The word "obsession" has taken on taken on a negative spin in the last decade. It used to be that if you were obsessed with something it meant you were good at it and knew all about it. Well, drug companies and stalking laws have redefined being obsessed, to any degree, as abnormal.
Think about all the great artists in the world that were obsessed with something. Painters that painted the same subjects over and over again. Writers that dealt with the same situations or topics in everything they wrote. It's funny, but it's usually because of these obsessions that we enjoy the artist in the first place. It's like a hook or a doorway into what they do.
To super-charge your creativity, take a topic you are interested in but haven't studied and develop a short term obsession. How short? That's up to you. It could be a day, a week or a month. Read a book on it. Google up all the best websites on the topic. Talk to other people about it. No topic is too high or too low. If you like Christopher Walken, use him. The possibilities are endless, cowboy poetry, unicorn art or squirrel recipes, whatever you find yourself wanting to obsess on, do it!
When you sit down to create you won't be short on ideas. In fact, the idea will be right in front of you. Make sure you create more than one thing based on your obsession or it really doesn't qualify.
Eventually, you'll get tired of your obsession. Just drop it. You can always go back to it. In the meantime, pick something else to be obsessed with.
Being obsessed frees you from having to worry about being "creative" in the sense that most people use the word. You don't have to come up with a big idea or topic, you just use what is right in front of you.
I'm off to research the use of surgically implanted monkey glands used to keep rich people young in the 1920s.
I am looking for a movie about 2 Irish barbers who get into the selling of wigs, enter a wig welling contest and the outcome depends upon selling wigs to the Irish Republican Army. The female members of the family of one of the barbers wear panties on their heads when they smoke.
Posted by: Dugan Anderson | April 30, 2009 at 09:49 PM
Book from 1950's or 60's
about Philadelphila. Starts with a girl from Ireland coming to America becomes a maid and gets pregnant from Son of the house she workes at. Goes thought her life, her daughter then her grandson who becomes a lawyer. They made a movie about it. It is either The Philadelphians or Young Philadelphia. I need name and author. I want to find it to buy.
Posted by: Carol Gartside | May 22, 2009 at 09:31 AM
The plot is a young lady has a old but rich husband, there is one photographer who is crazy about that lady and gives her blank calls and the and one night the furious husband goes to the photographer to kill him but ends up getting killed. Then the old man's sons comes to the scene and gets attracted to her young step mom. Then the young lady sets up the photographer and seduces him and finally kills the murderer photographer.
Posted by: abhish | September 17, 2010 at 01:45 AM
It seems that fictionmenu is not longer active, so I made a different website where people can find a movie by plot:
www.superforgot.com
it is about movies, but books are welcome too
I hope you find this useful.
Posted by: Pionchan | July 21, 2011 at 12:12 AM