September 2010

Ideas are not my problem. I have a slew of them. The thing I lack is clarity.

I have all these notions of quirky little books I’d like to write and illustrate. I have the titles and concepts and I can feel what they would feel like when they’re finished. But the notions are fuzzy so I wait.

I wonder what I’m waiting for.

An epiphany in my mailbox? A bolt of enlightenment from the sky?

Am I waiting for someone to call and tell me when my next aha moment has been scheduled?

Waiting never clears much up. Time? Yes. But waiting? There’s a difference, you know.

I only know what I know about my quirky book ideas because of the writing and drawing I’ve already done. If I want further instructions, I’ll have to read them in my own handwriting. If I need someone to draw me a picture, I’ll have to get my paper, pens, and pencils.

Everyone else is too busy. They’re all waiting for their own explanations.

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On my shelf, I have a collection of books about drawing.

One says to first sketch things in pencil; another says to draw only in ink.

One suggests drawing from photos; another says don’t even think about it.

Each one suggests a slightly different set of tools, recommends a different brand of paper, provides its own small list of things to remember and things to forget.

And each one provides a list of books for further reading, books containing instructions that directly contradict the author recommending them.

But that’s the dirty little secret. Such books are as much about the people who write them as they are about the processes they outline.

Each author conducted their own experiments and made their own discoveries. Then they decided to share the results but results are influenced by variables and, in this case, the authors are the variables. People are very variable variables.

A portion of the always-remember’s and never-forget’s you find in how-to books are merely the authors’ preferences and beliefs. They’re not the laws of physics.

You too will have your preferences and beliefs. But to find them and thus your own process, you’ll have to do your own experimenting. You’ll have to add the variable that is you.

By all means, read the books. They’re helpful. They’re just not the answer.

The answer is in the doing. If you’ll just sit down (or stand up) and do the thing, you’ll eventually find your process.

However, be aware that it can change and adapt. Process evolves.

Let it.

That’s how you’ll evolve as well.

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