Creator's Block #44 [Podcast]: The Creative's Curse

Before we dive in to today's episode, I want to state something for the official record:

As a designer and a writer/editor respectively, Marcella and I are self-aware enough to admit we occasionally have a flair for melodrama -- slipping a little too easily into the trope being the "tortured artist."

But when we both read The Creative's Curse by Todd Brison, we agreed that it spoke to us; both as the professionals we are at IMPACT and the creatives we are "out in the wild."

Because as much as we hate to admit it, the clichéd notions surrounding the stereotype of artistic temperament are based (at least somewhat) in reality.

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The emotional peaks and valleys. The glory of acceptance and appreciation. The despair of feeling like your work is underappreciated or devalued. The compulsion to create something -- anything. The demoralizing realization when you lose your own voice and have to go out and find it again.

Again, yes, it's a touch melodramatic -- but for anyone in a creative pursuit, this should sound familiar. (Especially in a fast-paced agency environment, where you need to be able to deliver inspired creativity for marketers on-demand.)

So, in this week's episode, we dive into why we do what we do, how we deal with those dark moments when we feel the weight of crushing defeat on our shoulders, and why creatives seem to be so negative all the time.

Enjoy!

Listen to the Episode

What We Talked About

• Why did The Creative's Curse resonate so much with us?
• How does it apply to what we do at IMPACT every day?
• Is this curse really a curse?
• What's the alternative to the stereotypical creative melodrama?
• "If an elephant can paint, you can paint."
• "We want to be consumed by what we do."
• Our spirit fonts, and more... 

Resources We Talked About

• IMPACT Elite Facebook group
• What Is IMPACT Elite?
• The Crossroads of Should and Must (book)
• I'm Comic Sans A*!hole (McSweeney's)
• Papyrus (Saturday Night Live)

We Want to Hear from You!

First, subscribe to Creator's Block on Apple Podcasts. Second, have a question or an idea for a future episode of the podcast? Let us know! 

• Creator's Block: Twitter, Instagram
• Jessie-Lee: Twitter, Instagram
• Marcella: Twitter, Instagram
• Liz: Twitter, Instagram

Or, you can leave us a comment below! Until next week...