CREATIVITY IS AGELESS!

If you think creativity ends after a certain age, guess again. In April The New York Times carried the announcement that Herman Wouk, famed author of the The Caine Mutiny, The Naked and the Dead, The Winds of War, and other great works, is coming out with a new book,The Law Giver. He was born in 1915 and is 96 years old.  And still writing away! Now how is that for life long creativity?

He wrote his first novel during World War II when he was in the Navy sailing on a minesweeper in the South Pacific. What’s his secret besides having longevity? Wouk has kept a personal diary since the 1930s. On September 10, 2008, he formally presented the Library of Congress with his journals---over 90 volumes (he kept copies). He keeps them so that he can remember what happened during his life with greater detail and accuracy.

No matter what age you are and no matter what your creative outlet…painting, writing, sculpture, acting, etc., don’t be stopped from pursuing your goal, just because you are 50, 60, 70, 80 or older like Herman. Science shows that the brain is always rewiring. It is the rewiring that gives us the ability to continue to be creative. But it needs to be stimulated to keep it going. Yes, use it or lose it. What better way to use it than doing something creative.

His advice to aspiring authors: "Write a page a day. It will add up."