What's Your (Creative) Type?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  How did you think of that? Where did that idea come from? How often have we wondered about that or been asked that? How often have we tried to untangle and understand our own thought processes? How do the successful people do it?

Those of us who do something creative—writing, or painting, or music, whatever it is—why are we the ones who feel compelled to do so?  If we understood our own creativity, could we-- be better at it?

The brilliant Meta Wagner has thought about this—not only for herself, but for all of us. And because we all love to take quizzes (and believe the answers,) she studied the human mind, and created a structure of “creative types.” 

And she suggests, in her fascinating new book WHAT’S YOUR CREATIVE TYPE? we all fit into one of them. All we have to do is take her quiz to find out which one! (And then get her book to find out what it means--and how it can help!)

Which one are you? Turns out I’m a—well, first, let’s hear more from Meta.  

HANK: Can you remember a time when you were completely engrossed in a creative activity as a child? How has that memory shaped you as a writer?

MetaWagner: When I was a kid, I’d wake up on Sunday mornings way earlier than my parents or my sister. Still in my PJs, I’d sit on my bedroom floor and write little poems and stories during those hours of solitude and put them in a shoebox that I kept in a secret hiding place. I don’t really know why I felt the need for such secrecy! There was something about the early morning quiet that allowed me to just be in the moment, without anything else to do. It was pure.

It’s harder for me to find that pure experience now. But I think where I come closest is when I’m on deadline and there’s no time for distractions – I’m focused and there are just my ideas and my words and my desire to make the writing sharp, mostly for my own satisfaction.

Hank: You’ve developed the concept of the five creative types. How did you come up with it, and what are the types?

Meta: I teach a class at Emerson College that asks the question, “Why do people create?” I looked into hundreds of famous creators in all the arts, from Ernest Hemingway to Meryl Streep to Lin-Manuel Miranda, and I discovered that they have such a clear understanding of their reasons for doing creative work. At the same time, I, personally, kept coming up with new book ideas that I’d be really excited about but then abandon out of fear or doubts. Sound familiar to anyone?

I wondered, what if we all could become motivated like the masters? And so I grouped their motivations into five categories and translated those into creative types: A-Lister, Artisan, Game Changer, Sensitive Soul, and Activist. Once people identify their type and become aware of their strongest motivations, they can return to these motivations anytime they have trouble getting started or breaking through creative blocks.

Hank: In honor of Mother’s Day, what advice to you have for moms who want to write or paint or do anything creative but can’t seem to find the time?

Meta: If you’re a mom who’s pulled in multiple directions with barely a moment for yourself, creativity might seem like a low priority or a luxury you can’t afford. But, I believe if the creative urge is strong in you, you’ll find a way.

Creative expression is also important—study after study shows that it’s good for your mental health! Maybe you could spend ten minutes a day doing creative writing exercises or plotting your novel. Maybe once a month you could go to a reading at a bookstore to get inspired. And, then, as your kids get older, you might finally have the time to write the novel you’ve been “training” for all these years.

Jungle Reds, tell us why writing (or any creative activity) is so important to you? What are your motivations for doing it?

HANK: And as it turns out—my quiz results were very different from what I predicted! Whoa. Now I have to see what that means.  And Reds and readers--what's your type?

To figure out your creative type, take this fun quiz and post the results  in the comments--and on Facebook and Twitter if you’d like! http://snapp.to/2lHVOEY

And read more about the book and Meta below!

WHAT’S YOUR CREATIVE TYPE?: Harness the Power of Your Artistic Personality

By Meta Wagner

How do the world’s greatest creators produce such amazing works despite experiencing the same doubts and fears as the rest of us? What’s Your Creative Type? cracks the code, revealing that legendary artists don’t just possess talent, they also understand their motivations for creating. Whether you write, paint, film, act, dance, develop software, or even play the ukulele as a hobby or a profession, What’s Your Creative Type? can teach you to identify your creative type (A-Lister, Artisan, Game Changer, Sensitive Soul, or Activist) and discover your motivations so you can break through blocks to finally fulfill your creative potential.

 

Meta Wagner is the author of What's Your Creative Type (Seal Press). She is a contributor to Boston Globe opinion pages, was a columnist for PopMatters, and has written for Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune, Salon, and Wall Street Journal custom studios. She was also a 2017 TedxBU speaker. Meta teaches creative and communications writing at Emerson College and Boston University and also teaches a seminar on creativity that served as the basis for her book. Her background is in public relations and marketing. To connect with Meta, visit www.metawagner.com.

Sex and the Single Sleuth

RHYS BOWEN: When I first started writing my Molly Murphy mysteries, which was almost 15 years ago now, my editor was insistent that I cut out a sexy scene.  She felt it detracted from a serious mystery and I shouldn’t be crossing into romance.I was told that mystery readers didn't want romance. I disagreed and felt the scene was important to my characters and the plot. We compromised and I was allowed a toned-down scene.

 Things have changed a little since then and I also started writing a second series with a wild and wicked Irish hero called Darcy O’Mara.  When I first created him as a love interest I didn’t realize how obsessed some of my readers would be with him—including my current editor. We were having a serious editorial discussion once when she said, “Do you think that Darcy could take off his shirt more often?”
    I get emails that say “More Darcy please.” Whether I like it or not I have crossed over to a certain extent into the realm of romance. Or is that mysteries are just getting more sexy?
    A plot thread running through my Royal Spyness series has been that my heroine, Lady Georgie, is a virgin and we’ve had that ongoing will they/won’t they tension. It’s the Moonlighting syndrome, I suppose, but I happen to love a touch of romance and that sexual tension (and of course it adds to the humor, as they are lighthearted novels).
  Recently I’ve been getting pressure from fans that it’s finally about time that they DID IT.  So I thought I’d try a social experiment and ask my  Facebook fans whether they should get on with it or wait until they might marry in the future. And I’d abide by their decision.  Well, they were overwhelmingly in favor of waiting until they get married, which surprised me. What also surprised me was the way they wrote as if my characters were real and dear to them.  “She won’t feel comfortable with herself. It goes against the way she’s been raised.”
I think my own take on sex in mysteries, or in any novel , is that it has to be relevant, to further character development or relationship, or create a plot twist. No sexy scenes just to titillate. I’ve read books in which I can almost hear the writer thinking “It’s sort of slow right now. How about they take their clothes off?” I'm not a fan of graphic sex, in fact the sexiest scenes for me are when nothing happens on camera--think of Robert Redford washing Meryl Streep's hair in Out of Africa.

    So I’m curious, dear Reds—what do you feel about sex in mysteries? How do you handle it?  We are certainly not lacking in sexual tension and steamy relationships in Red’s mystery series—Russ and Clare,  Jake and Jane, and of course Duncan and Gemma have had their moments.  Do you think that romantic relationships detract from the mystery? Do you think sexy scenes have a place outside romance novels? Have you had soul searching about whether to further your characters’ relationships? Are you happy with where they are now and where they are going?

LUCY BURDETTE: It's like everything else the characters do--eat, travel, work--if the steamy romance shows character or becomes important to the plot, bring it on! I unfortunately don't seem capable of writing scenes like those. I had my characters kiss in a recent scene, and all of us became embarrassed--from Miss Gloria to Hayley to me. Maybe I feel too much like Hayley's mom?

HALLIE EPHRON: In our discussion of this topic week before last, it was so interesting that the general agreement was: sex and romance in a mystery work when they're integral to the story. Nevertheless, Lady Georgie is a grownup - sounds as if she's going to have to "do it." But then what??

When I read a mystery I usually skip over explicit sex. Yup, I do. TMI. Love my ROKU because when I'm watching a show like Scandal which I sort of love, I can fast forward through the steamy parts. But that's me, and fortunately the world is full of all kinds of readers who love and detest books for identical reasons!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I have no objection to writing (or reading) explicit sex scenes when those scenes further the plot. But how often does that actually happen? Only if something that happened changed the character's motivation or precipitated something integral to the story. And with my main characters, I think sexual tension is always more fun than play-by-play descriptions. I know how it's done--I assume my readers do, too.

As for Georgie, I agree with your readers.  Women of Georgie's class and time period may have been quite promiscuous AFTER marriage, but not before. Imagine Georgie's difficulties if she got pregnant! On the other hand, you can't keep up the will they/won't they forever, and I'd love to see them get married at some point and become a sleuthing team!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I agree that for Georgie, it would be out of character for her to give her all before marriage - the time, her class, and the bad example of her mother, the Bolter, argue against it. Of course, repression can lead to some amazingly steamy moments without the characters hitting the sack.

Any action fictional characters take should, I believe, reveal the character or advance the plot. If you're writing about two people falling in love, or resisting falling in love, or simply working around having the hots for one another, their moments together are going to reveal character and advance the plot. Of course, that doesn't mean the author has to get explicit. When Scarlett wakes up humming and stretching in bed, we all know what happened after Rhett swept her up the stairs the night before.

I think how much the author should show depends on a few things. How explicit action is in the rest of the book? You can't give a detailed description of a bullet bouncing around a victim's brain and then pretend to be too delicate for sex. What's the style and genre? Hardboiled readers expect and accept different things in their fiction than cozy readers, for example. Finally, to what degree does the story hinge on the H/H relationship? If your heroine has a cop boyfriend who pops in every chapter or two to help out, I suspect the readers are perfectly fine with keeping the bedroom door closed. If the love story has been front-burner, driving-the-plot stuff (let's face it, I'm talking about my books, here) readers will be disappointed if they don't get the big payoff they've been waiting for.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Anticipation, aftermath, imagination, longing.  That's what I think is compelling. (Will Jake and Jane get together? On the PAGE? What do you vote?)



SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Dealing with this very subject in the novel I'm right now finishing up, MRS. ROOSEVELT'S CONFIDANTE. Maggie Hope and John Sterling have made it through four books without much more than a smooch, but how long can I keep this up? On the one hand, good girls of that era didn't. And yet, on the other hand, quite a few good girls of that era certainly did — especially with the World War II as a backdrop and everything uncertain. in terms of sex between other characters, I like to do the "fade out" and "fade in" that Julia refers to.

I don't mind reading sex scenes if they're important to the novel, but Miss Edna says she skips them. "I know what goes where," she says, "so let's get on with the story."

RHYS: I agree with Miss Edna (as usual). But we want to hear from you! Does sex belong in mystery novels? Detract from the plot? Annoy you? Let your voices be heard!

It's About Time

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN?  Do you recognize this woman? She’s Emmeline Pankhurst. leader of the British suffragette movement. I hear Meryl Streep is playing her in an upcoming film! And I had to think--mightn't she make a great character in an historical mystery?  

I love when Jungle Red weeks take on themes–themes that weren’t planned. (I once heard David McCullough speak, and someone asked him—do you have themes in your books? And he said yes, and I write the books to discover what they are.)

This week is turning out to be about imagination, and history, and time. About turning characters from one place onto characters from another. You’ll see as this week’s blogs unfold.

So as I was reading D. E. Ireland’s new book (more about “her” in a minute), I was not only humming “I could have read all night” and loving the brilliant idea of having Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins as sleuths (whoa) I also thought about the imaginations of the two friends (Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta) who make up the moniker DE Ireland.

How did their brains work? And it turns out they get inspiration—from the past—the real past, and the fictional past.   They’re making history come alive. (Kind of like—Pygmalion.)

Which, of course, is loverly.

IT’S ABOUT TIME

By Meg Mims and Sharon Piscareta

SHARON: It was the era as much as the characters that intrigued us in our series based on Shaw’s Pygmalion. The years between the official end of the Edwardian era in 1910 and the outbreak of WWI, served as a bridge to our modern world.

Violent protests by suffragettes, the popularity of the cinema and motorcar, and the growing emergence of middle-class women in the workplace helped usher in the 20^th century.

Eliza Doolittle might not have had such an easy time of it had she tried to transform herself from a Cockney flower seller to an elocution teacher during the reign of Queen Victoria.

MEG:  So for Jungle Red, we challenged each other to think of a stand-out historical mystery book or series that also prompted us to write our own.

I chose Kate Ross’s series set in Regency England. All are marvelously complex mysteries that mesmerized me and whetted my dream of writing my own mystery one day.

 Even though I’m not a true fan of the Regency period, I was intrigued by Ross’s unusual amateur sleuth, Julian Kestrel--a new style Sherlock Holmes.

He has a keen intelligence, an uncanny ability to assess others, and varied skills in weapons and stealth that served him well in investigations.  His valet is a former cutpurse, loyal unto death, and the dandified Kestrel wears his clothing and manners like a cloak to hide his real persona.

In Ross’s books, all the lush period details I loved in historical fiction came in spades; the witty dialogue, the cultural and class distinctions between ladies and gentlemen versus servants.

SHARON:     I love historical mysteries that shed new light on an old era. My favorite example is Margaret Lawrence’s superb Hannah Trevor mystery series set in the aftermath of America’s Revolutionary War. Her rendering is historically accurate and all the more eye-opening because of it. Lawrence’s books don’t feature any cheery fife and drum corps, or stirring patriotic speeches by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

Instead we are introduced to a burgeoning nation mired in debt, and struggling to recover from the Loyalist and Patriot divisions that tore communities and families apart.  

In Hearts and Bones, one of the best-written debut books in the genre, midwife Hannah Trevor is abandoned in 1786 Maine after her Loyalist husband flees to Canada. When a townswoman is murdered, Hannah learns the victim had also been raped by men in the Rufford Patriot Division.  Lawrence’s post-American Revolution world is filled with despair, uncertainty and poverty. In such a time, fear and suspicion run high which often lead to events spiraling out of control. In other words, a perfect setting for a mystery series.

MEG: Like Hannah in 1786 Maine, Kestrel in 1820 and Eliza Doolittle in 1913 London, historical characters need to find themselves in the era best suited for them.

SHARON: Twenty – or even ten – years earlier or later can make an enormous difference to both the novel’s characters and storyline. As in life, so it is in literature. Timing is everything.

HANK: Of course, My Fair Lady is based on Pygmalion, but it’s impossible not to envision Audrey Hepburn, right?  Let’s think of other musicals that might contain good amateur sleuths. Oliver? Annie?  (Oh, I am laughing now…)

What do you think, Reds?

And Meg and Sharon have a copy of their new book to give away to TWO lucky commenters!

*******************************

D.E. Ireland is a team of award-winning authors, Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta. Long time friends, they decided to collaborate on this unique series based on George Bernard Shaw’s wonderfully witty play, Pygmalion, and flesh out their own version of events post-Pygmalion.

WOULDN'T IT BE DEADLY   -- Following her successful appearance at an Embassy Ball—where Eliza Doolittle won Professor Henry Higgins’ bet that he could pass off a Cockney flower girl as a duchess—Eliza becomes an assistant to his chief rival Emil Nepommuck. After Nepommuck publicly takes credit for transforming Eliza into a lady, an enraged Higgins submits proof to a London newspaper that Nepommuck is a fraud. When Nepommuck is found with a dagger in his back, Henry Higgins becomes Scotland Yard’s prime suspect. Eliza realizes the only way to clear the Professor’s name is to discover which of Nepommuck’s many enemies is the real killer.

www.deireland.com

www.deireland.com/blog

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