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Shout Out To The Creatively Obsessed!!

Gloriana

Patron Saint Of Smileys
Joined
Aug 2, 2009
Messages
949
MBTI Type
INFJ
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6w5
I'm having a pretty consuming creative binge at the moment, and thought I'd stop in and ask how many of you creative peeps can relate to this? How much of this rings true to you?:

1. When you get REALLY inspired, it is better than drugs and you will spend a long period of time only half listening to people because all you are doing is sitting there indulging in the imaginings inside your head.

2. When you're on a creative binge; food, water, chores, certain hygiene rituals, loved ones, etc. cease to be 'necessity' and get shoved under the heading of 'distractions that annoy me'

3. People around you think you've gone batshit crazy, start worrying incessantly about your mental state, and won't fucking listen when you say "I'm so friggin' happy right now".

4. As soon as you say "I'm taking some time just to create", every Tom, Dick, and Harry pops out of the woodwork at the same time to say "Hey! You want to do something?" and will not accept "working on my creative' project as a valid excuse to turn them down. You get the feeling they are just there to sabotage your dream.

5. You're so passionately in love with, and so fiercely loyal to, what you are creating that you will bite the ass of anyone who dares criticize it. There is a very important grace period that needs to pass before you're open to the opinions of others. During that grace period, your creation is "just fucking beautiful and awesome".

6. You feel pain as well as joy when creating, and hate the motherfuckers who scoff at the notion that it's like giving birth in a way. They don't understand how much of yourself you're actually milking to then pour into your work. You surround yourself with other creative people who understand just to spare yourself the trifle natterings of the 'non-creative folk'.

7. One minute you are so high on the creative process that you're almost delirious, then when it wanes off and freezes up, you get pissy and depressed. One minute you want to get yourself a T-shirt that reads "I'm such a fucking genius", then the next you want a T-shirt that reads "I'm doomed to mediocrity, fuck my life".

8. Whether or not you believe in the supernatural/religion/God(s), you start getting attached to certain 'power objects' or talismans to be with you during the creative process. This could be a hat you HAVE to wear, a charm you wear around your neck, a 'magic pen', a coffee mug, or pretty much anything. You keep these objects near you, and freak the fuck out if they somehow get lost or sullied in any way.

9. You start sleeping only when you have to and begin to get really familiar with the phrases "What day is it?" and "Wait, what month is it?" and "Time is an abstract concept, I don't need that shit".

10. When finished with a project, you cry like a little girl all by yourself and take awhile to cradle it to your bosom in private before revealing it to the world.
 
P

Phantonym

Guest
I can relate to so much of this and this pretty much happens to me every time I'm really interested in (obsessed about :whistling:) something and just have to immerse myself fully into it.

1. When you get REALLY inspired, it is better than drugs and you will spend a long period of time only half listening to people because all you are doing is sitting there indulging in the imaginings inside your head.

This is very much true for me as well. I don't even notice that there are people around me, it's a complete tunnel vision and I'm immersed into that one thing that is inspiring me at the moment.

2. When you're on a creative binge; food, water, chores, certain hygiene rituals, loved ones, etc. cease to be 'necessity' and get shoved under the heading of 'distractions that annoy me'

Exactly! I've gone for almost a day without eating because I didn't notice the time fly by. It's like you're in some sort of a haze and you can hear at the back of your mind a little alarm going off that you're supposed to do things but it's a hollow sound and when you finally "wake up", several hours have passed :D

3. People around you think you've gone batshit crazy, start worrying incessantly about your mental state, and won't fucking listen when you say "I'm so friggin' happy right now".

I can't exactly relate to this because I usually don't have people around when I'm on my "creative binge". I need to be alone to fully conscentrate on things. But I guess they'd be like that if they were around. And yes, I'm so friggin' happy every time I do stuff that interests me :D

4. As soon as you say "I'm taking some time just to create", every Tom, Dick, and Harry pops out of the woodwork at the same time to say "Hey! You want to do something?" and will not accept "working on my creative' project as a valid excuse to turn them down. You get the feeling they are just there to sabotage your dream.

Ha! Yes! That seems to be some kind of a pattern. The more you want/need to do important things alone, others can't seem to wait to do other unimportant things with you. When you're not doing anything important, nobody's around :laugh:

5. You're so passionately in love with, and so fiercely loyal to, what you are creating that you will bite the ass of anyone who dares criticize it. There is a very important grace period that needs to pass before you're open to the opinions of others. During that grace period, your creation is "just fucking beautiful and awesome".

6. You feel pain as well as joy when creating, and hate the motherfuckers who scoff at the notion that it's like giving birth in a way. They don't understand how much of yourself you're actually milking to then pour into your work. You surround yourself with other creative people who understand just to spare yourself the trifle natterings of the 'non-creative folk'.

10. When finished with a project, you cry like a little girl all by yourself and take awhile to cradle it to your bosom in private before revealing it to the world.

Yes. I don't usually show anything I've done to anybody because I don't think that anybody would be able to appreciate it quite the same way at the moment I'm still "in love with it". It takes some time to let go and let the world to see it. You're right about the "grace period". I feel kind of selfish for wanting to hold on to my pet project, to relish it.

7. One minute you are so high on the creative process that you're almost delirious, then when it wanes off and freezes up, you get pissy and depressed. One minute you want to get yourself a T-shirt that reads "I'm such a fucking genius", then the next you want a T-shirt that reads "I'm doomed to mediocrity, fuck my life".

Very true. It's a roller coaster. I love the highs but loathe the lows. I can't seem to balance it out properly because it's always so fast when the high becomes the low.

8. Whether or not you believe in the supernatural/religion/God(s), you start getting attached to certain 'power objects' or talismans to be with you during the creative process. This could be a hat you HAVE to wear, a charm you wear around your neck, a 'magic pen', a coffee mug, or pretty much anything. You keep these objects near you, and freak the fuck out if they somehow get lost or sullied in any way.

I don't have any specific objects or talismans but I do have certain songs that I already know can get me into a very good mood. I need to be in a certain mood to create, otherwise it would just be forcing things and I hate to be forced and pressured either by others or myself. The whole creation process has to be like a flow of creativity, unhindered by anything that bothers me.

9. You start sleeping only when you have to and begin to get really familiar with the phrases "What day is it?" and "Wait, what month is it?" and "Time is an abstract concept, I don't need that shit".

Yes! Absolutely. It's as if you're not in your body anymore but somewhow you're more in your body than you've ever been before. I don't know how to better explain this.
 

Athenian200

Protocol Droid
Joined
Jul 1, 2007
Messages
8,828
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
4w5
I'm having a pretty consuming creative binge at the moment, and thought I'd stop in and ask how many of you creative peeps can relate to this? How much of this rings true to you?:

What do you mean by "creating"? I do get consumed with researching and contemplating something, reading, playing a video game/watching a series of movies, or talking to a group of people about something, if that's what you mean, because that's what this reminds me of.

1. When you get REALLY inspired, it is better than drugs and you will spend a long period of time only half listening to people because all you are doing is sitting there indulging in the imaginings inside your head.

That happens when I get really obsessed with a fantasy or idea, yeah.
2. When you're on a creative binge; food, water, chores, certain hygiene rituals, loved ones, etc. cease to be 'necessity' and get shoved under the heading of 'distractions that annoy me'

Yes.
3. People around you think you've gone batshit crazy, start worrying incessantly about your mental state, and won't fucking listen when you say "I'm so friggin' happy right now".

People think that more often when I'm not obsessed with something, actually.
4. As soon as you say "I'm taking some time just to create", every Tom, Dick, and Harry pops out of the woodwork at the same time to say "Hey! You want to do something?" and will not accept "working on my creative' project as a valid excuse to turn them down. You get the feeling they are just there to sabotage your dream.

Nope. People always accept my excuses. In fact, they never want to do anything with me anyway.
5. You're so passionately in love with, and so fiercely loyal to, what you are creating that you will bite the ass of anyone who dares criticize it. There is a very important grace period that needs to pass before you're open to the opinions of others. During that grace period, your creation is "just fucking beautiful and awesome".

I can sometimes be sensitive to criticism about something I believe in, but not necessarily the thing I'm fixated on at the moment.
6. You feel pain as well as joy when creating, and hate the motherfuckers who scoff at the notion that it's like giving birth in a way. They don't understand how much of yourself you're actually milking to then pour into your work. You surround yourself with other creative people who understand just to spare yourself the trifle natterings of the 'non-creative folk'.

Not exactly, but I do find myself annoyed at having to deal with less intelligent people and end up surrounding myself with intellectual types via the Internet while isolating myself in real life.
7. One minute you are so high on the creative process that you're almost delirious, then when it wanes off and freezes up, you get pissy and depressed. One minute you want to get yourself a T-shirt that reads "I'm such a fucking genius", then the next you want a T-shirt that reads "I'm doomed to mediocrity, fuck my life".

Have no idea what you're talking about. You need medication for being manic-depressive, it sounds like.
8. Whether or not you believe in the supernatural/religion/God(s), you start getting attached to certain 'power objects' or talismans to be with you during the creative process. This could be a hat you HAVE to wear, a charm you wear around your neck, a 'magic pen', a coffee mug, or pretty much anything. You keep these objects near you, and freak the fuck out if they somehow get lost or sullied in any way.

I did that when I was younger... in fact, I still insist on keeping an old suction cup Garfield from a Wendy's Happy Meal on the driver's side backseat window of my mom's car that I got when I was 7. It's always been there, and it freaks me out if it falls down. Oh, and I also keep an old Texas Ranger's cap on a bust of David that we have, another thing I did when I was little. Finally, I dislike having the coffee table moved out of it's impressions on the carpet, and try to have it moved back into them as quickly as possible if it has to be moved. What's funny is, I haven't developed any such fixations surrounding objects I acquired after age 12.
9. You start sleeping only when you have to and begin to get really familiar with the phrases "What day is it?" and "Wait, what month is it?" and "Time is an abstract concept, I don't need that shit".

Yep, I know that one.
10. When finished with a project, you cry like a little girl all by yourself and take awhile to cradle it to your bosom in private before revealing it to the world.

Nope, I just feel lethargic and burned out on whatever movie/game/concept/person I was obsessed over, feeling like I've milked all the enjoyment and understanding out of it that I could.

I think I might be more of a creation consumer than a creator, though.
 

BlueScreen

Fail 2.0
Joined
Nov 8, 2008
Messages
2,668
MBTI Type
YMCA
Yep.

I have pen superstitions. And always had to write with the same pen. Have favourite pens too.

I've shouted more profanities into the air at ringing telephones that break trains of thought or wreck a recording than at anything else.

In inspired moments, I feel invincible, and just keep challenging myself to push things further until I get sidetracked and it ends.

People don't particularly get that I spend time doing stuff that I find important but has not much to do with them. It gets called procrastination. Whereas I call it learning and creating.

I don't know about loyal to my pieces. I value stuff I've had for a while. Anything that's still new I see all the imperfections in and I have to resist the urge to destroy it. It's an interesting experience.

This morning I did the creative binge thing. I left breakfast really late. Cos I thought, I'm feeling in the mood and playing my guitar and singing okay, so I don't want to stop and lose that.
 

shimsham

New member
Joined
Oct 15, 2007
Messages
94
MBTI Type
infj
I have creative binges too (maybe not to the extent that you do, though ::wink:: ). Sometimes the creativity arises spontaneously from inside of me, other times it's in response to having creatively-minded people around me (an INTP artist friend, for example), sometimes it's in response to not having enough external stimulation.

When I'm in the middle of a creative binge, it's an amazing feeling. It's like I put creative goggles on. Everything I see and experience spontaneously gets translated into a potential art project, illustration, photograph. Even my writing style becomes more metaphorical.

Lately I've had a couple creative binges squandered because I'm spending so much time on my thesis research. It's been a frustrating experience, to say the least.
 

The_Liquid_Laser

Glowy Goopy Goodness
Joined
Jul 11, 2007
Messages
3,376
MBTI Type
ENTP
This sounds like how my wife acts when she gets inspired. I think it must be an INFJ thing.
 

Gloriana

Patron Saint Of Smileys
Joined
Aug 2, 2009
Messages
949
MBTI Type
INFJ
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6w5
Yep.

I have pen superstitions. And always had to write with the same pen. Have favourite pens too.

I've shouted more profanities into the air at ringing telephones that break trains of thought or wreck a recording than at anything else.

In inspired moments, I feel invincible, and just keep challenging myself to push things further until I get sidetracked and it ends.

People don't particularly get that I spend time doing stuff that I find important but has not much to do with them. It gets called procrastination. Whereas I call it learning and creating.

I don't know about loyal to my pieces. I value stuff I've had for a while. Anything that's still new I see all the imperfections in and I have to resist the urge to destroy it. It's an interesting experience.

This morning I did the creative binge thing. I left breakfast really late. Cos I thought, I'm feeling in the mood and playing my guitar and singing okay, so I don't want to stop and lose that.

Yup! I relate to all of that. I've never actually destroyed anything I've written, even when time has passed and I feel embarrassed by a piece. I kind of like having the proof of how much I've progressed right there in front of me, plus I always think there is always a chance I can squeeze something new and good out of something that is old and crappy, lol.

To answer the question about what I'm working on currently, it's a whole load of different things. It wasn't until my marriage ended that I realized how much I'd given up in terms of creativity, I used to do film making and live Improv performance in my early 20s. Didn't realize how much I missed it, and so I've been re-connecting with local creative people looking for projects and getting those wheels turning on my own time again.

Been working on a novel, a story that's brewed in my head for half my life. It's one of five stories that would eventually be intertwined, so it's been a lot of working out the connections more than writing the story itself. I also do voice-over characters and I work with puppets, so I've been devising some stuff suitable for posting on YouTube (Learning to work my digital video camera and new editing software). I can't throw my voice though, which sucks when it comes to puppets, so I've had to work out ways for me to appear in scenes with my puppets without it being obvious I'm providing the voice, lol. Challenging but fun :D
 

poppy

triple nerd score
Joined
May 30, 2009
Messages
2,215
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intj
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5
:yes:

I've spent the past two days sewing for 5 hour stretches. It's so bad for my back and I hardly eat, but when I'm on a project I enjoy, I have to be working on it.

I'm also a freak about people seeing my projects. I only work when nobody's home and I never talk about it until it's done. I mean, if you badger me about it I'll show you, but I'm not interested in a critique unless it's finished.

I don't have any lucky objects or talismans or anything though :shock: For me it's more of an intense focus/compulsion than any kind of emotional experience.
 

Laurie

Was E.laur
Joined
Jan 3, 2009
Messages
6,072
MBTI Type
ENFP
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7w6
I love creating!

Sewing and photoshopping are my current things. I demand to see some of your projects, poppy! I've lately been helping the kids sew "monsters." I recently got a serger :D

My dad loved how when I was a youngin I made wings and tried to fly around the backyard. Too bad no one took me aside to explain flight...

One of my INTJ friends confessed to me that he knows how to sew because he has two older sisters and it was around and something for him to create with.
 

Gloriana

Patron Saint Of Smileys
Joined
Aug 2, 2009
Messages
949
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
6w5
I love creating!

My dad loved how when I was a youngin I made wings and tried to fly around the backyard. Too bad no one took me aside to explain flight...

I love that!

I've been saying for years I want to learn how to sew, it seems such a daunting task at my age (I can do basic stitching and hemming, repairs and such but I don't know how to use a sewing machine).

Do you guys make your own clothes? I think that would be awesome to be able to do, I watch "Project Runway" sometimes and covet that skill so hard, lol.
 
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