Scenic Route

 

 

Sometimes I just feel like I need a breath of fresh air. But I wanted to express that in a picture. So how about some dandelions and wind turbines backed by a waterfall?

Originality

 Continuing on the themes of starting out with an idea, I think it’s going to nourish your inspiration and exercise your brain if we have a little talk about Originality. I’ve gotten into numerous debates with creators about the definition and application about this word, so first I’m going to encourage you.

BE ORIGINAL. Make sure that at the end of the day you can cast your proud signature on your masterpiece with the complete knowledge that it is utterly yours, something researched, developed, manufactured and strategized in your brain. 

Now I’m going to shed some light on the subject.

Let’s define originality first, shall we?

The top Google definition result for originality defines it as: “the ability to think independently and creatively” OR, “the quality of being novel or unusual.” Dictionary.com, Cambridge, Vocabulary.com, and Merriam Webster all express this definition in a similar way: A quality, a power, or a trait. But…uh oh. Macmillan takes it farther by saying “the quality of being new, interesting, and different from anything that anyone has created before”. 

So herein lies the debate. We have a divide between a relative and absolute interpretation of the word.

Macmillan Dictionary, as well as a large population of artists, writers and the general public, argue that originality is only applied in the absolute context. It is only a yes or no. All or nothing. This means that if one iota of your manuscript is derived from something else, even if it’s lavished with groundbreaking territory, it is not original.

But consider this, almost none of the adjectives we use in the English language convey an absolute purity or coherence to its word. You can call a movie “good” even if it has some improvable spots. You can call a sundae “sweet” even if it has some chopped walnuts. You can call your day “hectic” if the first 30 minutes was mellow, and You can call a shirt “red” even if the hue isn’t R: 255 G: 0 B:0. See? In the same way, content doesn’t need to be perfectly original to be original.

Consider I want to paint an “original” concept. I’ll paint a horse. Been done a million times before. Let’s make it a blaring red-orange Pegasus whose coat was made of fire. On top of that, let me paint some tortured and wounded farmers who were attacked by said Pegasus for their unethical treatment of animals.

 See what I did there? Have you heard of an equestrian incarnation of a Phoenix who served as a vigilante to exact justice on abused farm animals everywhere?

Though if you broke up the parts of the concept: Horse, Phoenix, Vigilante, some may say it isn’t “original” because I didn’t invent any of those concepts. But the combination certainly has not been conceived or illustrated by the vast vast majority of the population.

THIS, here is originality. And with continuing your train of thought and letting your imagination run wild, you can take a very very simplistic concept and transform it into something marvelously original over time. So keep writing and keep scheming!

The Thrillseekers - Song for Sendai

 

This for me is one of the quintessential and personal favorites of techno trance songs.  Its classic club production is soon contrasted by a more meditative melody which underscores the tragedy that inspired it. Energetic synths meet an emotionally haunting piano both of which demand your attention. And the result is a piece that feels profound and hopeful.