The second article from Taylor’s University School Of Communication looks at the creativity process and how one can push for better creativity in a group.

BEING creative is one thing but being creative in a group is a different story.

Creativity is more than just coming up with one or two original ideas.

Chances are high that your team will hit upon pretty much the same “original” ideas as everyone else.

Like Snoopy, the dog in the Peanuts comic strip, we may all compose the same melodramatic opening line: “It was a dark and stormy night”.

Or we may all choose Edward Cullen as our cross-over character!

So how do we avoid such obvious choices and clichés? How can one be genuinely original in storytelling and storyboarding?

Creativity is not who we are but what we do. Research has shown that everyday creativity is a process made up of the following steps:

1. Analyse the task

Creative people always start off by researching the requirements of a particular job.

Make sure that you fully understand what is meant by stories, moral values, crossover characters, cliff-hangers, storyboards, etc.

The articles published in the StarEducate pullouts are an excellent source of information.

2. Generate as many ideas as possible

In creative industries like advertising, design, fashion or music, the wisdom is that quantity breeds quality: the more ideas there are, the more likely it is that one or two of the ideas will be useful.

This also means that you should value each team member’s contribution. Everyone should be actively encouraged to join in with their ideas at every stage of the project.

3. Combine ideas

This is sometimes referred to as divergent thinking. Creativity is often the result of combining existing things in novel and unexpected ways.

When we think of a chair, most of us will think of what it is typically used for. Divergent thinking is aimed at exploring the chair from different perspectives, for example, by combining it with other ideas.

So, an upturned chair can be used to hold a big plastic bag and thus function as a makeshift garbage bin.

4. Evaluate and select ideas

Creative people know how to evaluate and select the winning ideas. Be your own judge. Better still, show your work to people whose judgement you trust.

The truth is that you cannot have two competing plot twists at the same juncture in one and the same story. The team will have to decide. Or use the existing ideas to create a new idea (refer Step Two).

5. Externalise

So far, we have only talked about ideas. Now, we are looking at the actual creative product: the story and the visuals.

As we are writing out our ideas, making sketches for our nine frames and even shooting the video, new ideas will inevitably emerge.

So, be flexible and open-minded. When we externalise the ideas that we have selected, this does not stop the creative process. Where relevant, start a new cycle of idea generation, selection and externalisation.

6. Build acceptance

This is especially important in teams, competitions or when more people are allowed to pitch their creative ideas.

Architects, fashion designers, scriptwriters and film directors all have to be good at convincing others why their ideas are so much better than others. And don’t expect your teammates to accept your ideas at face value without proper justification.

Speaking of teams, which of these steps benefit from working together, and which ones do not?

Research into the creative process has found that groups are much better than individuals at evaluating and selecting ideas (Step Four). However, individuals are much more effective at task analysis and idea generation (Steps One and Two).

It is also useful to set time aside for “creative conversations” in pairs: two people are more likely to generate higher quality ideas and also different types of ideas which they can connect (Step Three).

It is only after the solitary and pairwork stages that it makes sense to organise brainstorming sessions and free-flow discussion with all team members.

Break time

Taking time off is essential throughout the project. “Brain breaks” help you get recharged, refocused and refreshed.

Our mind continues working on a creative task or problem as we sleep or do other unrelated activities. We have all experienced brilliant ideas that simply came out of the blue.

The lesson here is that creativity not only requires teamwork and management but also time to do nothing; in other words, don’t try and finish it all the night before the deadline!

Next week: No pain, no gain — Of climbing story mountains and building character arcs by Siow Yuen Ching, a lecturer at Taylor’s University School of Communication.

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