I tend to observe that some of the most rewarding - yet maddening - aspects of my creative work involve the process of "building operations"(for the lack of a better term!).
By that, I mean the act of constructing a complex system or world (e.g. a new digital product or an intricate fictional narrative) and then exploring how all the various parts fit together and interact.
Here, a system means a set of interconnected elements that work together as a whole to achieve a particular goal or function.
This could be anything from a technological infrastructure to a fictional universe, with various components like characters, plot points, world-building elements, and so on, woven together to create a cohesive whole.
Deconstruction And Rebuilding
The maddening part is the experience of working on a creative endeavor, only to reach a point where you realize you've built something fundamentally flawed or inefficient.
For example, developing a story with gaping plot holes or designing a website with a confusing user flow.
At that point, you're faced with two options - to forge ahead and try to keep everything together, or to take a step back, dismantle what you've created, and start rebuilding from scratch.
In the latter moment, this is enormously frustrating. All that time and effort, seemingly wasted. But looking back, it's always perceived that these "rebuild from the ground up" moments are often the most pivotal and growth-inducing parts of the creative process, akin to a paradigm shift.
The Essence Of The Art
Understanding the art of "building operations" is arguably one of the most valuable skills to have for any creative work.
Because it pushes you to develop a deeper understanding of how individual components work, how they fit together, and how small changes in one area can have unexpected ramifications elsewhere.
On a basic level, I view the first part of any creative endeavors(after coming up with the creative idea) as building a framework of interconnected parts, and the more you can grasp the nuances and dependencies within that system, the better equipped you'll be to shape it into something that's able to be more aligned with the creative idea.
An interesting observation is that a system is always a work in progress, especially dynamic ones like fictional worlds or digital ecosystems.
Take, for example, the process of world-building in epic fantasy sagas like George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Martin didn't just create characters and plot points - he established intricate social structures, political dynamics, economic systems, and even technological capabilities that govern the world of Westeros.
And then he also ensured that all of these elements work together cohesively, with each component informing and influencing the others.
In my view, fictional works like A Song of Ice and Fire are vast, interconnected systems, in which you're able to immerse readers in a fully realized world, where the different parts feel organic and believable.
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Universally Applicable
The same principles apply across creative disciplines. The thread that connects an architect planning a city and a marketer crafting a brand strategy is their engagement in the process of "building operations."
Regardless of the specific discipline, they are all fundamentally constructing intricate systems - whether physical, spatial, or conceptual - and then meticulously examining how the various components within those systems function and interact.
In that sense, creative work at its core is about unlocking new possibilities through careful, iterative system-building. And the more adept one becomes at "building operations," the more they'll be able to push the boundaries of what's possible in their chosen creative pursuit.
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