PiBoIMo- Creativity Blog #1

Since my first post officially committing to PiBoIdMo, I've been giving a lot of thought to creativity and how to define it. I've come to this conclusion (Sorry about the rambling):

Creativity is the the skill of connecting insights and realizations into innovative ideas, or concepts.

Take Steve Jobs for example. While in college he took a calligraphy class. Ten years later, while designing the Mac OS, he made the connection between calligraphy/good typography and personal computing. From there he decided that the Mac Os should have a wealth of good looking fonts which pretty much started the Desktop publishing revolution.

Had Steve not taken calligraphy or an interest in design were would design and publishing be? We'll never know. Think about it, Steve makes a good example of how a lifetime of collecting interests & things, and taking time to have insights about/coming to the realization of how those things work can lead to creative innovation. We just need to be on the lookout for those insights and how to apply them.

What worked in personal computing can also work in kid lit. Perceiving that kids like stories about princesses as well as stories about pirates could lead to a kid lit story about a pirate princess. It's a connection that once it's made appears obvious, but requires a little insight first to come to that conclusion.

As artists and creatives we must always be on the lookout for new ideas and concepts. We must collect them as treasure, lock them away in lists, morgue files, in our brains or in our smart phones. Be on the lookout like a magpie for the next new shiny thing. Be open to do and try new things to broaden our perception of the world. And most of all read, read, read. We need to create a wealth of source material/experiences from which to draw our insights.

That is how we become and stay creative; Not just for PiBoIdMo but for life.

Now that I'm done rambling here is the rundown for my PiBoIdMo progress so far (this does not include any ideas I had prePiBoIdMo):

November 1: 7 Picture book Concepts
November 2: 1 Picture book Concept --- Saturday I had a lot going on...one new idea isn't bad.
November 3: 5 Picture book Concepts
November 4: 4 Picture book Concepts so far.

Total: 17 Picture book Concepts

I'll need to count my prePiBoIdMo ideas to have the true total. I'll share that in a future. But for now,  keep on keeping an eye out for the next new idea.


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