The Digital VS The Physical

Quick note: It's a new year and my mock exams are finally over, so you can rest assured that there will be new posts being updated regularly from now on! Now, back to the blog...

There’s a little insight I made a while back that cannot go unmentioned on this blog. Especially not when I am trying to re-embrace my creativity and come up with even more pieces than ever before. Since I want to ‘be creative more’, I have to try my best to avoid getting mind-blocks that will stop me from being able to create something novel and, with that, I have to avoid this one thing: trying to do it all digitally.

Creativity is a natural part of me - especially since I write often. Blog posts, poetry, stories, I’ve been doing this for years now. However, last summer, I was abroad for the holiday and couldn’t drag all my notebooks with me, so I settled for writing my stories directly on my laptop. That way, I didn’t have to write then copy it out later. That sounded like a great plan, the most optimal even, but, when I did that, something felt different about my writing. I couldn’t put my finger on it exactly. Just it wasn’t of the quality I wanted it to be of.

When I came back from the holiday, I decided to go back to writing the story in my notebook first rather than directly on my laptop. Upon doing it the good ol’ way, I realised something. My writing felt different. I felt more creative, as if my ideas were better now. I was able to think a lot more openly and I felt like the quality was slightly better. Maybe the quality bit wasn’t exactly true, maybe it was. I just knew that I felt better.

The thing is, I’m not the only one to feel this way. I remember reading Austin Kleon’s Steal Like An Artist and he mentioned how he has 2 separate tables in his office - one has the devices for the digital work; the other is device-free, specifically for creative work. I remember thinking that was a cool idea when I read about it, but I never realised how true it could be. That sometimes, despite all its advantages, today’s technology can block creativity and one of the best way to unleash your imagination is by stepping away from the screens.

Unfortunately, I’ve stopped writing the story (for the second time now) and it has entered its second year in existing, unfinished, however that doesn’t change the fact that I feel more creative away from the screen when it comes to writing my stories. In fact, this isn’t limited to just stories but could be applied to everything. So whenever you feel stuck and your mind feels blank because you can’t seem to find any inspiration, try taking a step away from your device and work physically rather than digitally.

That's it from me today. I'll see you in my next post. Now unleash that imagination! ;)