Writers! John Cleese says check your blind spot

John Cleese: the key to creativity is to avoid interruption.

Go to John Cleese’s IMDB page and be amazed by how prolific he is. From 1963 to 2009 he has 56 credits from Faulty Towers and Monty Python to the Canadian product Just for Laughs. [Did you know he wrote the story for the movie A Fish Called Wanda?] And, of course, there are his 115 credits as an actor and 42 credits as a producer. All these contributions prove Cleese is a creator and lucky for us there’s video of him talking about creativity.

Cleese says he first knew he was creative when he discovered he could take a piece of paper, write something on it and make people laugh.

He says the key to getting into a creative state is to avoid interruption. Trying to keep “all the balls in the air” is destructive to creativity. To combat this, create a space—an oasis where you can’t be bothered. And, give yourself time—a clear block where no one is allowed to bother you.

But even if you do find this space, Cleese says you might be wasting your time.

To know you are good at what you do requires the same skills required to be good at what you do. Translation: if you’re hopeless, you’ll never know it. This is what Cleese calls “the blindspot”.

How do you check your blindspot? Show your work to honest writers and listen to them.

Sudden Publishing helps writers, visit http://www.suddenpublishing.com/ for more information. Contact us for a consultation on your story.