Do you think your reporting, research, interviewing, writing, revising and editing are creative?

Unlike fiction writers – unhampered by little more than their imaginations – we journalists stick to facts and strive for accuracy.

We are creative, too, says University of Connecticut professor James C. Kaufman.

He always wanted to be a creative writer, he says.

He tried fiction, poetry, plays, sports writing and news journalism.

In his senior year in college, he decided he wasn’t good enough at any of those.

What did he do?

He found his calling in the psychology of creativity. He set out to learn everything he could about creativity and how our minds work. 

As a result he has written or edited more than 50 books, including Creativity 101.

When he sets out to write a book, his initial inspiration is not what’s most important. For him, the creative process involves research, talking with colleagues about their findings, forcing himself to write when he feels blocked and revising to make a book as readable as possible.

Creativity does not ride in on a thunderbolt. It staggers in on a donkey, one hoof at a time.

We must work each day, some days brilliant, some plodding. But you are in control, not waiting for higher powers to send us a lightning flash.

We might doubt that this happened to Mark Twain, Martha Gellhorn or Ernest Hemingway.

They had to do the work and overcome discouragement like the rest of us.

It’s important to remember that being creative does not mean you have to sacrifice everything else in your life and suffer for your art.

“Creativity comes in all shapes and forms,” Kaufman wrote in the online magazine Aeon.

“You can recognize your own creativity even if it seems minor … even if it feels it’s part of your job.”

To find your inner genius, let yourself be creative in what calls to you. Work at it even if you think you aren’t good – at least not yet.

Read and learn from other writers.

Find tough but honest editors to give you genuine feedback, not stroke your ego.

Practice, practice, practice.

Consider two of my goals in setting your own.

• Write a minimum 1,000 words a day. If you are busy editing your own work, that counts, too.

It also means finding time to do it and take care of your other responsibilities.

• If you are freelancing full- or part-time, go after submissions, not just acceptances. You can’t control acceptances but you can control the number of submissions you send.

“Most of all, let yourself have fun with your creativity,”  Kaufman writes. “Don’t be overly bound by what other people say.

“Few of us will become creators whose work is remembered generations from now, but that does not mean our creativity is not worthwhile.

“We can make a positive impact with our creativity – on ourselves, our loved ones, our communities and maybe even the world.”

Next: Build your readers’ expectations

Looking for holiday gifts for your stars?

Why not give them copies of The Art of Compelling Writing for Christmas or the New Year and take 30 minutes a week to discuss chapters with them?

Volumes 1 and 2 are available at Amazon.com. These books were published to help editors like you teach your reporters how to write well.

Proceeds go to support adult literacy tutoring.

You can help someone learn to read and write.

To comment or with questions, please write JerryBellune@yahoo.com