I started writing a new novel yesterday. I expect it will also become a musical–if you know me, you’ll resonate when I ask, “How could I not?”
This creative process got me thinking about how creating works of art mimics our Creator. He spoke and the things he imagined came into being. While we can’t create ex nihilo (out of nothing) like he did, we are able to arrange words, sounds, lines and colors in a way that has never been duplicated to create something new, meaningful and reflective of the good, true and beautiful.
But so often we allow ourselves to call our creative impulses “art” without taking the time to perfect it. I know that often happens to me when I write a song. Just because I’ve assembled all the building blocks of a good song (verses, chorus, bridge, intro and outro), doesn’t mean I’ve created a great song. It just means I have a song. Great songs (or books, poems, plays or dances) come through the crucible of hard work and communal scrutiny.
That leads me to another thought regarding communal art. We live in a day where we have immediate access to over 1 billion people to view our art and participate in our creative efforts. (An aside: It would be interesting to write a communal story on the internet. Everyone contributing a sentence or paragraph. I might try it on Facebook.) I desire the input of trusted friends as I write a book or compose a song, but I fear putting it on the internet before it’s finished because someone might steal my creative ideas. Anyone else relate?
Some rambling thoughts as I embark on writing my first novel…
