The Context
We have to keep pulling our triggers for joy if we're going to make it through life. Engaging in creation that's uniquely appealing to us isn't something to be shamed. If listening to a certain album made us happy yesterday, and we want to feel that same feeling again today, then we make no qualms about pressing play. Same goes for our creative work.
The Tool
Motifing
MOTIFING — Engaging in guilt free creative projects that are uniquely appealing to you
Patchett, the bestselling author, famously explained that all of her novels are actually the same book. If you review her catalog, each title tells the same story of strangers who are thrown together by circumstance and form lasting connections. Despite different settings, characters and dramatic events, she's always retelling the same story of her own family trauma and how she coped with it. Subconsciously, the author says, that's the single subject she keeps untangling and unpacking with each novel. Isn't that an inspiration? Anne is widely successful artist who is taking ownership over her own creative redundancy. She doesn't care if she's writing the same book over and over again, because some feelings need to be experienced over and over again. Some stories need to be retold many times.
The Rest
Novelty is not always what you need. Once isn't enough to make things stick. You have to keep hitting yourself over the head with the same question in order to find better and better answers. What's your favorite motif to repeat over and over in your work?
The Benefits
Overcome your fear of being redundant and just make things
Strike a healthy balance between novelty and repetition in your work
Give yourself permission to indulge in whatever type of creating makes you happy
Develop a motif, rhythm and signature that you and your audiences know and love