is fine but there are too many distractions and I consume way too much coffee to be healthy. So the college library is a better option.
On Fridays the library here is pretty empty which is an added bonus.
I had a couple books on Creativity that I wanted to take out also, to do some research.
I searched and got the book I wanted, Ungifted by Scott Barry Kaufman and started to read. Only a couple pages in and I’m hooked. I’m gonna like this book, I thought.
Enter mister rustley packet man into the room, sitting directly opposite me on my left hand side.
He’s coughing, spluttering, and being a general noise pollutant, totally disrupting my flow.
If that wasn’t enough he decides to have his lunch right there in the library. There he goes, munching his way through several bars of something or other and making a ridiculous amount of noise with the packet.
It goes on for what seems like an age. How can one wrapper make so much noise? When will this stop?
I swear I’m gonna kill this dude…
What an asshole.
“OK, I’m not about to suffer this fool any longer, I’m outta here”, I say to myself.
He probably saw me move to the other side of the library but I don’t give a fook. Forget him.
Ahhh. That’s better.
Thanks for the material asshole.
Some stuff I’m working on
I’ve been refining how I work recently and after several weeks of self inflicted mental torture, I’ve settled on a basic plan for content.
One of the greatest challenges creative people have I find, is maintaining efficiency of thought. Lots of ideas are great, but if we don’t have the resources and discipline to execute them to a final result then we achieve no gratification from our work.
What constitutes a final result for the creative is that which has been fully complete in it’s technicalities and let go into the world. To sell it, to allow others appreciate what we just made.
A life pattern of half making things then moving on to some other great idea merely shows indiscipline, a distracted and disordered mind.
I see this in myself. It’s been a problem.
It’s a strange internal conflict I find. Because you see I’m extremely ordered and structured in many of my tasks. I like order, everyone does. Structure and predictability is required for us to create something great.
Disorder, or rather apparent disorder, chaos almost, is required too. Embrace that, absolutely.
But order and purposeful sustained direction of effort is completely necessary if we are to be successful and find happiness in our work.
So that’s what I’m focusing on, for myself and for my readers. This work, which it must be said I’ve already commenced albeit to a lesser focused degree, will come to you in the following way;
Articles on Creativity twice per week here.
Sunday Letters every Sunday morning.
Daily Editor’s Journal articles here on Storymaker
That’s it.
Simples.
“Now, Larry, let’s stick to the plan”, says I.
I am working on a couple of other things but they will complement the above. They include the following;
A Free ebook: 101 ways to be more creative (title a work in progress). I have the content together for this so I should have it published pretty soon. It will also be available on Amazon and other ebook marketplaces.
A Creative Quiz: How Creative Are You? I’m building a quiz on larrygmaguire.com designed to build my subscriber numbers. At the end of the quiz participants be able to access further information to help them explore their creative mind. You can build your own quiz here.
A paperback book: Topic is creativity but no title yet. It’s likely to be 6 months before I get the content together and have it published.
The Creative’s Journal: This is just at the idea stage and a longer term project, but essentially it’s a journal specifically for creative people to help maintain focus and attention to a project or series of projects. We’ll see where it goes.
There is of course The Artist’s Manifesto which I think every creative, whether they are struggling with their art or not, should read. I stand aside from it actually, it’s like it’s not mine. It’s like it wrote itself.
Sorry if that appears to be self indulgent but it’s true.
Get yourself a copy, it’s free.
That’s it for now. If you liked this article please offer some love by hitting the 💚 on the left.
See you in the morrow.
The Artist’s Manifesto is a short book about staying true to our art. It is a call to Artists and Creatives like you to create from the heart with passion and integrity, disregarding the need for applause and recognition. It’s available from 13th May 2017. Grab your FREE copy here.
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Howdy, I’m Larry, Writer & Artist. Thanks for taking the time to read my stuff. I write about art, creativity, business & marketing. When I’m not doing that I write short stories about the ordinary lives of people and the challenges they face. My stuff can be edgy, hard hitting, and sometimes controversial, but never contrived. If that’s your bag you can Sign-up To Sunday Letters Here.