A Writer In Seattle Asks, "Dear Nick, I Think My Creativity Disappeared. What Do I Do?"
Somewhere in a parallel universe, a parallel me interviews a parallel Nick Cave.
“I feel like the world is losing it's magic, and with it I'm losing my imagination”
— WilderStill, r/Creativity
I’m not a big fan of Nick Cave’s music. Just never got into the whole gothic grunge whatever thing. But I do happen to believe that Nick is a brilliant creative mind with a lot to say about the creative life. Maybe as much as Rick Rubin and that’s saying something.
Soon, I’m going to be launching a podcast. I know. Like the world needs another podcast. Seriously? Hell, yes! Just you wait and see. And while I might not succeed in landing Nick Cave as my first guest, I can see it going something like this:
Me: Nick, welcome to the show.
Nick: Yeah, thanks for having me.
Me: So lets talk about creativity and more specifically what happens when one day, God forbid, you wake up and the whole thing has just gone AWOL.
Nick: What do you mean, vanished?
Me: Like one day it’s there and then it’s not.
Nick: Well, of course, creativity isn’t something that just disappears.
Me: Never?
Nick: Keep in mind, the creative impulse is simply the strategy used to catch ideas. Ideas are everywhere and forever available, provided you’re prepared to accept them.
Me: So, you’re saying, we don’t actually create ideas. They’re just kind of floating around in the air.
Nick: In a sense, yes. I mean, it takes a certain responsibility to the artistic process. There’s discipline and rigour and preparation involved. You have to prove yourself worthy of the idea before it agrees to reveal itself to you.
Me: And how does Nick Cave prove himself worthy?
Nick: Well, let me just say that I have rarely sat down at my desk with something to write about other than I’m ready. The sitting comes first, showing up with a certain alertness to possibility. Only then does the idea feel free to settle.
Me: I know what you mean. It’s like at first the idea isn’t sure it wants to move in. It kind of wants to see how things go first. It’s a very human response.
Nick: Yes. At first, it’s kind of tentative, But then, through your active attention, it can grow into something much bigger. Sitting in a readied state can sometimes last a long and anxious time. But it works. I have never found a situation where the idea refuses to come to the prepared mind.
Me: This all feels very Law Of Attraction-y. Are you familiar with manifesting and all that? In a sense, you kind of get your mind into a place where whatever it is you want is attracted to you.
Nick: It’s a bit like that, I suppose. While you’re in this prepared state, you have to be the thing you want to be. If it’ s a writer, then you have to write. Initially, stream of consciousness is fine. Write without judgement and self-condemnation. Write playfully and recklessly. Even if this initial writing appears of little value, keep going, for the beautiful idea has awakened and is moving toward you, as it responds to your display of intent.
Me: What it feels like is that the idea is looking for its soulmate.
Nick: I never thought of it that way but yeah. The idea is especially designed for you in your uniqueness. If you are not there to receive it, or indeed you are not yourself when it arrives or, heaven forbid, disguised as someone else, the idea may scare and vanish away and be lost forever. It is you that it is searching for and you alone. Be yourself. The idea is moving closer.
Me: Again, thats a very human behavio.
Nick: Well, ideas are timid things, in my experience. They come as whispers and you need to hold them in honest regard in order to receive them. Perhaps the idea is as scared as you. Perhaps the idea is as invisible as you may sometimes feel. It may be that the idea is simply mirroring your internal self and is reluctant to settle in a mind that is heavy with uncertainty, and that is repeating ancient mantras of self-doubt. These voices can best be banished by a spirited disobedience, a playful defiance. Disobey the voices by continuing to write. They are a lot less robust than they appear. The idea is closing in.
Me: So any words of advice for people struggling to rekindle their creativity?
Nick: Here’s what I would do: Sit down. Be yourself. Be prepared. Be attentive. Defy the voices. Be the thing you want to be. Write. Be playful. Be reckless. Remember that you are uniquely designed for the idea that is moving toward you. You are good enough. The idea knows this. It will come.
I’m a fan, but not a huge fan, of Cave’s music. Saw him live with Bad Seeds once and it was a near-transcendental experience. His Red Hand Files make great reading. In my own experience, the ideas come when you’re out and about, soaking in the world. But I need to hurry to a keyboard or have a notebook handy to write it out.
Do check out Nick Cave’s book Faith, Hope and Carnage. He’s moved well beyond the gothic grunge phase into something this is completely removed from that. There is a new album coming out later this year called Wild God that sounds like it will continue what he’s done with Skeleton Tree, Ghosteen and Carnage.