As a former screenwriter (Loved the format) I can say the biggest difference is that there is no internal thought process on the page. There is only what you see and what you hear. It's the director's job to instruct the actors on what internal struggles to express in their performance.
I think whatever we get back to, will have evolved. What might look like a weakening of the muscle might simply be our investment in more, other, or broader things. So, in your example, you might be keener to write a more ‚cinematic‘ novel, building in the screenwriting you will have developed lately, rather than a novel your old style, which no longer feels so satisfying (and because of that, you don’t commit to it so fully).
I’m amused I’m not the only one to have moved from Ohio to Texas.
As a creative, my processes have evolved and grown over the decades. Every adaptation has built on what came before. I’m not just better than I was - I’m bigger. (Skills... although physically it’s also true but not as desirable!).
So, from the art side, I learned to art, with pencil and paper. Then Ink and then some colored pencil. Then I got way better at colored pencil and that was my medium of choice. Got pretty good at it, not gallery good, but people pay me sometimes good. Then I started learning digital art. I got a program that let you mimic natural media (At the time called Dogwaffle, and now called PD Howler - it's so way cheaper than Corel, PS, etc and so much more versatile!), so I thought I would have a leg up.
And in many ways, I did, but still there were things that had to be adapted and learned to get good pictures, in ways that were way harder than the way I did them with pen and paper. So many times I wanted to just reach out to the screen with a pen and fix something (I did not have, nor could I afford a pen tablet at the time). But, I persevered, and got a good mastery of the kinds of things that I wanted to do with it. And now I can make landscapes like Bob Ross with the program. But, I started to worry about my traditional art skills. Because when I would do a sketch for something...it was not pretty! lol
This same thing happened when I started working with 3d art. Again, I had a leg up in the past understanding of color and composition and other things that help make art - Art. But, there were skills that were needed to be focused on to bring it up out of the mediocre. And after a few years of working with that, where I'm feeling that I have a level of mastery, I started to wonder if I could do 2d digital art, or...gasp...could I even still do traditional art, at all?
Because I know that you are waiting for the answer (okay, most people aren't waiting!), yes, I can do it. But, it is far slower and shakier than before. The muscle memory isn't as good, the eye/hand coordination is different and even the eye itself is somewhat unused, because some of the things you look for in one medium is different from another, just like one genre is different from another, even though they both have words, sentences and paragraphs on the page.
So, much like bike riding or roller skating, if you haven't done it in years, expect to wonder if you were crazy to try this again, and expect that while you might fall, or have to cling to the wall, that within a short dedicated time, you will be moving along again.
And yes, I think you do start to hybrid a bit. Kind of like the 6-million Dollar Man. You have the things that are your foundation and style, and as you add the new skills to that, you start to get hybrid vigor. You usually can learn the concepts faster, even if the actual skill/practice takes a little longer.
I think it's creativity's way of making sure we all have a challenge and are forced to keep it fresh, because we're creators and don't like to stagnate. Doesn't apparently matter if we don't always want the challenge! :)
As a former screenwriter (Loved the format) I can say the biggest difference is that there is no internal thought process on the page. There is only what you see and what you hear. It's the director's job to instruct the actors on what internal struggles to express in their performance.
I think whatever we get back to, will have evolved. What might look like a weakening of the muscle might simply be our investment in more, other, or broader things. So, in your example, you might be keener to write a more ‚cinematic‘ novel, building in the screenwriting you will have developed lately, rather than a novel your old style, which no longer feels so satisfying (and because of that, you don’t commit to it so fully).
I’m amused I’m not the only one to have moved from Ohio to Texas.
As a creative, my processes have evolved and grown over the decades. Every adaptation has built on what came before. I’m not just better than I was - I’m bigger. (Skills... although physically it’s also true but not as desirable!).
Yep ... 9 years ago now, I think?
Almost three for me. I’m loving it here.
So, from the art side, I learned to art, with pencil and paper. Then Ink and then some colored pencil. Then I got way better at colored pencil and that was my medium of choice. Got pretty good at it, not gallery good, but people pay me sometimes good. Then I started learning digital art. I got a program that let you mimic natural media (At the time called Dogwaffle, and now called PD Howler - it's so way cheaper than Corel, PS, etc and so much more versatile!), so I thought I would have a leg up.
And in many ways, I did, but still there were things that had to be adapted and learned to get good pictures, in ways that were way harder than the way I did them with pen and paper. So many times I wanted to just reach out to the screen with a pen and fix something (I did not have, nor could I afford a pen tablet at the time). But, I persevered, and got a good mastery of the kinds of things that I wanted to do with it. And now I can make landscapes like Bob Ross with the program. But, I started to worry about my traditional art skills. Because when I would do a sketch for something...it was not pretty! lol
This same thing happened when I started working with 3d art. Again, I had a leg up in the past understanding of color and composition and other things that help make art - Art. But, there were skills that were needed to be focused on to bring it up out of the mediocre. And after a few years of working with that, where I'm feeling that I have a level of mastery, I started to wonder if I could do 2d digital art, or...gasp...could I even still do traditional art, at all?
Because I know that you are waiting for the answer (okay, most people aren't waiting!), yes, I can do it. But, it is far slower and shakier than before. The muscle memory isn't as good, the eye/hand coordination is different and even the eye itself is somewhat unused, because some of the things you look for in one medium is different from another, just like one genre is different from another, even though they both have words, sentences and paragraphs on the page.
So, much like bike riding or roller skating, if you haven't done it in years, expect to wonder if you were crazy to try this again, and expect that while you might fall, or have to cling to the wall, that within a short dedicated time, you will be moving along again.
And yes, I think you do start to hybrid a bit. Kind of like the 6-million Dollar Man. You have the things that are your foundation and style, and as you add the new skills to that, you start to get hybrid vigor. You usually can learn the concepts faster, even if the actual skill/practice takes a little longer.
So, that's my 2 cents.
I think it's creativity's way of making sure we all have a challenge and are forced to keep it fresh, because we're creators and don't like to stagnate. Doesn't apparently matter if we don't always want the challenge! :)