Wrapping up our 3 part series, I wanted to share with you the fun side of “generating inspiration.” I realize that, thus far, “fun” seems like an unlikely descriptor - so far I’ve recommended a course of action that requires a structure and a set of procedures (not necessarily great fun) in order to break through the paralysis of writer’s block, or a wholly uninspired state in general (also, not fun.) This will be fun, because I’ll show you how some of our greatest and well-known thinkers cut through their blocks, and in some cases came to rely on these methods.
Thomas Edison, Salvador Dali, Robert Louis Stevenson - the near-dreamers 
I realize right away the unlikely grouping being presented here - but two of these prolific and well-known creators shared a near-identical method for bringing forth inspired visions and solutions when needed. Effectively, their inadvertently shared method involved falling asleep while holding an object in hand which, upon their falling asleep, would make a loud noise, waking them with a start and also with a vision or solution at the forefront of their mind, which was hastily written down as completely as possible.Robert Anton Wilson and others called this the hypnopompic method -hallucinations upon waking that Edison and Dali both found useful, but certainly used for different ends.
Dali in particular gave us rather large hints as to his method when naming a painting Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening, certainly. I am of the opinion that Edison’s state of mind was likely more of a theta state that allowed him to bring forward solutions to vexing problems, but certainly it’s related to Dali’s state of mind (by virtue of methodology).
It is also said that Robert Louis Stevenson came up with The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde in a dream state, after being awakened by his wife. The cool bit in all this is, there’s no reason you can’t use this method yourself. It appears to entail no risk (unless you drop something pointy and heavy on yourself!) and looks to be a very quick way to access a potent and fertile state of the human mind.
James Joyce, Albert Einstein - art as science, science as art
Sometimes, in order to move forward, you have to shake things up and take an unlikely approach.
Known for the masterworks Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake (among others) we find that James Joyce is a literary artist who approached his art methodically, more along the lines of a scientific method than a wholly inspired artistic vision. I won’t attempt to add to the volumes already written about Joyce and his work, except to say that his methodology was highly structured, very rigorous, and deliberate - something that a first reading experience of Ulysses is unlikely to imply!
Albert Einstein, it can be said, seemed to take the opposite approach entirely. While certainly familiar with rote and methodology, and skilled as a physicist and mathematician, it was Einstein’s rejection of rote learning and willingness to engage in imaginative thought experiments which led him to many of his breakthroughs.
There’s a great deal of value in experimenting with your methods - a change in perspective is always healthy, and prevents a certain kind of tunnel vision from limiting your work unnecessarily.
Personal experience
I have been fortunate enough to be involved in a wide range of creative disciplines, but the one that I find the most challenging and rewarding is songwriting. This is not to say that I’m particularly great at it, nor does it come easy to me. But, I have been lucky enough to have epiphanies and breakthroughs that seemed to come from nowhere, in addition to plotting songs out through a more methodical approach. I am keenly aware of the feelings generated by mental blocks, and have struggled to employ some of these very techniques to get around them. They do work - you’ll just have to experiment and see what’s right for you.
I’ll leave you with a quote from my beloved art teacher, Robert G. Rankin - “there are no mistakes; only creative delays!” This was meant to encourage people to jump in and make something, just to get he process rolling. Ol’ Bob knew that the tyranny of the blank page needed to be overcome - and I hope that somewhere in this 3 part series you found something useful that will allow you to break through in your own way.
Doc,
Thank you for sharing these insights via your three-part series of posts. I’ve seen Salvador Dali paintings up close at museums in both the U.S. and Spain — which is so much better than via books or prints.
The ability to tap into his vivid imagination made him a true master of his art form. For those of use who write about technology and business, it’s difficult to make a connection with artistic creativity — but not impossible.
I’ve been experimenting with creating video vignettes from stock footage — instead of the more typical PowerPoint format to present statistical data. The results have been encouraging.
Happy Holidays to you, and the other folks at Pluck. I’m grateful for the opportunity to include my blog within the BlogBurst network for another year, and have my posts syndicated by your publisher customers.
David H. Deans
Digital Lifescapes
Austin, Texas
Hello Mr. Deans-
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I like that you’ve taken an alternative approach to presenting your data - in some ways the “digital toaster” approach that purpose-built software gives us can be freeing; you put the data bread in, you get useful presentation toast out. But, that is only true if you only want or need “toast.” Taking a step back from the simple options presented is often a more challenging road, but ultimately more rewarding for people who have a specific vision that can’t be met through tried-and-true methods.
I am of the opinion that the term “artist” is fairly limiting for many people mentally, and carries a certain amount of baggage for most, but that the term “maker” gets right to the point. This helped me create an underlying foundation for the approach I’ve suggested… if you have to produce something, you are a “maker” and there is a great deal of accumulated wisdom to be shared among makers of various stripes. Writers, painters, sculptors, architects, graphic designers, inventors, welders, race fabricators, cartoonists, engineers, theoreticians, even statistical data miners… these are all makers in my book. These are people who generate new artifacts of hand and mind, without whom the world would be somewhat less interesting. “Fiat res” as it were.
Where before there was nothing (or perhaps other, less developed “somethings”) now there exists something. Moving from state to state requires energy, and where makers all face a common barrier (namely “how do I make this thing?”) makers also have generated many solutions to these barriers over time. I think once makers realize that they share this kinship with other makers, it opens up their world to a flood of new possibilities. I think you are certainly aware of this, having taken a multidisciplinary approach to a well-known task.
And yes, I could write about this forever.
I tried to cover a lot of ground quickly, but this topic is wide and deep - I’m glad you enjoyed what I was able to provide. You’re certainly welcome to share your insights as a maker in the comments if you’d like, as I have by no means exhausted the subject.
Thanks again! - J. Dock
Point taken, regarding the broader context of “makers.”
Given my observations at SXSW earlier in the year, I have a better appreciation for the power of inclusion — we’re all potentially capable of being “creative” in some shape or form. The democratization of digital media creation and distribution is certainly helping to enable that return to inclusion.
SXSW 2007: Digital Storytelling Phenomenon
http://dhdeans.blogspot.com/2007/03/sxsw-2007-digital-storytelling.html
Perhaps more high schools or colleges should offer an open “Introduction to Creativity” class that reinstates the notion that freedom of expression is innate to the human condition. Apparently, many dormant “makers” really need that essential reminder — as thoughtful words of encouragement.