Honest Creativity: The Foundations of Boundless, Good, and Inspired Innovation

Creativity is “nurtured in silence, humility and practice,” according to this impassioned outing from filmmaker Detweiler (iGods). Citing the limits of artificial intelligence, he makes clear that while the technology can “mechanize the imagination” by churning out pages of literature in the style of great writers, only humans exercise the type of creativity that makes space for vulnerability and failure—and thus originality. Detweiler guides readers through the creative process, from “rediscover[ing] a sense of play” in the “preparatory stage” to polishing work in “postproduction.” Along the way, he cites biblical examples of divinely inspired creativity; discourages drug use as artistic fuel; and urges readers to seek inspiration in mundane experience, memories, and dreams (Paul McCartney composed “Yesterday” in his sleep, Detweiler notes, with the song emerging “so fully formed that McCartney didn’t think he’d wrote it”). While his anti-AI protestations come across as defensive, Detweiler makes a convincing case for prizing experimentation over productivity, reminding readers to “set aside our script or agenda long enough to see and hear the bounty before us.” Christian creatives will be buoyed. (Feb.)