10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
Edited by Ben. Turn to ContentPage
Get the knowledge flowing and circulating! :)
目录
I grew up in the middle of a cornfield in southern Ohio. When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was get someplace where something was happening.
Words & phrases
geography: n.地理，地理学；地形，地貌；地理环境
I'm afraid geography is not my strong suit.
恐怕地理不是我的强项。
master:
n.大师，能手；主人，雇主；主宰者，控制者；硕士，有硕士学位的人；<旧>男教师；狗的男主人；<旧>少爷，君；（英国）校长，院长；<旧>船长；（已故）著名画家，绘画大师；（供复制的）原版；主控机件；国业公会主管，共济会地方分会会长；掌管猎狗的人；最高法院官员；<苏格兰>（子爵或男爵的）长子
v.精通，掌握；控制，掌控；制作……母版
adj.最重要的，主要的；熟练的，灵巧的；（文件、录音等）原始拷贝的，母版的
It is clearly the work of a master craftsman.
很明显这是工艺大师的作品。
cornfield: n.麦田；玉米田；稻田
Storm clouds move in over a Utah cornfield at sunset.
日落时暴雷云移动在犹太州玉米田的上空。
感受
我想做的就是去一个有事情发生的地方。
Now I live in Austin, Texas. A pretty hip place. Tons of artists and creative types everywhere. And you know what? I’d say that 90 percent of my mentors and peers don’t live in Austin, Texas. They live everywhere. I know them from the Internet.
Words & phrases
hip: adj.时髦的
Now I live in Austin, Texas. A pretty hip place.
现在我住在德克·萨斯的奥斯汀，一个相当时髦的地方。
tons of: 许多 无数的 一大堆 很多的
There's always tons of scrap paper in Dad's office.
爸爸的办公室里总有大量的废纸。
type:
n.类型，种类；具有某种特征的人，典型；（印刷的）文字，字体；（印刷）铅字，活字；象征；（艺术的）典型，榜样；（宗教学）预兆；（植，动）型，模式标本；（奖章或硬币）图案；（语言学）类型，型
v.（用计算机或打字机）打字；测定……的类型，分型
She was a queenly, organizing type.
她是威严的、有条理的那一类。
感受
认识朋友可以跨疆域！
Which is to say, most of my thinking and conversation and art-related fellowship is online. Instead of a geographical art scene, I have Twitter buddies and Google Reader.
Words & phrases
geographical: adj.地理的，地理学的
They studied the geographical distribution of the disease.
他们研究了这种疾病的地域分布情况。
感受
翻译：也就是说，我的大部分思考和对话以及与艺术有关的友谊都是在网上进行的。没有地理艺术场景，我有推特好友和谷歌阅读器。
You don’t have to live anywhere other than the place you are to start connecting with the world you want to be in. If you feel stuck somewhere, if you’re too young or too old or too broke, or if you’re somehow tied down to a place, take heart. There’s a community of people out there you can connect with.
Words & phrases
stuck: adj.卡住的，动不了的；被困住，陷入困境；难以继续的，被难倒的；被迫保留，不得不应付；停滞不前的，无所变化的
This drawer keeps getting stuck.
这个抽屉动不动就卡住。
tie down: 系住，捆绑：用绳子、链子或其他材料将物体固定在某个位置，以防止其移动或摇动。
When spiders unite they can tie down a lion.
当蜘蛛团结起来时可以放倒一头狮子。
take heart 获得勇气或信心：开始感觉更好和更有希望。
So writers today should take heart.
所以，当代的作家应当鼓起勇气来。
感受
你不需要住在你所在的地方，就可以开始与你想要进入的世界建立联系
In the meantime, if you’re not into the world you live in, you can build your own world around you. (Now would be a good time to put on your headphones and cue up the Beach Boys song “In My Room.”) Surround yourself with books and objects that you love. Tape things up on the wall. Create your own world.
Words & phrases
be into: 喜欢；对……有兴趣；被迷住，被……深深吸引
Your parents possibly think that because your brother is into guitar, you must be into it too.
你的父母可能以为，因为你哥哥喜欢弹吉他，所以你一定也喜欢。
cue up: 排队：指在等待某事或某人时，按照顺序排列的一组人。
For a fast, full-body weight-training and interval program, close your office door and cue up the Scientific 7-Minute Workout.
要利用零碎时间快速做全身性重量训练，不妨关上办公室的门，准备进行“7分钟科学健身”。
tape up: 用胶带固定：用胶带将物品固定在一起，以防止其移动或损坏。
tape sth up: 用胶带捆扎……
Tape up the nails.
用胶带粘住指甲。
感受
如果不喜欢你现在的环境，就创造一个！Surround yourself with books and objects that you love.
Franz Kafka wrote, “It isn’t necessary that you leave home. Sit at your desk and listen. Don’t even listen, just wait. Don’t wait, be still and alone. The whole world will offer itself to you.” And Kafka was born a century before the Internet!
All you need is a little space and a little time—a place to work, and some time to do it; a little self-imposed solitude and temporary captivity. If your living situation doesn’t allow for that, sometimes you can find solitude and captivity in the wild. When I was a kid, my mom used to drag me to the mall. Before she did any shopping, she took me to the bookstore and bought me any book I wanted. We’d go into stores and I would sit in a chair and read my book while she shopped. This went on for years. I read a lot of books.
Words & phrases
self-imposed: adj.自愿接受的；自己强加的；自己规定的
He returned home after eleven years of self-imposed exile.
经历了11年的自我流放后他回家了。
solitude: n.独居，独处，孤独；偏僻的地方，无人居住的地方
The boy's solitude is like the mower.
这个男孩的孤独就像割草者一样。
temporary: adj.暂时的，临时的；短期的，短暂的
I'm looking for some temporary work.
我在找临时工作。
captivity: n.囚禁；被关
Cheetahs breed very poorly in captivity.
猎豹在圈养的情况下繁殖力很差。
感受
All you need is a little space and a little time，强加一点孤独与暂时的自我囚禁！
Now I have a car and a mobile phone. I’m always connected, never alone or captive. So, I ride the bus to and from work, even though it’s 20 minutes faster to drive. I go to a barbershop that’s first-come, first-served, without Wi-Fi, and always busy with a wait of a few hours. I keep my laptop shut down at the airport. I hang out in the library.
Words & phrases
captive: adj.被俘虏的，被圈养的；受限制的，受控制的；（设备，服务）受垄断的；被迷住的，被吸引的
Children come to zoos precisely to see captive animals.
孩子们到动物园来正是为了看那些被关起来的动物。
barbershop: n.理发店
That's a barbershop?
那是一家理发店。
感受
翻译：所以，我坐公共汽车上下班，尽管开车要快20分钟。（这句一开始没看出意思！）
I always carry a book, a pen, and a notepad, and I always enjoy my solitude and temporary captivity.
感受
享受一个人！享受短暂的solitude与captivity。
“Distance and difference are the secret tonic of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. But something in our mind has been changed, and that changes everything.”
—Jonah Lehrer
Words & phrases
tonic: n.补药；主调音或基音
Sea air is Nature's best tonic for mind and body.
海上的空气是大自然赋予的对人们身心的最佳补品。
感受
距离和差异是创造力的秘密补品。回到家里，家还是家，但是我们的思想已经不同了！
To say that geography is no longer our master isn’t to say that place isn’t important. Where we choose to live still has a huge impact on the work we do.
At some point, when you can do it, you have to leave home. You can always come back, but you have to leave at least once.
感受
深有感触：在家里学不下去的，出去状态会更好，精神会更集中！
Your brain gets too comfortable in your everyday surroundings. You need to make it uncomfortable. You need to spend some time in another land, among people that do things differently than you. Travel makes the world look new, and when the world looks new, our brains work harder.
感受
yes，travel的魅力！
The time I was lucky enough to spend living in Italy and England when I was 19 and 20 certainly changed my life, but I would note that a foreign culture isn’t necessarily across the sea or in another country—for most folks who grew up where I grew up, Texas might as well be Mars. (I’ve lived here a while. Sometimes it still feels like Mars.)
Words & phrases
folk:
n.人们；家人，双亲；民间音乐；诸位，大伙儿
adj.民俗的，传统的；流传民间的，普通百姓的
The entertainment was provided by a folk band.
这个文娱节目由民歌乐队演出。
感受
不是说要跑很远才能改变环境，只要改变周围环境就行！几步路应该也ok~ 比如我感觉咖啡厅就还不错！
If we know we need to leave home, where should we go? Where should we choose to live? There’s a bunch of different factors to consider, all of them depend on your own tastes. Personally, I think bad weather leads to better art. You don’t want to go outside, so you stay inside and work. When I lived in Cleveland, I got a lot of work done in the brutal months of winter. Down here in Texas, I get all my work done in the wicked hot summers. (The Cleveland winter and the Texas summer last about the same length of time—half the year.)
Words & phrases
brutal: adj.野蛮的，凶残的；毫不掩饰的，直截了当的；令人不快的，糟糕的
They lived in happy insulation from brutal facts.
他们生活在幸福中，与残酷事实相隔绝。
wicked: adj.邪恶的，不道德的；恶作剧的，淘气的，调皮的；<非正式>很坏的，恶劣的；<非正式>很棒的，极好的；<非正式>令人不快的，令人厌恶的
She described the shooting as a wicked attack.
她把那次射击描述成一次邪恶的攻击。
感受
哈哈：这个说话有点意思！坏的天气可能会让你更专注于工作~ 然后你会做更多的事！
It helps to live around interesting people, and not necessarily people who do what you do. I feel a little incestuous when I hang out with only writers and artists, so I enjoy the many filmmakers, musicians, and tech geeks who live in Austin. Oh, and food. The food should be good. You have to find a place that feeds you—creatively, socially, spiritually, and literally.
Words & phrases
incestuous:
/ ɪnˈsestʃuəs /adj.乱伦的；血亲相奸的；犯乱伦罪的The music industry is an incestuous business.
音乐界是一个封闭的行业。
tech: n.技校，技术学院；技术（学），工艺（学），工业技术；技术员，技师
Tech stocks have tanked.
科技股票已经表现得很糟糕了。
geeks: n.<美，非正式>不善交际的人，怪人；（某一领域的）高手，极客；<澳新，非正式>瞥，看
I was a design colour geek.
我是名设计色彩“极客”。
literally: adv.按照字面意义地，逐字地；真正地，确实地；（用于夸张地强调）简直
I literally jumped out of my skin.
我简直给吓了一大跳。
感受
身边住着有意思的人很重要，这些人不必是跟你做一样事儿的人！
Even if you set up a new home, you need to leave it now and then. And at some point, you might need to just move on. The good news is that nowadays, a lot of your peers are right where you left them—on the Internet.
Words & phrases
now and then 偶尔，有时候：表示某件事情或活动不是经常发生，而是偶尔发生或间或发生。
Now and then, I like to take a day off and just relax.
偶尔，我喜欢休息一天，放松一下。
at some point 在某个时间点；在一个不确定的时间点
I will visit Paris at some point in the future.
将来的某个时间点我会去巴黎。
move on 继续前进：继续前往不同的地方、主题、活动等。
After finishing high school, it's time to move on to college.
高中毕业后，是时候继续前往大学了。
感受
偶尔改变环境，会收获很多的！我自己真的有这样的感受~ 比如出去走走，到商场看看人~ 到饭店看看吃的~ 到景区、到朋友那里聊聊天~ 去咖啡厅喝杯咖啡，看看来来往往的顾客，你会触发很多灵感的！