The Creative Process
-has six phases:
Inspiration: In which you research and generate many ideas
Clarification: In which you focus on your goals
Evaluation: In which you review your work and learn from it
Distillation: In which you decide which of your ideas to work on
Incubation: In which you leave the work alone
Perspiration: In which you work determindedly on your best ideas
To make best use of the creative process:
• Each phase should be visited many times (in no particular order), sometimes for a very short time.
• You need to adopt the right phase at the right time. For example, no amount of distillation can help if what you need is clarification. Many creative blocks are due to the determined adoption of an inappropriate phase. So if stuck, switch phases Inspiration
This is the research or idea-generation phase. The process is uninhibited and characterised by spontaneity, experimentation, intuition, and risk-taking.
This is not a phase in which to be negative or worried about form, practicality, rhyme or quality. You should be rejecting at least 90% of your initial ideas. Let yourself off the leash! If most of the ideas you create are workable, then you did not take enough risks. This phase is like brainstorming.
In order to generate a large number of different ideas you need to be(mindset):
• Deeply engrossed
• Fearless
• Free
Clarification
You focus on your goals.
The aim here is to clarify the purpose or objective of the work. It is easy to lose your sense of direction while dealing with detailed difficulties in creative work. So you need occasionally to disengage from these obstacles and ask "what exactly am I trying to do?".
If you feel lost, stuck, bogged down, confused, or uncertain about how to proceed, then clarification is what you need. In this clarification phase you have your eye on the ball, you are being strategic and logical, focussing on how