With the Benefit of Structure

It begins like this, yes, a small kiss
then everything comes into gentle focus
each twist of the lens just a speck of dust, then we must
remember why we are here, set out in previous lives

 

Sometimes the external structures which we place on things can really help us to be more creative. Boundaries create a space within which to experiment.

Thus, when we sit down with a blank sheet of paper and no idea what we are going to write about – and set ourselves free, we become instantly blocked. It’s like setting out in the morning on a journey from our doorstep with no idea where we are going. It can work but it is deeply unsettling.

So, sometimes it helps to set boundaries. It helps to be clear about a set of rules that define what we are going to do. For example, we could decide that we are going to write a set of poems and they all have to follow the rules set for a sonnet. That’s a very restrictive set of boundaries. I used this rule set when I wrote a sequence called “foundlings”. I added another set of rules – each poem had to have source material (phrases, sentences or ideas) taken from magazines, newspapers or books that were around me. Having these limitations became strangely liberating. Each time I sat down to write I had a clear set of rules to adhere to – the mind was instantly activated within these boundaries.

Of course, all rules are potentially set up to be broken so I did break the basic rules sometimes. A sonnet might not quite follow the syllable and rhyme rules – or I would use other sonnets in the sequence as the source material. Still, the boundaries were a context in which to work.

I am tidying up my latest collection of poems for publication at the moment. Again, there are clear rules set for the production of the poems – diverse subjects, but each poem begins with a line taken from a source poem. The process worked well.

Another project which I am at the early stages of developing I have already written about here. Taking art work by Edward Burne-Jones in his Flower Book gives me a boundary from which to work. Sometimes the boundary creates a safe space in which to be bounded – sometimes the boundary is one to push to the edges of and maybe even beyond to see where that takes me. Again, it’s a question of using the structure to help with the creative process.

In recent weeks, I have also begun to discuss collaborative ideas with other artists and musicians. Initially this left me with a sense of open-ended-ness that made it very difficult to figure out how to engage. I wanted to be democratic, so I had gone into each conversation with a completely open mind. Just like the blank page I found this approach too daunting. So instead I have started to develop boundaries for each project. These boundaries can be discarded in the collaborative effort, but they act as a framework or structure to get us started.

Where can you use structure and boundaries to make something easier?