Unbridled Creativity: Let's try being genuine online.
Led purely by intuitive interest, this week's newsletter was inspired by Bo Burnham's Inside, a introspective Netflix special exploring the intricacies of satirical comedy as a double edged sword.
I wrote a piece a few weeks ago venting about my commitment to exploring Creativity. I’m learning to let it in rather than ignore it, like I do everyone and everything sometimes (aka avoidance coping, my toxic friend). This newsletter is the first of such moments where Creativity is my guest (we haven’t courted long enough to get exclusive, but its staying over tonight).
I decided to try being genuinely Creative, rather than writing to impress netizens for once (which was, I’ll admit, my original reason for creating a Substack). I realize that there is no way I can get Creativity to stay longer than a night in my life, if I keep trying to be everything I’m not, just so my writing (somehow) goes viral (who finds a fake show-off attractive anyway?).
I decided to try being genuinely Creative, rather than writing to impress netizens for once…
I’ve been looking at different ways to really tap into Creative energy of late. I find myself, more often than not, a shady lurker on the interwebs secretly admiring the way in which writers I look up to churn out content consistently. I’ve never been one for discipline myself, but even my procrastinating ass yearns to discover the potential I have as a writer. Yes, I said it: a writer.
And I am a writer (for those who had no idea), a lazy one at that. One that’s threatened herself into eventually spinning out beautiful weekly webs of writing that will ensnare all who dare click through. But I first have to get started, which is why you’re here reading this.
So maybe I will start by acknowledging my need for perfection as the reason why I procrastinate doing what I love so much. Even though its painful to get started and I usually have to beat myself into doing it (cause I’m a masochist), I love writing.
In the spirit of genuine instinctive interest, I’ve learnt ways two ways (so far) to unbridle Creativity (we’re still taking things slow):
To not have a fixed schedule for Creativity, and instead follow that ephemeral high when it seizes me (doodling notes down when an intuitive writing prompt pops into my head).
In order to avoid perfectionism, let my writing exist raw for a while and revisit it at another time before tinkering with it.
This will be an exceptionally difficult exercise (of course), but I am excited to see where it leads me. I’m submitting to Creativity and allowing it to guide me. It will be embarrassing, no doubt, when I return to this (loooong) newsletter and read over the mess (aren’t all beginnings eyesore?). But I have a feeling reverse engineering my writing like this will be the best way I can court Creativity rather than seeking to wrestle and dominate it.
Let’s see where it goes.
This week’s to watch: Bo Burnham’s Inside.
I bumped into this Netflix special, by American comedian Bo Burnham, purely by chance while listening to what is called a video essay on YouTube. It piqued my interest so I followed the nudge to search for it on Netflix. And I’ve got to say it was the best piece of content I have watched in a while. Why? It was purely genius in its exploration of the low humming, existential background chaos that underlies our interactions online. Burnham thoughtfully explores themes such as mental health, the thin line between satirical comedy and being problematic, and white privilege, all through cinematic meta-commentary styled songs.
The offbeat way this was created resonated with me in a way little else has in the past couple of years. It made me realize that the value of Creativity is in allowing it to exist as is rather than what you think the world wants to see.