[NF] for NF artists: what to do to finish up ur ideas?

[niki]

I'm asking to all NF artists here, who's either a musician, a poet, a writer, a painter, etc (especially NFP artists, who probalby have much problems at this "finishing-up" things hehe)..
what do you do when you're a kind of a "person of ideas" , but totally suck at finishing-up ur ideas one-by-one until it's 100% completly done, in the most 'professional' way?

for example,
I am often frustrated with how almost everyday, I could often come up with 4-5 ideas of new songs, from the melody down to the tiniest arrangement of music (whether it's symphony, rock, pop, trance, New-Age, etc) , but then I always have serious problem to really 'polish' and finish-up all my ideas down to the details.
As a musician, I often still struggle very hard in lyrics, it doesn't come so naturally to me . but on the other hand, musical ideas often come very easily & quickly to me.
but i am always so frustrated whenever I got 'stuck' in finishing-up writing a lyrics in ONE song idea, while ANOTHER new ideas of tunes suddenly just come-up in my mind again!

Likewise, I also often suck at the 'technicalities' of operating the music sequencer software(program) like Cubase , Fruity Loops (FL), Reason, etc.
stuff like , for example, balancing EQ, reverb, 'envelope' , all the 'wiring-up' from here to there , finding nice VST instruments, and most frequently, when I've made a single tiny little mistake while recording! I am currently only quite good at recording in WAV/Audio form, not MIDI, hence, the 'problem' with WAV is that I have to try to record it perfectlly, if there's a tiny little mistake, I have to 'fix' the mistakes in minute 1:28, for example, and that require 'technical' thing/detail again like: using Cross Fade , and then Fade In, Fade Out, until the "new" parts get well-balanced with the "old" parts.....something like that.
But bottom-line is, very often I just can't stand all those 'technicalities' to finish-up 100% on EACH song (or idea) , in order to sound "professional" !

and this has always been my problem, that recently it just made me kinda frustrated & depressed, because right now, I have probably like 100 ideas of good tunes (even i'm confident to say: great tunes & musical ideas) , but yet, when other people ask me how many songs I've COMPOSED, I usually say : "currently only 5 of them are 100% finished. the rest is still just an "ideas" "

How could you work-through this "finishing-up details" problem ?
especially when those fresh new ideas keep coming like crazy inside your head that you just can't switch it down , ...yet you KNOW that you probably is going to have a HARD TIME to really really sit-down & finish up those damn ideas ONE by ONE ! arggh! (even as i typed this, I felt a bit frustrated fjdskajf;sklf; )

Please, I need advice from those NF artists who've been in this kind of situation, and have managed to work their way through this 'stuck' problem, or i'd rather say, "too-full of ideas, but lack follow-through" problem.
thx.

 

[musingpandora]

Oh boy! Follow through. I was just having a discussion about my problem with follow through last night with another NF who has the same problem.

Whether writing or doing digital art in photoshop, I have that exact problem. I am working on a piece that I absolutely love but something isn't fitting right and it drives me insane. Then suddenly I have another idea for a piece and start on a new manipulation and the other falls into the recesses of my computer. An example of this was when I was creating a beach scene yet I couldn't clone the seagull well enough for have it to truly look like it was sweeping across the sky and it just irked me so much that I twisted over into another creation.

The same can happen with a piece of writing if I think too much about what I want. I don't know about you, but sometimes my pieces (whether art or writing) are a great deal better if I don't 'think' too much about them. I admit this is a rather hard thing to do, at least for me, but if you allow your artistic abilities to flow it commonly helps.

I do have a thought though that may just help you. Whenever I have a new idea dancing around in my mind, I simply jot down notes about the idea on paper and allow it to come to fruition. Then I set that paper aside, get up, pace a bit, then sit down and focus completely on my project.

 

[Von Mittendorf]

I have this exact problem with all of my own ideas. Whenever I get an idea, actually fleshing the whole thing out can be an adventure in frustration and failure. As an aspiring writer, it can be somewhat aggravating. One thing I've found works really well for me is having a partner or someone who can either provide a nugget of an idea for me to build around (which works much better than when I try it with my own nuggets) or take my idea and bring it to a point where I can pick it back up again. I don't know if this is particularly helpful, but it's helped me have a lot more actual product to show for all my bluster about being creative. So, Niki, if you could get your hands on a lyricist and a producer you could focus more on the stuff that isn't hard, and have more completed songs.

Of course, you probably want to be able to put out solo stuff, so...
The ESTJ spectre in my head says "sac up and own a bitch."
The ESTJ spectre in my head is rarely helpful.

 

[nightning]

The only thing I think is to take a break and then go right back at it.

I have the same problem as you do. I'm very much an idea person. So I often imagine something in my head... but when it comes to physically creating it I run into difficulties. Projects that are more than what I can handle... most of those I have filed away to "go back to" later once I've picked up the skills etc... but really they just sit there forgotten until I have another related idea and I remember the old project lying around.

Like you, it's the sitting down and paying attention to the details part I need to work on. It's frustrating when you're staring at your work and it just doesn't seem up to par.

Perhaps it'll help if you have somebody along side working on a similar sort of project... Seeing somebody else spend the time and effort usually helps me.

 

[Kyrielle]

I have the opposite problem. I have the most trouble starting things and the least trouble finishing them.

Some of the causes for not starting and not finishing things are usually the same things...

1. You don't care about what you're writing/drawing/whatevering. You may think you care about it, but somewhere something stopped working for you so you've checked yourself out of the process (for not starting this happens all in your head before anything has happened!).

2. You're afraid of failing/succeeding. You think it's not good enough. You run into self-esteem road blocks.

3. Perfectionism hits and cause #2 takes over.


Plus any other number of things that come up that make you start making excuses for not finishing/starting things.

Seriously, read Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland.

It's not exactly advise, but it's more of a "everyone has problems and comes up with excuses to not make art" thing. Very good for understanding what is happening when you don't want to make art and why, which can help you fix the problems.

 

[speculative]

I have the opposite problem. I have the most trouble starting things and the least trouble finishing them.

Interesting - is this simply the J/P difference perhaps? Seeing possibilities vs. choosing one...

Seriously, read Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland.

It's not exactly advise, but it's more of a "everyone has problems and comes up with excuses to not make art" thing. Very good for understanding what is happening when you don't want to make art and why, which can help you fix the problems.

Thanks for the book suggestion. I have been trying to start Fearless Creating. It has exercises, charts, and good quotes. Your post reminded me that I should finish this book before starting yet another novel I get 5 pages into then quit.

 

[BlueScreen]

I'm actually really enthused if I like a piece of art I'm doing. I keep coming back to it, and the piece never feels complete. It redefines and evolves and the projects just keep growing. Uni work I have trouble concentrating and being a finisher sometimes, before the deadline gets close. Art is a love though, unless the creation or project is complete, it grabs me and wants me to give it more, perfect it. I can't wait to get some time to get back to it normally.

 

[PeaceBaby]

Read this: Refuse to Choose