Conscious creation takes a lot of effort. I may be going about it inefficiently, but here’s my magical formula: walk, sleep, grow. Before I elaborate, let me share a couple of stories from my childhood:
Cops and Robbers
My cousin Pete and I used to spend summers at my grandmother’s small row house in South Philadelphia. We weren’t allowed outside after a certain time. We didn’t have to go to bed, though. Instead, we ran around the house, pretending to be various characters, acting out some wild play in which my cousin, invariably, was the director. By “running around” I mean that, as we acted out our parts, we paced a circle from the living room, hallway, dining room and back to the living room.
I was always amused that my cousin would carry out this routine, even if he were playing by himself. (This was usually the case when we had been quarreling and he didn’t want to play with me.) It was as if the physical act of walking on his make-believe stage was a requirement to create the scenes in his mind.
A Studied Pace
Years later, in my teens, I spent a lot time alone, making up games and playing them out by myself. I continued the childhood habit of walking around in a small circle, talking things out. Have you ever seen one of Robert Crumb’s walkin’ dudes? That’s the picture that comes to mind: a solitary madman thinking up stuff.
Walk Sleep Grow
I still walk around in circles. It helps me get my exercise and, since I’m not going anywhere, it frees my mind to make up stuff. The imagination is a fascinating place. I don’t care about probabilities. Everything is possible. I don’t care about details. Everything just works. Within this loose mental playground, software is magical, game ideas are playable and stories pop up without warning.
Sometimes, I might walk so long that I become tired. So I’ll take a nap. More often than not, this resting period just gives my brain more time to ferment the ideas. I’ll come back to this, later. The main idea here is that I almost always allow myself the luxury of a nap, whenever I feel sleepy.
Naturally, ideas that have time to ferment can grow into something solid and tangible. This is the third part of my magical formula. I’ve learned to put ideas down on paper as soon as they’re ready and not before. Prior to mastering this lesson, I wasted reams of paper, and time, documenting half-baked ideas that were later discarded for various reasons. One thing I may never know is what would have become of any of those ideas, had I let them bake a little longer. I can only guess that they would have met the same fate as any of my other silly ideas. The advantage would have been a savings of time and paper.
The Formula
Any alchemist knows that you have to get the formula just right, or you won’t get the gold. Not enough walking and the ideas won’t develop fully. Too much sleep and the ideas are forgotten. Growing too quickly or slowly may result in ideas that are warped, stagnant or stunted. Yet, even with the right mix of ingredients, the ideas may glitter, but be worthless.
To Your Health
It occurs to me that the process is good for your physical and mental health, regardless of the intrinsic value of any ideas you may get. So, get out and walk!
Better yet, read Steve Young’s excellent post:
Free Your Mind By Exercisng Your Body
