Not being creative late in life seems unnatural to me. Creativity is not a river flowing through me that is going to dry up as my skin wrinkles and my arteries clog.
My job does require that I be creative, however, I am creative in my every-day life, too. I have kept journals for years in which I have recorded life events, but I also have spent a lot of time collecting funny stories such as incidents that took place on the bus, or in the supermarket. The exercise for me is not just to relay funny events like they are jokes, but to tell the story in a way that reader can picture what happened and appreciate the setting as well as the exchange. I often share my stories with my sons. They have their favorites such as A Squirrely Day in the Park and The Little Ole Lady From South Carolina.
Maybe someday I'll get organized enough to put all my stories together. To do that I will need to dig out years and years of journals, try to read my own handwriting, and start typing. I'll be really happy when I can get to it.
I don't see my creativity slowing down at all. In fact, one of my squirrel stories is evolving into a children's book. On the recommendation of my sons I am still working on editing the part where the old man yells: "The pigeon is going after the squirrel's nuts!"
Ditkoff asks if an old dog can learn new tricks. This (50ish) old dog can INVENT new tricks, not just learn 'em. I'm sure you can too. Have a look at his presentation by clicking the link below.
http://www.slideshare.net/MitchDitkoff/creativity-late-in-life
My job does require that I be creative, however, I am creative in my every-day life, too. I have kept journals for years in which I have recorded life events, but I also have spent a lot of time collecting funny stories such as incidents that took place on the bus, or in the supermarket. The exercise for me is not just to relay funny events like they are jokes, but to tell the story in a way that reader can picture what happened and appreciate the setting as well as the exchange. I often share my stories with my sons. They have their favorites such as A Squirrely Day in the Park and The Little Ole Lady From South Carolina.
Maybe someday I'll get organized enough to put all my stories together. To do that I will need to dig out years and years of journals, try to read my own handwriting, and start typing. I'll be really happy when I can get to it.
I don't see my creativity slowing down at all. In fact, one of my squirrel stories is evolving into a children's book. On the recommendation of my sons I am still working on editing the part where the old man yells: "The pigeon is going after the squirrel's nuts!"
Ditkoff asks if an old dog can learn new tricks. This (50ish) old dog can INVENT new tricks, not just learn 'em. I'm sure you can too. Have a look at his presentation by clicking the link below.
http://www.slideshare.net/MitchDitkoff/creativity-late-in-life
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