Myths of Creativity and Creators – How They Hold Us Back
“I just thought making movies was something done by geniuses, and I was very clear that I wasn’t one of those.” Jane Campion
When “The Artist’s Way” author and creativity coach Julia Cameron has asked people to list ten traits they think artists have, their responses have included: “Artists are broke,” “Artists are crazy,” “Artists are drug-addicted” and “Artists are drunk.”
Other myths and ideas about being an artist:
“Artists must be poor and sacrifice their well-being for their art.”
“Artists should accept the solitary life and find solutions on their own.”
“You can’t be a mother and a successful artist.”
“Artists are right-brained and aren’t very good at left-brain stuff like running a business.”
As creative people, even after achieving some recognition for our talents, we can experience self-critical thoughts and insecurity, such as impostor feelings – sometimes based on these kinds of myths we have picked up about creative “genius” or artists.
Director, writer and producer Jane Campion, praised for “The Piano” and other films, once commented, “I never have had the confidence to approach film making straight on. I just thought it was something done by geniuses, and I was very clear that I wasn’t one of those.”


Writer and director Dee Rees is referring to her movie “Pariah” – about a lesbian teenager struggling to keep her sexuality a secret from her family.
According to a Psych Central entry (by Renée Grinnell), catharsis means “the first full realization and expression of emotions surrounding significant occurrences in one’s past; emotional release.”
Among other creative works, Diablo Cody wrote a couple of my favorite films: Juno, and Jennifer’s Body, and the richly dramatic and comedic – and unfortunately canceled – TV series United States of Tara, executive produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Toni Collette.
Week 10. The Addiction Key
What do you do when your primary creative endeavor does not support you enough emotionally or financially?
One of the enduring ideas about creative expression is that it comes from sparks of inspiration out of our unconscious, breaking through to awareness.
“I want to do wardrobe. I want to do hair. I want to do makeup. I want to do writing. I want to do directing. And I want to do producing. I want to do all of it. I like it.“ Abigail Breslin
“When you begin to act on your creativity, what you find inside may be more valuable than what you produce for the external world.”