Creation vs collage

We live in a world of assembly. Following the motto of 'Don't reinvent the wheel', we've taken the thought to new extremes. Why create from scratch when you can plug together bits and pieces that other people have made? It puts a new spin on plagiarism - where does it begin or end in a world of cut-and-paste? It even repositions copyright as a means to an end.

Physically, we're seeing car manufacturers pool factory resources to build different branded cars using the same basic parts. It's LEGO gone wild. Prefab houses are spreading rapidly as an affordable way to build new homes. Ikea's colour palette is designed so that any piece of furniture you buy can match any other set you already have. No need to think, just plug and play. Innovation is no longer within the elements, it's within the process. It's now about how well we can build, not what.

Digitally, we're seeing a proliferation of templates for every application under the sun. Need a little motion graphics for your title sequence?  Template, cut in with some existing stock footage and you're home. Need some code for your new software package? Template, fill in the blanks and it's on. Recipes, posters, music scores, videogames, it's all canned and repurposed to suit your needs. And perhaps that's the point?

This approach changes everything, it forces us to first seek out what exists, to then figure out how to use it in combination with other things. It slows down the evolution process by breaking down the steps within innovation itself. Creation always begins by connecting thoughts that already exist in the creator's head. The key is that these thoughts were conceived by the creator in the first place, so it all remains part of the creative process. Now, however, we're just stitching together thoughts that others have had and we call the result our own.

Social media introduced the concept of 'sharing'. We now believe that 'sharing' content is equivalent to creating. We somehow feel that by spreading a piece of content around, we come to own part of it. 'Sharing', though intended as an outward gesture, has become egocentric. We share to own. And again, we take something that already exists, and we add a thin layer of personal veneer to then call it ours.

This creates a huge market for the few talented creators who can build from scratch, because everyone else wants and needs their work to make their own, like bricks in a wall. This explains the recent uproar of the last few years about the length and extent of copyright. A strong reason why people are asking for an end to copyright is because, in order to make their own ideas, they want more access to ideas others have had before. But who owns the copyright to the new ideas these people now spread out into the world?

Let's be clear, there are wonderful things that have emerged from these assemblies of ideas to derive new ones. After all, there are only 26 letters in our alphabet and yet we repackage them endlessly to produce new written work. There are only 10 digits, yet mathematics continues to surprise us. There are only seven basic music notes, yet symphonies continue to emerge. We can create this way, but it changes how we think. It would be wise to remember how to create from the ground up, lest we forget how to create in the first place.

We need to remember that the truly groundbreaking ideas, the ones that pull people through leaps of creative strides, are the ones that we build from scratch. Those ideas are the ones we come up with using intellect, intuition, trial-and-error, mistakes, ridicule, gut instinct, arrogance, daring and originality. Those ideas are the ones that make a difference.

So the next time you set out to create something, take a look at the building blocks you have, sure, but then take a step back. Look at the bigger picture, and see what's missing. Read between the lines, find the trees within the forest.

Then plant your own.

Nurture it, grow it and take pride in what it becomes. Because that tree is yours. It is unique and original. It is there for others to scale, to cling to and to embrace.

Original thought is the way to go.

Storytelling as chemistry

It all started with a glance at a link I found on Twitter: http://designthroughstorytelling.net/periodic/

It's author, James Harris, has put together a Periodic Table of Storytelling, complete with Identifier, Trope name and Popularity factor measured in kilowiks (thousands of links to its page via the wiki). First off, the kilowik belongs up there with the jigowatt as a cool measure of power. Also, not only is the Table very pleasing to the eye, it also represents a spectacularly creative way of looking at the storytelling world.

First off, the bottom of the page reminds us about the basis of chemistry, which is that elements seek to assemble and react off each other. This is exactly what Harris' Periodic Table encourages: assemble these elements into storytelling molecules and voila! You have the core of a story.

I firmly believe in the power of framework. Like recipes, frameworks are tools you can use to build your own story. The same framework will be used by different authors to construct different stories. It's not something to be feared or neglected. Just because you have a recipe doesn't mean you can cook, but it shows you the way and it helps you reach your goal. Frameworks let you concentrate on the flesh of your story, where the blood flows and where life is born. The bones are just the carcass, there to support the rest. That's what a framework is.

So when Harris' presents storytelling as building blocks, it breaks down the barriers that prevent people from attempting to write in the first place. It lets you see storytelling as something you can build, change, play with and fine tune. It presents a story as a living entity, able to adapt and to connect with other stories, thoughts or people. It shows you stories as the natural occurrence of everyday combinations. It puts stories within people's reach.

Beyond the sheer endurance that Harris must have deployed to put together this fantastic Periodic Table, it's the crystal clear vision that the man has for narrative that really blew my mind. You have to love stories deeply in order to be able to break them down so well, so thoroughly and so concisely. It takes affection for the medium and the form. Well done James.

Stories can be built. Stories can be assembled. Like any structure, it then requires polish and adjustment in order for the pieces to fit together seamlessly. That is where a writer's voice shines through. Some spend hours and days trying to re-invent the classic three act plot, while others write on the shoulders of giants and tell their stories high and loud.

To each his own. For me, it's just about the chemistry.