Finding The Deeper Message Within Your Creative Work
Every creative idea has at its core a message. Something that makes it bigger than just the individual creation, a contribution to a conversation going on in the world.
Your message is what you want to say with your work, it’s your view of the world and what you want to inspire in others. Finding your message is part of what I call doing the groundwork of making an idea happen, and it’s closely related to many other concepts. Theme. Brand story. Your why, purpose, intention or north star.
It can change over time, as you change and grow and discover new avenues in your creative work. But finding what it is in each phase of your creative journey can be such a beacon of light, helping you understand what it is you’re really aching to create, and how to communicate it too.
The message of my creative work
The message of my creative business has grown out of doing creative work over the past four years. Essentially, it’s this:
A slower and more creative life is possible.
It’s what I needed to believe when I was frustrated with my life being one lacking creativity and then, when I started to create, constantly overwhelming and stressful. It’s what I’ve shown to myself is true as I’ve created it for myself, even alongside a regular 9-5 job.
My message is rooted in my philosophy around doing creative work. It’s not the way for everyone, but it’s a perspective that the right people will be drawn to. It’s the mark I want to make.
My novel has a message of its own, but I can see the broader message of my creative work in it too. It’s a thread that runs through everything I create.
The many benefits of a message
Before we move onto finding your message, I want to spend a minute on why I think a message is so powerful.
First of all, it gives your creation context. A photo of a tree can just be a photo of a tree, but it can also be part of something bigger. If your message is to protect our forests, it’s a an example of the thing we want to cherish. If your message is it embrace our every day moments, it’s a reminder to look at the trees you pass by. If your message is to use nature in design, it’s an interesting shape to take inspiration from. Your message gives your creation a deeper meaning and a frame for understanding it.
Secondly, you can tie together many different creations with a message that flows through it all. If you’re an artist who both like to make big paintings and knit hats, you can tie those two crafts together with a message. Again, making each creation part of a bigger picture. This is essentially what branding does.
Finally, and most importantly, a message unites people. If they agree with your message, it will create an instant connection and they will be that much more interested in what you create. They’ll be more devoted to you, because it’s a devotion to that message too. You are joined by a worldview that you both want to see happen.
Finding your message
Finding what you want to say with your creative work can be a long process. In a project like writing a novel, figuring that out is often part of writing the novel itself. At the beginning it might be hazy and vague, and as you write it becomes slowly clearer.
I’d say few of us will come up with a polished and lasting message in a vacuum. More likely the message will grow out of starting to create and slowly becoming clearer on what it is you’re trying to say.
But just creating and waiting for a message to pop up might not be enough either. It’s the act of looking that will make you uncover it. These are some questions you might find helpful in looking for your message:
What is my creative work really about?
What do I believe to be true about life and the world, that informs what I create?
Why do I create what I create?
If I inspire people to believe or do one thing, what do I want it be?
What change in the world do I want to contribute to, big or small?
These aren’t questions to answer once and be done with it. It’s an ongoing exploration to return to regularly.
But let’s say you have a good idea about what your message is. Then what do you do with it? Of course, it depends on what you’re creating. In some cases, stating it outright might work well. In others, like when writing a novel, the message is told through the story.
But regardless of the shape of your creative work, if you’re the only one who will know what it is, it won’t do much will it? So let your message inform everything you create. Let it run through it all and tie it together, making what you create all the more impactful.
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