Honest, I was going to write this post about creativity last week, but at the last minute decided that honoring Thanksgiving was more appropriate. And then, The Passive Voice, one of my favorite blogs, ran an article called, “Is Creativity Destined to Fade with Age?” in the meantime.
Originally published in Valley News, the article mentioned Doris Lessing, who died recently at age 94, who said, five years before, that the writing had dried up. “Use it while you’ve got it,” Ms. Lessing was quoted, “because it’ll go.”
The article then asked the question, “Does creativity have an expiration date?” and mentioned Philip Roth and Alice Munro, both of whom announced recently they would stop writing. He was 79, she was 81. The National Endowment for the Arts, together with the National Institute on Aging, is apparently looking into how creativity can be fostered throughout a person’s life.
Meanwhile, should the rest of us be worried? Not necessarily. In math and science, creative breakthroughs might occur at younger ages, because studies show the frontal lobe is still building myelenization, a sheath around the brain. After the early 40s, however, demyelenization starts to occur, and that benefits older people. “When you see a retired person undertaking creative pursuits, it may be that their brain organization is different.”
As an aging writer (and aren’t we all?), I’ve wondered how many books I can write before I decide to quit, especially with the record of Nora Roberts taunting me. But what is creativity anyway? Is it writing the same romantic formula in different ways? Is the author of science fiction or fantasy more creative than the one who writes about contemporary or even historical times and places? Is an artist who produces abstract paintings more creative than one who makes representational art, putting on canvas what one observes of the world with the human eye?
After years of writing romance fiction, I’m moving into mystery (which I’ve always preferred to read) and I’ll be anxious to see if my newest books get accepted by editors, published, and then meet with approval by readers. However, even my romance novels usually held an element of intrigue, or a problem the characters had to solve before the inevitable happy-ever-after ending. An example of the latter is THE ITALIAN JOB, which gives my heroine the task of investigating an old problem haunting the hero, and the surprising truth she uncovers. I loved writing that book and, judging by the copies I sold at the Book Fair a week ago (and the later comments), readers like it too.
Fellow-writers, do you consider yourself creative? Do you always feel creative? Do you sometimes switch genres to challenge yourself?
What an intriguing post, Phyllis. Personally, I think I've been creative all my life just in different ways. I wrote a bit as a kid and young adult, but then life happened. Never pined away to be a writer--an actress maybe yes, but I found outlets for that. It wasn't until I was a couple years from retirement as an elementary school principal that I picked up my "pen" (Thank heavens for the computer, never make it without.) and wrote my first romantic suspense of over 145, K words. LOL No clue about craft
ReplyDeleteat that point. So now almost seven years later, I've written six books, sold 2 and have begun the 7th. I know lots of folks who didn't begin to write until into their "later" years. I think your creativity keeps o going as long as you use it--like a muscle. Now do you get tired of all the stuff that goes with writing and selling a book? Yeah, I can see all that "stuff" might make a writer decide to quit. Unless he/she became successful enough to hire all that out to someone who enjoyed doing those aspects of the job. Your last question about switching genre's? No, I might at some point add in a pinch of paranormal, but I love romantic suspense both to read and to write. Thanks for an interesting post and getting my brain working. I'll FB and Tweet.
Marsha: Congratulations on your late-life success. I agree with you that it's like a muscle that must be used. I started earlier than you did, but life interferes and time flies. I, too, love romantic suspense and have written a few of those. NORTH BY NORTHEAST was the first like that and it won the San Diego Book Award. Thanks for the comment. Let's both keep our brains working.
DeleteIllness can take away your creativity at any age. I lost mine for about 15 years! Brain fog, my doctor called it. I was very ill. But I recovered and got my creativity back and so far I'm doing fine. Of course the more you write, the better you get. Keep writing and do everything you can to keep your health. I'm 75 now and hoping for another 20 years. Healthy eating plus plenty of sleep, exercise, and writing. A great lifestyle.
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Barb: What an inspiring story. I'm so pleased you "came back" and hope you do get another 20 years. I certainly agree that "practice makes perfect" and we improve by using our talent.
DeleteGreat post! I'm constantly reading up on ways to increase my creativity. As a long-term Type I diabetic, I hear things all the time about how my memory can fail, etc. etc. I finally stopped listening and believing that stuff. I believe anyone can lose their creativity if they don’t practice it, and I do believe there are certain health issues that can cause brain fog (hormones, etc). But let’s face it, just sitting down to write is a huge creative endeavor and something many people long to do but never will. So we are creative! I’ve learned to celebrate my creativity, and constantly try to learn new things to continue to keep my brain sharp and strong.
ReplyDeleteAngela: Thanks for the comment. Learning new things is a great way to keep our creativity.
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