Abandoned Ideas

Every now and then I go through my hard drive and look at what's there.  I have a folder where I keep my writing, the stories I have written and published, and backups of various blogs that I have created over the years.  There's a folder in amongst these things which contains abandoned ideas.  Those are snippets of works and ideas that I had came up with but never followed through on, either because I felt there was nowhere I could take it to, or because it felt like it wasn't enough of an idea to actually do something with it.  This makes me think though, of how much artistic expression is lying somewhere forgotten about.

When you think about some of the greatest works of art, music, and literature, and the impact they have on our society and culture, and peoples' lives, it's interesting to think of the potential of a blank page.  A pristine A4 page with nothing on it.  Onto that page you can pour out your heart and soul in expression.  A blank canvass is terrifying to some artists, a blank page can be paralysing to a writer, and a piano sitting idly can be the bane of existence to a composer when they have no vision, no motivation, or no inspiration to create.  Yet all of these things are in themselves a thing of beauty, the potential they have, what they can give life to, all of this lies within them as much as it lies within you.  Instead of looking at them with an empty mind and feeling fear, look to them as something eager, waiting, wanting you to engage.  Often the biggest barrier to creation is the act of creation itself.

The best advice I was ever given as a writer came from my English teacher in high school and it was simple - never stop writing.  Even if you have no idea what to write about, write anyway, write about anything at all even if you think it is pointless, stupid, or that it has no purpose, because the act in itself engages a part of your mind that starts to wake up when you call upon it.  You'll write something stupid or empty that is meaningless and something you hate, but you'll realise how you could make it better, you'll think why it is bad and what could make it good, or you'll think how you can make it worse - which in itself can be useful to explore.  Sometimes you have to make the worst before you can make the best.  The first painting you ever did as a kid was probably a square box representing a house with a triangle for the roof on top.  No-one is born with the ability of Picasso, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, et al.  These are crafts and they must be honed.  You will not lift a one-tonne-weight the first time you try.  You must fall a thousand times before you can stand with true strength.  Passion has to be realised, it doesn't come to you.