The Sacred Duty of Being Creative

I haven't posted anything here for months. To those who have been paying attention, please accept my sincerest apologies. In fact, I haven't posted anything on this site since June, 2020. According to the stats, however, I think most of you come to this blog because of your interest in The One Ring roleplaying game, which is a good thing or I might not have any visitors at all!

Given that a vast majority of you are J.R.R. Tolkien fans, I try to keep most of my posts related to him in some way. This post will be no different.

Let me begin by asking you a couple of questions. When was the last time you really worked on improving your creativity? Did you know you have a sacred duty to be creative?

A couple of years ago I picked up a book called Caffeine for the Creative Mind by Stefan Mumaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield. It was during a time that I was re-discovering drawing again after a long absence. I wanted to start my creative juices flowing again and I needed some practical exercises to kickstart the process. The book did not disappoint. Not only was it filled with practical and creative exercises, it was filled with teaching about creativity in general. Very inspirational.

Here is a sample of the kinds of things taught in this book:

• Everyone on the planet is creative.
• The only difference between you and those you think are truly creative is execution.
• Creativity is a muscle.
• Creativity is producing something original which has value to others because it makes them laugh, cry, or think.

I named this Blogger site Advancement Points because my goal is to provide thoughtful content to anyone desiring to improve their life. One sure way of advancing your life is to exercise your creativity. Tolkien believed that we are all sub-creators; that we are a reflection of our Creator.  

In his book The Proverbs of Middle-earth (1981), Author David Rowe provides this take on the subject: 

"Tolkien’s original hope, to provide a mythology for his beloved but generally legend-free England, was far more than a quest for exciting stories. He believed that the creative process of myth-making is nothing short of a sacred task; that humans have a special responsibility to reflect their Creator by becoming sub-creators. As a result, Tolkien sought to bring into being an internally cohesive sub-creation, credible in every way; having the air of being well-worn and lived in, not fresh from the oven. When sub-creation is successful, the inner consistency of wholly fictional environments is so convincing, so real, that the imagination is enchanted and the reader under the storyteller’s spell. But this ambition (in Tolkien’s estimation, at least) could only be fully realised by the handcrafting of an entire world—from the minutiae of geology and regional flora to the dealings of characters and cultures over the course of millennia. Each intricately detailed leaf on Tolkien’s Tree demonstrates this tireless pursuit of depth and a convincing ‘inner reality.’ The Council of Elrond, for example, begins with an extended history lesson before showcasing a range of cross-cultural disagreements, all packed with authentic-feeling historical and anthropological detail (and not a few proverbs). Likewise, when Pippin corrects King Théoden’s Holbytlan to Hobbits the narrative is not advanced, but the exchange has an underlying etymological integrity that serves to provide (what Tom Shippey calls) the ‘illusion of historical truth.’"

As a result of these beliefs and unwavering dedication to them, we have The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings. These are great works of sub-creation.

What sort of beliefs do you have about your own creativity and responsibility to create? What will you create next? Are you willing to work hard at it and dedicate yourself to it? 

I will end this post with a final comment about Tolkien. I have read many times that Tolkien struggled to finish The Lord of the Rings, "the new Hobbit." He began writing it in late 1937 and wrote in stages until he finished in 1949. Twelve years is a long time, but he didn't give up. With the encouragement of C.S. Lewis, he kept going. And even after he finished writing, he failed negotiations with Collins to publish it in 1952. Tolkien would have to wait until July 1954 before The Fellowship of the Ring was finally published by Allen & Unwin.

The lesson? Never give up on being a sub-creator and make sure you surround yourself with encouraging friends. You will need them!