I Suffer from Flash Creativity
Hi, my name is Mark, and I suffer from Flash Creativity. There are no drugs that can calm me or reduce the flashes. It’s not physically painful, but emotionally it may be, or just frustrating to my psyche. There’s no on or off switch, and moderation with a dimmer switch is not an option. It’s noiseless, though some indication of a sufferer may be inferred from random constrictions of the vocal chords causing a noise unrelated to a current activity or situation. Signals may also include a hand slapping the closest surface, or the snapping of fingers. There’s no treatment for this, and I’m okay with it. In fact, if there was a treatment, I would refuse it. I relish my suffering and am thankful every day.
Even this article is the result of my suffering, but I’ll circle back around on this momentarily.
What is Flash Creativity? Many people have tried to decode the mysteries of the brain regarding the creative process. Is it learned or inherent in the individual? Is it a certain level of I.Q., inspiration, particular electrical properties of or certain regions in the brain, genius, genetic disorders, or the ethereal and unexplainable Muse?
For decades, I thought it was the Muse — whatever, whoever, or wherever she may be. Yes, for me it’s a she because if I’m going to be affected by something I can’t see or control, I prefer it to be a gorgeous Greek-like mythical Goddess. Common anecdotal ways of describing creative thoughts are the use of the phrases “flash of brilliance” or “flash of genius”. However, having a great thought doesn’t automatically mean it’s brilliant or creative. Furthermore, if you don’t act upon the thought, evaluate it, and put it into practice, then what have you really accomplished?
Except to show that my brain is functioning, many of my great thoughts are useless. Typically, my thoughts get parsed into one of two categories: “work on it now” or “save for later”. You could think of these as short- and long-term projects. The remainder go into the trash can. The “save for later” thoughts are the most entertaining because they can resurface anytime, anywhere, for any reason.
Here are a few examples of Flash Creativity.
- Yesterday (Friday) I was talking with a colleague on a work issue. In the midst of this I asked if he remembered an idea I had mentioned to him some months ago. He said yes. In that moment of a pause in the discussion, I had determined how my initial idea could be revised to take advantage of a new technology. Within five minutes, not only had I refined my original idea, but I thought of three offshoot business lines, created something that could be childproof, could make living a little easier, and possibly kill two existing industries.
- On Thursday, I was conversing with a colleague on new clothing our employer is going to give us. As I was making snide remarks, we came up with a new line of clothing that could alter the way we live, disrupt several industries, and create a new lifestyle, all in the space of a few minutes.
- I’ve been working on a new website and was trying to find a better descriptive word for one of the page tabs. As I was thinking about this on Wednesday, I asked my wife if she had any thoughts on a better word. As we stared at the draft website, a word came to me, but it didn’t quite fit. Then Flash Creativity took over, and the word morphed into an idea for an entirely different approach to how the page could be constructed. I’ve never seen the idea used elsewhere. If true, the site will be truly unique.
- A friend of mine posted a picture on a social media site. I instantly saw an elephant head in the cloud. In a matter of seconds I saw a second image. In 30 seconds, I had drawn the eyes, nose, chin, cheeks, and curly hair, to create a vignette of a wind blowing cherub. (Seeing faces like this is known as Pareidolia)
The burst of Flash Creativity that brought me to this point occurred in October. At the James River Writers Conference, John Blake (http://johnsurvivorblake.com/) read a poem on Sunday. Though I’ve written several poems over the years, they pretty much suck. I’ve never studied poetry and I don’t understand the construction of a poem. But the story his poem is based on, and the way he read the poem, struck a chord in me. I don’t have the expertise to say that the poem was good, but I don’t have to. It was good to me and the audience loved it.
As I moved through my 45-minute drive to work the next day I was recalling the Conference and a phrase took root in my brain. By the time I got to work I had written this poem. John’s reading of his poem made me think of a poetry slam, the rhythm, his vocal inflections, the slight grittiness of his voice, I’m sure played a part in my thoughts. Was it inspiration? Maybe, but I also fleshed out the first scene of a play on the way home that day, including the main song.
Cracked Concrete
Hey mo-fo Before you go Dodo on me coming back into my game remembering the slim times we shared
As we stood upon the street corner listening to discordant palpitations of the moving life around us
No one knows what we seen and done in the pursuit of paying rent to prevent our dilution
People just slid by us enveloped in a technological haze that reflected the blue-white light from their pupils
It dripped off of them in forgotten strands effervescing through forever into the cracked concrete.
I didn’t say it was going to be a good poem did I, but that’s not the point. What I realized on that Monday morning was that I suffer from Flash Creativity. Upon my realization of this I knew that I needed to write an article about it. It’s that moment in time when your brain fires off a round and the sound echoes in your head. An analogy is to think of that instant when you bang your head really hard and see stars. For Flash Creativity, the magic happens when you give life to it. It’s a beautiful moment.
Returning to the basic question of what is Flash Creativity, my conclusion is simple. It’s nothing more than a random thought. It’s not the same type of random thought as when I wonder if I turned off the coffee pot or remember I forgot to pick something up when I was at the store. It has a different flavor, a different feeling, a different purpose. There’s no Muse, no baseline I.Q. score, no genetic predisposition to having random thoughts. To borrow a line from J.K. Rowling “… it’s like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands.”
Maybe they all come from the same root in our brain or psyche with the only distinction being the path a thought travels from inception to recognition. One symptom of suffering from Flash Creativity is that most people you tell will react in one of two ways, they won’t like it or they don’t get it. Learning to accept this fact quickly will make you much happier.
If you do suffer from Flash Creativity, relish and revel in it. Know that you’re in good company.
My name is Mark, and I happily suffer from Flash Creativity.