Rules

My creative colleague recently shared a list of ten creative rules that he incorporates into his creative practice.

Here are mine. As Keith suggests: use them, bend them, break them, make your own.

1. Change the process to change the outcome

Change what you're doing in order to arrive at a different result. It sounds very obvious, but in practice I've found that it takes a little bit of discipline to remember to do.

Here's Mick Gordon giving a talk about this rule.

2. Do not fight your tools

Maybe it's your software. Maybe it's your ink. Maybe it's your desk.

Whatever it is, you gotta know when to give up on trying to get your tools to do something that they don't do very well.

3. Do it because it hasn't existed before

Bring something into the world that didn't exist before. The scale upon which that is measured is subjective, but it's still a huge guiding rule for me.

4. Trust your taste

You know what's good and you know what you like.

5. Plant seeds, be a gardener

This is borrowed from Brian Eno.

Striving towards a specific outcome is often a frustrating and fruitless journey. I have more fun when I try things and then see where they lead without a destination in mind. As things grow, prune and guide them, but let them find their way.

6. Juxtapose

It's an old creative strategy, but it's huge for me. Take two things that don't really belong together and put them together.

7. Subvert expectations

Whatever the listener is expecting, do something else.

8. Kill the ego

Don't worry about whether the album will sell. Don't worry if you can top the last performance. Don't think about any success.

Just make the thing.

9. An audience of zero to one is ok

It's OK to create something that doesn't really have a place in the world. It's OK to create for yourself. See #3 and #8.

10. Do the work

Borrowing more from Brian Eno and Rick Rubin.

You gotta put in the time and effort. Inspiration is always out there lurking, ready to hit you. But if you aren't working, it'll never hit.