Creative Subtraction
Brave artists know that subtraction a critical part of the creative process
I find that subtraction is a vital aspect of my creative process that requires me to think differently than I typically do when being "creative".
When I start a song or piece of writing like this one, I tend to overdo it. I add all my ideas as time allows or until I'm exhausted. Then, I take a break or leave some time before returning to the creative work and thinking about subtracting.
Can we Change Our Perspective?
What if we called a subtraction phase creating too?
I'm heading to the studio to do some song-cutting.
I'm pruning a blog article today just doesn't sound as creative as writing one.
Imagine writing a book and thinking OK, I've got 50K words and I need to get it down to 30K words by the end of the month. You may well have a better book by having it shorter and eliminating all the additional ideas and tangents you thought needed to be there at the outset.
I'm reminded of the quote:
"If I had more time, I would have written you a shorter letter.”
I think this can also be said for a shorter song, poem, speech, book, video, and so on.
These days, I notice that the streaming networks routinely publish long seasons and movies that could easily be shorter and more to the point. They don't edit them tightly because they don't have to, and it would take even more time to tighten up the edits and make a shorter film.
Why does it take longer to edit our work?
Why is cutting our ideas and getting to the point sometimes excruciating?
I don't know! Better ask someone else… only kidding! My take? Subtraction takes longer because each cut or deletion is a decision and decisions take time.
The Law of Subtraction
Imagine a film director who must cut 20 minutes to keep her film under 2 hours. To do this, she must view her work through the eyes of a first-time audience, setting aside her intimate knowledge of the project.
The challenge lies not only in deciding which scenes are essential but also in questioning why certain elements were added in the first place. Creators often need to confront their attachment to the original idea, sometimes having to talk themselves out of it.
With each edit, she must reassess the film, constantly reimagining it to ensure it remains engaging, focused, and true to its core message.
Fatal Subtraction
Subtraction can feel anti-creative if we don’t consider it differently.
In her book Subtract, Liedy Klotz offers that part of the problem with embracing subtraction is that we don't often get credit for subtracting.
I think I know that feeling pretty well. How about you?
Here’s another longer passage from Klotz’s book:
That lands with me, but the emotional quality of subtracting haunts me at times. I plan to work on this more intentionally this year. I’ll try and succinctly share my progress as I go.
Follow along in my monthly newsletter if you’d like to hear more: https://buttondown.email/davehilljr
In closing, here is one more quote I like:
“To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day. - Lao Tzu
How does subtraction fit into your creative process?
Do you think about subtraction or editing differently than other creative aspects?
How do you approach doing less for a more impactful result?
I’d love to hear from you!
💯