Creative iteration

How to let your creative projects evolve. Don't stress.

Author

Chris Valdheims
December 17, 2023

Listen to this episode: “Creative iteration”

"Start putting stuff out there and then see what people think. And then based on what people think and what you wanna say and what you wanna do, create more stuff, iterate."

I started this project with an entirely different intention than what you often hear.

What you hear in these podcasts lines up with that intention, but that initial intention for what I wanted to do differed from what I've been creating.

And I've been learning to accept that blurring of intention as a natural part of my/the creative process.

I started the podcast because I wrote a book about discovering my family and grandfather (see last week's newsletter). I ended up with so much material and information that didn't fit in the book.

I wanted to share that stuff with people but didn't want to write a 600-page book chock full of footnotes (but that does have an appeal).

So, I figured I would do a podcast as an easy way to explore the stuff that didn't fit in my book.

But, I quickly found myself talking more about the creative process and the lessons I had learned in writing and honing my creativity by telling my personal story. I started with an episode about perfectionism (enemy number one for me) and wound my way through episodes on comparison (another enemy) and my heroic efforts to avoid writing.

People seem interested in both things and share what they like with me via email and message.

That tells me what's working, what's boring, and what I might want to talk more about.

✨ It's a process of creative iteration.

And that's what I am chatting about on this week's podcast episode. I discuss how we can begin a creative project, get feedback, and adjust the course. And how helpful feedback can grow our creative projects alongside those who engage with them.

This method of putting stuff out there and learning what people respond to really helps me refine my ideas, and I think it will work for many of you.

Listen to this episode: “Creative iteration”

PS - What do you think about creative iteration? 🖤