Creative work often looks like this: sweaty palms + blank mind + deadline = PANIC. It’s understandable; creativity can be difficult to pin down. Our own creative processes may look like a series of random steps until something just…clicks. And it doesn’t help that creative geniuses make it all seem effortless. They all seem to have found the “secret sauce.”
But this conception of creativity as mystical and elusive and the exclusive domain of geniuses is reductive. It doesn’t tell the whole story. Creativity is for everyone. And sure, the creative “spark” itself may be out of our control, but we can create the most conducive circumstances for it to occur. That way, we never have to sit around anxiously waiting for inspiration to magically arise.
In this blog, we’ll help you demystify the creative process and share tips and insights to keep your creativity flowing, even when it feels impossible!
About the Creative Process
Whether you’re building sandcastles at the beach or creating a campaign for your client, the creative process has the same start and end points: It starts with a rough idea and ends with the desired creative output. It’s the pesky middle where we meander a little bit, left to rely on our personal structures and discipline to reach the finish line.
The good news, however, is that we don’t have to operate in the dark. In 1926, British psychologist Graham Wallas proposed a pioneering model that breaks the creative process down into four stages – preparation, incubation, illumination and verification – based on his research into how creatives and inventors work. Since then, it’s been modified and used extensively to guide creativity. While in reality, it’s not a straight path from one stage to the next, this model provides structure to a complex process.
Stages of the Creative Process
Let’s take a closer look at each stage.
Preparation
How do you kickstart the creative process? By sharpening your metaphorical axe, of course. When you have an idea or a creative brief, you start by immersing yourself in its world. This may look like going down internet and social media rabbit holes, reading books, taking online courses or even taking hurried observational notes at a coffee shop (the more diverse your sources, the better).
At this stage, the focus is on investigating the topic or idea from all angles, thinking about it deeply, brainstorming ideas (without worrying about quality), and gathering as much information as possible. Whatever your method, this isn’t the time to filter anything – you have to let irrelevance and relevance coexist. By doing this, you build the intellectual foundation necessary for the rest of your creative process.
Incubation
In his famous TED Talk “The surprising habits of original thinkers,” Adam Grant says, “Procrastination is a vice when it comes to productivity, but it can be a virtue for creativity.” Why?
Once you’ve gathered information and other resources in the preparation phase, you must give it time to marinate and let your subconscious do some heavy lifting (which is why you get your best ideas in the shower or when doing the dishes). You might step away from the problem to consciously do some other task – maybe another project – or take a break from all conscious mental work (to take a nap or do nothing at all). While you may not actively realize it, this process leads to some amazing insights.
Now, there’s no formula to determine how long you need to wait before diving back into actively working on your idea, but the important thing is to let it be for a while.
Illumination
You may not have been in a bathtub screeching “Eureka!” but you’ve definitely known that moment when inspiration strikes. That moment of sharp insight when things click neatly into place. That’s what this stage is about. But here’s where we usually go wrong: While this is stage three of the process, many of us wait around for this spark right at the beginning, mistaking it for the first step. These sparks, however, take time and cannot be forced by our conscious minds; we must simply allow them to happen. The key is to be ready to capture them by keeping a journal, a sketchbook or your phone handy.
Verification
Once the euphoric a-ha! moment ends, it comes time to let your idea face reality. This stage involves asking a key question: Is this idea worth pursuing? As painful as it may be, you must test your ideas and subject them to criticism – yours and others’. Do they hold up well against valid questioning and scrutiny? At this stage, don’t be afraid to seek constructive criticism from peers or mentors. The goal is to make your idea as tenable as possible.
Once you’ve done that, you bring your idea to life – you write, you paint, you design – you create. This may, in itself, be a long process. You start with a vision (which might evolve over time) and iterate until you create something you’re satisfied with. Chances are you might get it right on the first try. But even if you don’t, remember to be patient with the process of final creation!
Conclusion
When you have an idea or are assigned a creative task, you might get overwhelmed and struggle to generate ideas. But the creative process can be broken down into smaller, more manageable stages. Instead of starting by waiting for the “spark,” you can use these five stages as your guide: preparation, incubation, illumination and verification. These may not be strictly linear in practice, as the creative process is complex. But by following these steps, you can give your mind the resources and rest it needs to truly be creative.
