The Developmental Stages of a Creative Idea: How Our Art Grows Just Like We Do

You’ve probably heard someone refer to one of their creative works as “their baby”, but you may be surprised at just how deep this art-human metaphor can go. I’ve spent my adult life studying how people change throughout the lifespan as well as the psychology of art and the creative process. I’ve personally made hundreds of my own creations as a musician and performer, I’ve earned multiple degrees in human development, and it still took me over a decade to fully appreciate the parallels between how people and creative ideas develop. Hopefully this article will help you realize it a little sooner than I did.

“Why is it important to understand the developmental process of my creative ideas?” you may ask. Well, it’s important for the same reason it’s valuable to understand your own child’s developmental needs, or the developmental needs of a personal relationship, or even the developmental needs of a house plant or a pet. From conception, to infancy, to childhood, to adolescence, to emerging adulthood, and through adulthood-proper, understanding how someone (or something) develops makes it easier to nurture and support their growth. So if you’re interested in nurturing and supporting your own creative ideas, and maybe even a few people along the way, then let’s dive in.

Intercourse and Conception

Every human life—and mammal, for that matter—begins with some kind of intercourse. Some kind of mixture or blend of necessary ingredients must happen in order for an entity to eventually be born. This is just as true for ideas as it is for people. Just like no people are born from a single person, no idea is born from a single mind.

In a very real way, all art begins with intercourse. Not of a sexual nature, per se, but it can indeed be very personal and intimate. Just as two bodies can merge to create a new being, two perspectives can merge to create a new idea. If you are truly open and receptive to the ideas and perspectives and creativity around you, there is the potential for relationships to blossom and new ideas to be conceived.

Incubation

For us mammals there is an incubation period after conception in which the fertilized eggs begin to slowly mature under the surface of a womb in what we call an “incubation period.” Again, ideas are no different. After you’ve connected with a new idea or perspective it requires the opportunity to simmer under the surface of your conscious mind. Creativity Psychologists also call this an “incubation period” (1) in which the implicit associations of your subconscious and intuitive mind can bombard each other and begin to forge new connections.

For me, conception and incubation are some of the most liberating and exciting parts of the creative process. Also known as the “preparation phase,” this is when I’m going to museums, listening to new kinds of music, reading new books, and really letting inspiring parts of the world into my awareness. These unique and varied experiences then have the time to simmer and incubate as I do relaxing and restful things, like driving to work, taking showers, doing dishes, sleeping, (day)dreaming, meditating, or going on walks.

Infancy

Just as humans and animals are thought to have a “birthday” when they officially exit the womb, ideas also have a distinct point when they emerge from the subconscious into the conscious mind. Instead of calling these “idea birthdays,” we usually call them “insights” (2) or “eureka moments.” Whatever you call them, there is something extremely satisfying and personally meaningful about the emergence of a new idea into your mind, not unlike the birth of a child. These new ideas aren’t appearing out of nowhere, they have already been forming throughout the preparation and incubation stages of the creative process, and they are now introducing themselves to you in what psychologists call the “ideation phase” (3) of the creative process.

When a baby is born, it is clear that they are not done forming, especially for human babies who can’t even sit up on their own. They require immense amounts of tenderness and care, otherwise they have very little chance of growing and developing. In this stage, safety and security are paramount. The same level of tenderness and compassionate concern can be directed toward initial ideas that we have. Now, this doesn’t mean that every idea that pops into our head must be carried out fully, but if we want an idea to have any chance of fully forming and impacting the world, then we need to support it as soon as it appears.

For me this typically involves writing my new idea down somewhere safe, like a journal or a notes app. If it’s a musical idea, I’ll often sing/beatbox it into a recording app or write it down as sheet music. Unlike babies, ideas aren't typically threatened by physical things like electrical outlets and small toy parts. Instead, ideas are threatened by critical judgement and rejection too early in the process. Just like we can’t know a baby’s full potential, it’s extremely hard to understand an idea’s full potential just after it’s emerged. Instead of judging too harshly, just keep the idea somewhere safe and see where it goes.

Childhood

Young children between the ages of 3–9 are always interested in some form of play, and this is no accident. For humans, as well as many other animals, play is the primary method of development and learning at this early stage (4). Curiosity, exploration, and experimentation are crucial for helping children to begin to forge their understanding of the world, understand what kinds of behaviors are appropriate, and make use of their full physical and social potential.

For the early parts of our creative ideas, play can also be one of the strongest methods for helping them become more refined, usable, and understandable. One of the best things you can do with a young idea is engage with it in a playful, curious, and exploratory manner (5). Not only does the fun of play keep us motivated to keep engaging with the idea, it also allows us to explore new elements of the idea in a psychologically safe way which allows it to change, take shape, and evolve.

For me this is one of the biggest opportunities for getting deep into a state of flow. I typically have 3–5 works-in-progress where I’m simply trying things out: playing with new types of sounds or experimenting with new tools and techniques. No need for rigid expectations or stern mandates, I’m just playing and having fun! Inevitably some ideas begin to form in ways that lead out of “childhood” and into the next stage, and some ideas stay in the projects folder. The goal isn’t necessarily to “finish” or make anything specific, instead the goal is to engage deeply in the process of play with curiosity and openness.

Adolescence

As human children enter their teen years, their priorities inevitably begin to shift away from pure play and more towards forms of self-definition. Human adolescence is driven by needs of identity formation and belongingness (6). Healthy adolescent development typically involves becoming competent in meaningful skill sets and clarifying one’s own unique personal identity, as well as connecting with broader social identities in the form of clubs, cliques, affiliations, groups, communities, movements, and fields.

This is where the parallels between people and ideas become less obvious and even more interesting. Creative ideas also thrive on this balance of unique individuality and social acceptance. Really fleshing out what makes a particular idea unique, specific, and interesting becomes necessary if we want an idea to have any meaningful impact and staying power. But if the idea is too bizarre or unconnected to any particular tradition, domain, or set of standards, it won’t be able to connect with anyone in a meaningful way. The most powerful ideas blend elements of complete novelty with elements of familiarity. This is the stage when these aspects become the main goal for the creative idea. Psychologists call this the “editing” or “confirmation” phase.

This is when the identity of the project or idea is clarified. This is when you have the opportunity to see what makes your idea special, but it’s also the time to see what kind of zeitgeist your idea fits into. What genre is it? What style is it? Which kinds of record labels or galleries or publications, or venues, or markets would this creative project fit into? Where does it belong? Answering these questions becomes important at this stage, but keep in mind that these are all inappropriate questions during the early stages of an idea’s life, just as asking a toddler to join a social movement might be.

For me, this stage involves cleaning things up, refining broad ideas, accentuating special parts of a project, and blending these aspects of the project with industry and cultural standards or expectations such as song length, loudness, structure, etc. This is when my songs are just about finished being arranged, they’re in the process of being mixed down, mastered, and generally finishing the process of being formed

Emerging Adulthood

Emerging adulthood is a relatively new stage of human development (7) that has become more popular in modern times in which people are not yet full adults, but not quite adolescents either. Not everyone in every part of the world has the privilege of residing in this stage, as it is built upon many cultural factors such as college, family support, and specific economic landscapes. Even so, I’ve felt that there are parallels between this stage of human development and creative idea development.

Most notably, people in emerging adulthood are primarily focussed on finding their niche in the world. Building the last few layers of necessary professional skills, finding a place to live long-term, finding a suitable career, finding a life partner, and connecting to a meaningful community are all primary goals during this stage of development. Ideas also need to clarify the niche in which they will live. There is an entire ecosystem supporting creative ideas that extends far beyond the products themselves. There are entire economies built upon connecting creative projects with those who want to engage with them. Understanding the logistics of where a creative idea will live and thrive in meaningful ways becomes an important part of the developmental process.

For me, this stage of idea development involves all the final logistics leading up to the work being fully out in the world. Pairing songs with album art, finding the record label for its distribution, signing contracts, filling out royalty and compensation forms, and formulating press release strategies. All of the elements that prepare the idea to fully enter the world.

Adulthood

Certain levels of duty and power are conferred onto those who reach adulthood, which is typically defined by the roles and responsibilities one carries with them (8). Adults are out in the world in a way that has genuine impact on those around them. Developmentally speaking, adulthood itself can be broken into several distinct stages, ranging from establishing oneself more firmly in a given domain, to supporting and mentoring their communities. For the scope of this article, adulthood—as a whole—is characterized by fully engaging the world with a certain level of autonomy and control over one’s actions, and the responsibility that comes with that.

In a very real way, these duties and powers can be thrust upon our creative ideas as well. Once a creative project is released out into the world, it has the power to impact people in a way that is very difficult to control. In a sense, the work has a certain level of autonomy—and in many cases, this can result in a significant amount of change in the world. Entire movements, lifestyles, and industries can be changed by creative ideas, often in ways that the original creator never intended or expected.

For me, this stage of the creative process has the least amount of work or labor involved, but can often be one of the most meaningful parts of the entire process. This is when the songs are released, the articles are published, and the podcast is up and ready to stream. Besides the occasional bit of promotion and support, the creative idea is now beyond me. It is out in the world impacting others with a genuine sense of power and potential. My personal involvement with the creative idea at this point is usually centered around acceptance of the work, and a deliberate reflection that allows me to start the process all over again.

References

Ritter, S. M., & Dijksterhuis, A. (2014). Creativity—the unconscious foundations of the incubation period. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 8, 215.
Mumford, M. D., & Whetzel, D. L. (1996). Insight, creativity, and cognition: On Sternberg and Davidson's the nature of insight. Creativity Research Journal, 9(1), 103-107.
Ames, M., & Runco, M. A. (2005). Predicting entrepreneurship from ideation and divergent thinking. Creativity and Innovation Management, 14(3), 311-315.
Lester, S., & Russell, W. (2010). Children's Right to Play: An Examination of the Importance of Play in the Lives of Children Worldwide. Working Papers in Early Childhood Development, No. 57. Bernard van Leer Foundation. PO Box 82334, 2508 EH, The Hague, The Netherlands.
Schutte, N. S., & Malouff, J. M. (2020). Connections between curiosity, flow and creativity. Personality and Individual Differences, 152, 109555.
Meeus, W., Iedema, J., Helsen, M., & Vollebergh, W. (1999). Patterns of adolescent identity development: Review of literature and longitudinal analysis. Developmental review, 19(4), 419-461.
Arnett, J. J. (2010). Emerging adulthood (s). Bridging cultural and developmental approaches to psychology: New syntheses in theory, research, and policy, 255-275.
Schaie, K. W., & Parham, I. A. (1974). Social responsibility in adulthood: ontogenetic and sociocultural change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30(4), 483.