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What Is Creative? - Part 2

We sometimes call a writer "creative" when what we mean is "clever" or even "perceptive." There has been a rash of what we now refer to as "social critics" writing of late. These people are highly skilled at pointing out the flaws and problems of what­ever their field of the moment happens to be, and at presenting their discoveries in sharp and cutting and often amusing fashions. But merely pointing out problems does not complete the creative cycle—it only starts it. And much more of the credit for creative-ness should go to the person who picks up the problem, develops the ideas to solve it, and puts the idea into action to effect the solution.

Please don't, at this point, begin to "write off" talent, original­ity, or imagination as requirements for creativity. As we shall see later, each of these attributes has a definite contribution to make to the creative process. But none of them alone earns a person the right to be called "creative."

Creativeness, in the best sense of the word, requires two things: an original concept, or "idea," and a benefit to someone. Now many people think up original concepts but fail to follow through on them, so that no benefit ever results. And many people think up original concepts that are more harmful than good  (there have been many highly imaginative people on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" listings!). So to simplify the definition even more, we can say that creativeness requires new and beneficial ideas put into action.

(There are some people who feel very strongly that the word "creative" should never be applied to any efforts of man. It is a term they would rather have reserved to the works of God. To these, we can only point out that their Bible will tell them that man was created in the "image of God." It does not say that this "image" referred only to man's outward appearance to the exclu­sion of his mental abilities. In fact, it is doubtful whether even the most erudite Biblical scholar can say that the only God-image involved in man isn’t his mind!)

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