Creativity

What is creativity? When we are talking about fiction writing, we are usually talking about taking seeming unrelated things, smooshing them together in unexpected ways, and pulling a book out of your brain through the painful process of translating it from brain to fingers and onto the page.

But lots of time we take what has already been deemed a "classic" and see a whole new spin on it. How could we not, as we are different than the original creators? That doesn't make our efforts less original, though the source material is well known. Instead our efforts, combined with the strong foundation of the original work, can help us reach heights we couldn't achieve on our own.

In light of that, I'd like to present two videos from "The Piano Guys". They are Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson, a pianist and a cellist, respectively. With classically trained musicians, it's almost expected that you keep to the canon of accepted classical music. But they have succeeded in taking it to a whole different level. One is a fascinating interpretation of "Carol of the Bells" in honor of Christmas. The other is a hilarious take on a modern classic. As you listen, see if you can pull inspiration from these classics, with a twist. Imagine what kind of twists you could create on something you know well. It could be just what you need to jump start your writing this winter. Merry Christmas!