Michael Nobbs is a full-time artist, blogger and tea drinker (not necessarily in that order). He is the author of the popular blog Sustainably Creative and regularly publishes, The Beany, an illustrated journal of his life. In the late 1990s he was diagnosed with ME/CFS and, over the last decade, has learnt a lot about sustaining a creative career with limited energy. He recently published an eBook on the subject, Sustainable Creativity. 

                                                                                                        

How embracing imperfection and the wonders of the digital world can keep us on creative track.

Don't let a fear of imperfection stop you in your tracks just got on with creating something. The wonders of the digital world means you can always update your creations later.

In the old day writers' and artists' imperfections were largely set in stone. Traditional media was very unforgiving of the notion of doing the work now and then tweaking and putting it right later. The expense of publishing a book didn't allow for mass recalls and reissuing if the a major typo was discovered or if the author decided they would like to add a few more chapters. An artist whose work is hanging in a gallery couldn't decide that they would like to repaint a section of the work. A poem would have been considered finished if it was printed in an anthology. A film would be wrapped up once the final reel was printed. 

The notion of "finished" could be a thing of the past

Consider how the world has changed. Now that we have moved on from typewriters to keyboards we can edit and re-edit without the need for correction fluid (or even paper). These re-edits can go on beyond publication. On the simplest level this could just be updating a webpage or blog post to correct a previously missed typo or to add some new information that wasn't available at the time of writing. On a more complicated (and very exciting) level this could mean constantly developing a digital product, updating it and sending it out to its current audience. If they wish digital artists can update work that hangs in digital frames in a gallery, poets can publish poems "live" to a self-updating digital anthology. If we wish, the notion of "finished" could be a thing of the past.

Shake off the fear of imperfection

What is even more exciting about this freedom from the notion of finished is that creatives can once and for all shake of the fear of imperfection and just get on with creating. Now nothing is set in stone we can experiment and develop our ideas. We can play in the digital sandpit. 

The fear of "getting it wrong" is something that scares many of us from ever putting a mark on a crisp new sheet of paper. Now this paper can be a digital one, clean and fresh as many times as we like at the touch of button,the making of that first mark has never been so easy. And it is from first marks (or first keystroke, shutter release press or video clip!) that wonderful things can grow. 

It's never been so easy to make a living from work in progress

What's more, it has never been so easy for creative professionals to make a living from their work in progress. Offering something compelling with more to come as a project develops is a great way to attract an audience that is both loyal and willing to interact with you and each other. The development of a project becomes part of the story of the product and we all know how important a story is in this age of social media. 

I'm increasingly learning to work like this myself. As someone with very limited energy because of a chronic illness I have had to learn to focus my creative efforts in as most efficient ways possible. I also need to generate an income on a regular basis. Back at the end of last year I released a "beta version" of a new ebook to a limited audience, and have just released an updated version to more people with the promise of more to come. This model works very well for me. It could for you too. 

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