One Question To Ask Before You Start Something New

by Joel Falconer

Artists like to start new projects all the time. New songs, new books, new paintings; and many of them never see the light of the day, not to mention completion.

It’s something we do to deal with the massive amounts of creativity we have bubbling away under the surface - so many avenues and directions we want to explore, but simply not enough time to explore them all in full.

Skellie recently wrote about five questions you should ask before you start new projects (though she’s talking about ‘projects’ in the wider sense, not just the arts) and it’s a very good reference. Everyone should ask these questions when they start a project.

But I had one question to add and I think you might find it helpful too.

That question is:

How will this help other people?

It’s not just a matter of asking will this help others, but how, and how much? Is it worth the effort to do this for the long term, or is it just to satisfy myself?

Self-interested projects that don’t help anyone don’t get off the ground. They either fizzle out before they become a reality (usually the best way for them to go) or they never pick up any interest from the public.

Asking this question determines a few key factors for you:

1. Can you sustain your own interest? If others are taking an interest in your work (because it helps them), it’s far more likely.
2. Is it worth the time from not just a business perspective, but an inherent value perspective - and hence, will it still be relevant and helpful in the future?
3. Can you make a living from it? You can usually only make a livable income when you’re really providing value and helping others, or you’re ripping them off.

And no true Creative Artist would want to rip anyone off.

Sometimes you’ll want to create things for selfish reasons (such as writing a song to vent emotionally), and that’s perfectly fine - and sometimes this can end up becoming helpful to others anyway.

But if you want to create classic, long-lasting works of art, or solid projects in general, it’s a question worth asking.

Where do we go now?

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If you'd rather we did all the hard work, you're in luck. Here's a list of articles that are related to this one:

• The Points of the Creative Artists’ Code: Twenty-one - Never throw your work away
• A Powerful Concept for Creativity - Function determines structure and content
• Radiohead - What will the fans (market) do?
• The Points of the Creative Artists’ Code: Twenty-three - The Search for Unique Viewpoints
• How to Escape Your Creative Rut - The Editor’s Desk