Get in the Game: The Difference Between Craftsmanship and Creativity

Imagine an athlete who spends hours every day practicing her sport. She goes through the drills. She works on the fundamentals. The only problem? She never plays the game.

This, I think, is what we do when we confuse creativity with craftsmanship.

Practice and Play

Craftsmanship is a lifelong pursuit. It’s something we can always improve but never perfect. It takes time. It takes patience. It takes practice.

Creativity, on the other hand, is accessible every day. There’s always a game at hand. We can be as creative as we want to be as soon as we decide to be.

Long before you develop the skills you seek as a musician, an artist, or a writer, you’re free to pick up a guitar, a paint brush, or an ink pen and get in the game.

It’s Anybody’s Game

An amateur can play with as much heart and effort as a professional.

The poem of a budding writer can be just as honest as the latest work of a poet laureate.

The painting of a novice can be just as playful and imaginative as one produced by a master.

A song played by a beginner who only knows two chords can express the same emotions as one played by a virtuoso.

Practice Makes Perfect, but Play Makes Practice Purposeful.

Craftsmanship is a worthy pursuit. When we develop it, we increase our level of skill and the number of moves we can choose to express what we long to express.

But don’t make the mistake of waiting until you’ve mastered an art form before you begin to use it to express anything at all.

If you deny yourself the joy of being creative while you’re striving to be more skilled, you’re unlikely to become either. If you never play the game, your practice will seem pointless and you’ll lose your motivation to continue.

Playing (creating), after all, is a form of practice all its own, one in which you take the skills you already have, no matter how undeveloped they may seem, and put them to use on the field (the canvas, the page, the strings).

One, Two, Three, Four. What the Heck are We Practicing For?

Do this and your practices will have more meaning. You’ll know why you’re doing the drills, have a better understanding of what you need to work on, and be far more motivated to do so.

So, go ahead and get in the game. I’ll be cheering you on.

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