Elizabeth Gilbert shares a unique view of creativity in Big Magic. By living creatively, living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear, we promote within ourselves inspiration to pursue our talents without the worry of having to achieve excellence.
The creative process is both magical and magic. Ideas are constantly swirling around us. When approached with ideas, we have the ability to accept or reject them. Not all ideas are good, or good for us to act upon. But when an idea is introduced and you feel an inspiration, embrace it and do whatever it takes to fulfill your desire to express it. Forget perfection; it can stop you from completing your work. Perfection itself is unachievable.
Author Gilbert emphasizes that an advanced degree in creative writing does not ensure success. She makes this point: “Twelve North American writers have won the Nobel Prize in Literature since 1901, but not one of them had an MFA. Four of them never got past high school.” In other words, writers should not feel that they need a degree in writing in order to achieve success. What it does take to achieve success is dedication and determination to see your ideas through, to work toward a goal of finishing a project.
Gilbert admits that money helps, but she also says that if money were the only thing people needed to order to live creative lives, then the super rich would be the most imaginative, original thinkers among us. We all know this simply is not true. “The essential ingredients for creativity remain exactly the same for everybody: courage, enchantment, permission, persistence, trust—and those elements are universally accessible.”
As a writer, I found Big Magic enlightening and informative. It gave me fresh perspective on the creative writing process. People with other creative endeavors will be inspired by the book, too, and will no doubt recognize themselves in her words. The book is loaded with wisdom and thought-provoking ideas.
To learn more about Elizabeth Gilbert and her work, visit http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/
Great review and thanks for sharing info about this book. Looking forward to reading it.
Thank you. I think this book will be helpful for people in all kinds of occupations.
Nice review, Mary. For any creative writer, especially me, it’s always nice to be reminded of the essentials of creativity. What resonated with me in your piece is that when presented with an idea, use the inspiration from that idea to create, yet not be perfect. I’m a glutton for perfection punishment…
I know what you mean, Alice. And we always hear: make your manuscript as perfect as you can before you send it to an agent/publisher. Well, now we know! There are some things more important than perfection!