Keeping a Spark File

Spark files are genius and I can’t believe no one told me about them until I first heard of a similar concept in Twyla Tharp’s book, “The Creative Habit”.  Twyla starts “…every dance with a box.  I write the project name on the box, and as the piece progresses I fill it up with every item that went into the making of the dance.  This means notebooks, news clippings, CDs, videotapes of me working alone in my studio, videos of the dancers rehearsing, books and photographs and pieces of art that may have inspired me.  The box documents the active research on every project…One of the biggest fears for a creative person is that some brilliant idea will get lost because you didn’t write it down and put it in a safe place.  I don’t worry about that because I know where to find it.  It’s all in the box.”  Twyla’s use of the box is project specific; it’s the place she goes to both fill up and check out with creative inspiration and ideas.

Another version of this is called a Spark File.  A spark file can be physical or digital or both.  Personally, I keep a Word doc on my desktop and anytime I come across a concept, exercise, quote, piece of art that I find interesting or intriguing, I put it in my doc, aka my Spark File.  There have been many times when I’ve been stuck and gone to my Spark File to find just the nugget that I need to help me see a new path.  Heck, these blogs are partly an amalgamation of information that I’ve been acquiring over the years in my Spark File.

Figure out how you want to structure your Spark File and then keep it handy on your desktop or phone or night table and be sure to make an inspiration investment every time you find something worthy, I promise it will pay off in dividends anytime you need a little spark to get you going.