Non-Innovative
It’s taken me years to come to terms with the fact that I am not a self-starter. I have a severe lack of innovation. Throw me at an empty canvas and I shrivel and panic. The sight of all the blank space, all that potential, overwhelms me. Anything could be there. That’s what Shakespeare faced, and look what use he made of it.
However, give me the slightest push in a direction, plant the germ of an idea in my mind, and I’m fine. If you tell me, “Write a story”, I would freeze while giving you my best patented deer-in-the-headlights look. Tell me, “Write me a story about apes”, and I’m off like a shot, researching and writing and happy.
The only time I’m ever able to be spontaneously creative is when I let it happen unexpectedly. If I let an idea bubble up from the primordial ooze of my subconscious, pretend to ignore it until it ripens a little, and then love it and pet it and hug it and squeeze it, I can come up with stuff.
It was this way when I was working on Dread House. I managed to come up with a couple of puzzles because I wasn’t trying to. At a few points I sat down and attempted to force inspiration and ended up running scared. The same with the web designs for STF Magazine, Puzzlecards, and I Am Invisible.
It’s so fulfilling to create things. I hope I’m able to train myself better to do it on command.