ANDRE BEGIN

Anybody who has spent time in the kitchen knows that when it comes to the execution of a recipe, you simply cannot set the oven to a higher temperature than recommended, bake it for a shorter period of time, and expect the finished product to look like the picture.

Chances are the top could be burnt and the middle might still be raw. Or worse yet, as they often say in cooking shows, we run the risk of a soggy bottom.

If we want to go a little more in-depth in the cooking metaphor, the same can be said for something like making yogurt. There is a narrow band of temperatures at which the warmed milk will encourage the bacterial culture to multiply. But if the milk is too hot, the bacterial culture will die. If the milk is not warm enough, the bacterial culture will not multiply properly.

When it comes to baking and making yogurt, it takes the time it takes.

Why can’t the same be said about creative work? The desire for speed and overnight results seems to run counter to the appetite for quality, meaningful work.

While I am all for tips and tricks to help make our creative processes run more smoothly and efficiently (which could save time in the long run) when the discussion starts shifting to the words “fast” and “faster” I start to cringe.

When I see articles about hacks to speed up the process, I always wonder if there is a price to pay later in having to go back and complete some skipped steps.

Even the expressions “streamline” and “low hanging fruit” tend to trigger me a bit, as I have witnessed situations where the end result may have been delivered on time, but not always as expected.

When it comes to creative work, I tend to believe that as artists we need to be patient with ourselves and with our works of art.

To create anything worthwhile that truly resonates with those who turn to our work for inspiration, appreciation or entertainment, we cannot simply will ourselves into working faster and rush through the creative process.

Maybe it’s just me, but creativity is an iterative process. My best ideas don’t come to me all in one sitting. They are handed to me a few puzzle pieces at a time.

It is my job as an artist to sort through them and to rearrange the puzzle pieces until they finally fit together and produce the final completed product.

And even then, sometimes those puzzle pieces need to be stacked and layered to achieve the full expository effect of nuance.

Also, in this world where artists’ work needs to stand out from the noise of AI, if anything, I believe we need to put more of our humanity into our work. If someone can tell me how that can be rushed, I welcome their input.

After a career of writing documents tailored for business where form letters were commonplace and technical writing did not call for an expression of my personality, if time was of the essence, working toward a deadline did come fairly naturally.

But to create and share a story that might have an impact on a reader and leave a lasting memory, I am quite content with the thought that it takes the time it takes.

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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André