Goal of the day: 1543 words. Written: 734.
If you're just starting (or maybe you haven't even started) creating, you probably do it like this:
- Trying to find a theme that suits everyone and always,
- You're trying to create something that solves a whole bunch of problems…
- ...And at the same time it would be original, interesting and new.
- Are you trying to catch the ever-escaping creativity with various deer hunting tactics.
Trust me, I know - I've done it myself.
I've been working on my cartography project for several years, which is part encyclopedia, part map set, part fantasy universe, part seventeen-part novel. And the whole time, even in the making, I was trying to figure out what to do to make it an explosive bomb for a fantasy lover like myself.
The problem: in two years of work, work that has involved remaking the project three times, I've never made something that blows the viewer's brains out.
No, it wasn't because I was bad at creating. No, my maps were relatively poor, I didn't complain about fantasy either. The writing part - yes, it was terrible. But overall, the work wasn't too bad.
And all this happened for this reason:
I failed to create something incredible because I tried to create too much.
I failed because I did not believe that good creativity comes from simplicity.
Two reasons why simplicity is good for your creativity
No, I can't say that creating a good piece is easy or that a simple piece is a good piece. But I can say for sure that simplicity is needed to create a good piece. That's why:
1. It is easier to create one good piece than fifteen.
What, you're only trying to make one piece? Well, let's see if this is true. Imagine your main theme of the piece, the purpose of the piece. Is this the only theme?
If it's just one topic, you're either lucky or you've already learned this the hard way. If there is more than one topic, read on.
Each work contains a theme, an idea that the creator wants to convey to others. There can be more topics, but the more there are, the more complex the work becomes and the more difficult it is to cover.
If you're a beginner developer, don't try to create a space odyssey that's bigger than the Star Wars universe.
The large number of topics and subtopics is distracting. It distracts both you, as the creator, and those who will appreciate your work - the viewers. A broad piece about everything is a fluid piece. And you need a thick, spicy creation.
I failed to create my own encyclopedia because I was not trying to create the history of a single person, nor the history of a family, nor a city, a continent, or the whole world. It didn't work out for me because I was creating the entire universe. Can you imagine how many interesting possible subjects there are in the entire universe?
If you want to create a good work, you have to polish every corner, you have to make it all unified and wonderful. Unfortunately, when you have to manage two solar systems, planets, continents, cities and islands... It gets complicated.
If you want to finally release your work to the world someday, his work must be covered by yourself. Otherwise, you won't finish until you die, and your grandchildren will still have something to do.
Well, or, of course, you would release the work earlier, but if you have fifteen topics, at least fourteen of them will definitely not be as good as some one. And your viewers will definitely notice it.
2. Specificity and Clarity: It is easier to understand.
The next time you read a book by Remarque or watch the story of Romeo and Juliet in the theater, pay attention - there are only one or a few themes in good works. And no, it's not boring - it's amazing.
Yes, the story of Romeo and Juliet was relatively simple. But it was polished, it was sharpened to the point where even a poor man who never had a family (or never fell in love) could see himself in that story.
Clear, to the point, easy to understand topics. They are easy to appreciate and easy to imagine yourself in that situation. And that's what you should be giving your audience: a chance to see yourself.
Compare this: "One cool October morning, he finally crawls out of bed and quietly moans in his voice: "Oh my God, my head!". And this: "On the day of October, he gets out of bed with a headache and moans." In which case are you better able to see it in your head, better able to imagine yourself?
You, as a viewer, don't need millions of dull lives, you just need one interesting life.
You don't need something very grand and very original to create a good work. You just need to try to make your piece GOOD.
If you're just a beginner developer (or maybe you haven't even started yet?): don't overdo it. Take one topic that you want to pass on to others. And share it. As best you can.
And now a creative task for you: remember one book, movie, song, picture or story that you really, really liked. Then write the title of that piece and describe what it's about in FIVE words or less. What does he say to you? What did you understand his point?
In five words. If you want, you can do less, but not more.