What's Your Creative Type?

by Meta Wagner

The greatest creators in human history--from Mozart to Meryl Streep, Jackson Pollock to Jay-Z--don't just have talent--they also understand their motivations for pursuing art. What's Your Creative Type? helps artists do the same in a fun and witty way. Stepping away from the hyper-focus on how people create, What's Your Creative Type? instead explores why. By identifying your creative motivation type, you'll be able to find renewed energy, overcome creative blocks, and release the artist within.

Drawing from creativity theory and personality typology, each chapter of the book is devoted to a creative type, from the A-Lister seeking recognition to the Activist who wants to change the world. What's Your Creative Type? is peppered with pop-culture studies of famous artists and illustrates each type with entertaining examples from legendary figures.

Whether you're a seasoned artist or writer in search of inspiration or simply looking to explore your budding creative talents and motivations, What's Your Creative Type? has fresh and reliable advice and insight for you.

"A fun, inspiring, and practical trip through our own psyches."
--Scott Barry Kaufman, author of Wired to Create

"The stories of famous creators are compelling and the lessons learnt can illuminate for you a path to unfold the magic of your unique creative potential."--Sanjiv Chopra, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, author, and speaker

"Meta Wagner's book proves that self-discovery can be a real pleasure: lively yet insightful, practical and compassionate, it's a must-read for creatives of all ages."--Camille DeAngelis, author of Life Without Envy: Ego Management for Creative People

“The author, Meta Wagner, is brilliant with this topic! An early read showed a great balance between meaningful academia, total fun, and extraordinary tools for self-examination.”
--Randy Susan Meyers, author of The Widow of Wall Street

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Art, Self Help, Psychology, Audiobook, Personal Development

241 pages, Paperback

First published April 11, 2017

About the author

Meta Wagner is the author of What's Your Creative Type?: Harness the Power of Your Artistic Personality (Seal Press). She is a contributor to Boston Globe opinion pages, was a columnist for PopMatters, and has written on pop culture and creativity for Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune, Salon, and Wall Street Journal custom studios. She is also a TedxBU 2017 speaker.

When she's not writing, Meta is molding young minds as an adjunct professor at Emerson College and Boston University. She developed and teaches a “cult favorite” seminar called “Creativity in Context” (the springboard for her book) along with classes in creative non-fiction and communications writing. She has also taught at Grub Street and Wheelock College.

Meta was previously in executive positions in the marketing and public relations fields and received multiple awards from professional organizations.

She received her undergraduate degree from Brown University and her MFA in creative writing from Emerson College, where she was chosen as the student commencement speaker.

To connect with Meta, visit www.metawagner.com.

Reviews

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author, Meta Wagner, is brilliant with this topic!. An early read showed a great balance between meaningful academia, total fun, and extraordinary tools for self examination.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love anything to do with how the human mind works, and What's Your Creative Type presented another dimension I hadn't previously thought about. What motivates artists of all kinds? It's all in this book, presented in an engaging and useful way. Wagner did her research, too. It's well-organized within each of the five creative types, with examples from famous creators and tips on how you can leverage the strengths of your own particular brand of creativity. I'm an artisan, but I also read about the other types because it was just plain interesting. I've been trying to get motivated to write more myself, and this book has already helped. This is an excellent addition to the creativity list.

[Camille DeAngelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's the blurb I gave this delightful book:

Every artist must figure out exactly what drives them to create before they can make the impact they were born to make. Meta Wagner's book proves that self discovery can be a real pleasure: lively yet insightful, practical and compassionate, it's a must-read for creatives of all ages.

(Full disclosure: I have become friends with the author, and we have done a bookstore event together, but this was all after I gave her book this endorsement.)

[Matt Ferm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not your typical creative type. I am a business person who specializes in IT and technology. The title of the book interested me because people always say "oh, you business types are't creative." I am sick and tired of hearing that so I wanted to see how I stack up relative to examples in the book. In reading through, it turns out I am a "Game Changer" and that is 100% accurate. It became obvious creative people share the same characteristics whether painting, composing music, writing software, or managing teams.

Thank you Meta for helping me to better understand myself!

[Kayla Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favorite Emerson professor wrote a book, and it's insightful and funny and i highly recommend it. also i'm a flight attendant type

[LiLa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buku yang sangat menarik, mengupas tentang lima tipe kreatif: Sang Primadona, Sang Artisan, Sang Pembuat Perubahan, Sang Perasa dan Sang Aktivis. Pembahasan tiap-tiap tipe ini cukup mendalam, disertai kuis untuk mengira-ngira pembaca termasuk tipe apa dan contoh masing-masing tipe.
Masing-masing tipe kreatif ini sub tipe serta punya kelebihan dan kelemahannya masing-masing. Dan semuanya dibahas cukup lengkap di sini. Bahkan penulis memberikan beberapa tips untuk menghadapi kelemahan (atau mungkin ketakutan) yang biasanya muncul untuk tiap karakter itu.

Jangan khawatir kalau saat mengisi kuis, tidak ada satu pun tipe kreatif yang hasilnya 100%. Saya pribadi punya tipe kombinasi dengan Sang Artisan memegang persentase tertinggi. Yang pasti, membaca buku ini membuka wawasan saya. Informasinya juga cukup berguna, terutama untuk "cara" mendapatkan kreativitas dan tips terkait "ketakutan" yang dialami suatu tipe.
27.27% primadona
55.56% artisan
20.00% pembawa perubahan
38.89% perasa
10.00% aktivis

Satu-satunya keluhan saya hanya masalah teknis. Format tulisannya masih sering membuat saya kesulitan lanjut membaca. Di tengah-tengah pembahasan tentang tipe A, tiba-tiba ada box tulisan yang membahas tentang Creativity Booster atau topik lain yang menghabiskan setengah sampai dua setengah halaman. Baru setelahnya pembahasan tentang tipe A dilanjutkan. Saya selalu berhenti... mikir cukup lama... baru lanjut tiap bertemu "sandungan" ini.
Ada cukup banyak typo yang mengganggu kenikmatan membaca, pemilihan kata yang terasa kurang sesuai, pemenggalan kata yang terasa asal-asal (permisi, cenderung itu seharusnya dipenggal menjadi cen-de-rung bukan cend-erung begitu juga dengan merenung; pemenggalan yang benar itu me-re-nung bukan mer-enung, hiks), bahkan ada inkonsistensi. Dalam satu kalimat yang diucapkan orang yang sama, aku dan saya digunakan bergantian.
Kata Anda kadang digunakan pada posisi yang kurang tepat. Anda terasa sangat formal dan rasanya kurang tepat digunakan untuk kalimat seseorang kepada keponakan/anaknya. Rasanya kamu lebih cocok digunakan untuk konteks itu.
Saya bahkan pernah menemukan kalimat yang seolah diterjemahkan oleh google translate. Hiks. Karena ini buku non fiksi terjemahan, jadinya hal seperti ini cukup mengganggu sich. Kadang saya harus mundur baca beberapa kata, atau bahkan beberapa kalimat, untuk memastikan apa yang sebenarnya ingin disampaikan penulis. Jadi, PR saya nambah.
Anyway, yang di tangan saya adalah buku cetakan pertama (Agustus 2017) dan saya kurang tahu apakah buku ini pernah cetul atau tidak. Kalau pernah cetul, mungkin aneka typho itu sudah diperbaiki.

"...Namun belakangan, Anda kekhawatiran "kesaktian" Anda ini akan hilang..." (halaman x --halaman kedua kata pengantar--).
Itu salah satu "dosa" buku ini yang paling saya ingat lokasinya. Soalnya baru banget baca, udah nemu ginian. Untuk "dosa"nya masih bisa dimengerti (antara Anda khawatir atau ada kekhawatiran). Tapi ke belakangnya akan ada kalimat sejenis atau bahkan lebih parah (yang perlu saya baca beberapa kali baru bisa menerka bagaimana kalimat sebenarnya).

[Alicen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tell people all the time “everybody is an artist” and they respond with “I can only do stick figures, nothing as amazing as your art” I feel offended and want to reiterate that ANYONE CAN DRAW I tell them whether it be a circle, a stick figure, a square then they are artists! They will tell me that they take pictures, knit, decorate etc. I have to tell them that it is art, they are artists in their own way and that know how creative they really are. This books is for anybody who feels they are not creative or if they are wondering “what is my art? Where can it go and how can I apply myself to do more?” This book will help you understand yourself and understand where your passions truly lie and how far your creativity can go.

[Christine Hug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una lectura amena y ligera. Muy interesante, me ha gustado la perspectiva de la autora y como ella cataloga y presenta los diferentes tipos de personas creativas.

Uno de los puntos que más me ha gustado del libro ha sido el planteamiento de reflexionar y pensar en... porqué creas tú? Y el echo se que va más allá de plantear el cómo se crea, claves de la creatividad, etc. También me ha gustado su estructura porqué tiene unos pequeños tests que te ayudan a analizar a qué categoría perteneces, tips y consejos para mejorar tu propio proceso creativo. Me ha alucinado también el gran respaldo de referencias de artistas y creadores de una gran variedad de campos artísticos que acompañan a todos los datos de cada categoría.

Me ha sorprendido muy gratamente y me ha parecido muy interesante👌🏻

[Karen Floyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining look at what the author considers the five types of creative people - A-Lister, Artisan, Game Changer, Sensitive Soul, and Activist. The categories are rather narrow, and I suspect most of us would be found in more than one of the categories. Each type gets a chapter with definitions, quizzes, ideas and advice, and famous examples. This skims the surface of its subject, but is an interesting read.

[Saravb · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're like me, you read everything you can get your hands on to help you continue with (or begin!) your current artistic endeavor...I was so glad when I learned of this book because I've always known there was something underlying my drive to create but I didn't know what it was. I love this idea that determining what that thing is could be the key to getting out of my own way and completing my project. Pages into this book I knew it was going to help me. I really appreciate Wagner's writing style. Reading this book is like you're talking to a friend who will help you get out of your artistic rut. And Wagner shares terrific examples of great artists who found their way through the maze of personal sabotage to taking what was inside them and giving it an external form. Thanks to this book, I sat down to work today (!) on my novel that I've been stuck with for weeks now, reassured by the knowledge that I am simply working in the tradition of all those artists who have gone before me!

[Gillian Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's my creative type? It's a secret, but I highly recommend you read this book to find out yours. I find it difficult to keep focus so when I picked up this book - I was relieved to find that it was an easy read but more importantly ENGAGING!! nonetheless - I was very focused and finished quite quickly. Meta Wagner writes with such easiness you feel like you are talking with a friend. Her writing captivates you. It is witty, smart and personable. Not just for the artistic types - but for everyone! 5 stars *****

[Diane Hester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Seeing the various creative types identified and explained in such clear terms was fascinating and inspiring.
As a writer, my favorite take-away line was: "Address the issues that mean the most to you and about which you have the most to say." Great stuff!

[Cindy Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved that this book focuses on "why" we create so we know how to keep going when the going gets tough. A quick informative read that creatives are sure to love.

[Cindy Pham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple and light read, but not particularly enlightening or deep.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lays out 5 types of creative people. It's very "Are you _, _, and _? Then here's a bunch of assumptions they make about you.

[Igorina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started off very interested in this but I could physically feel my interest wane halfway through the second chapter. It just wasn’t bringing anything particularly new to the table.

[Kasandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intrigued by the title, I decided to buy this. I'll keep it, but on the whole, it was a bit thin, and the writing style is geared toward beginners and the college students Wagner teaches, so that was annoying. Much of the advice was repetitive, when it came to sidebars trying to pinpoint specific fears of each "type", and the "Identify Your Variety" sidebars seemed completely unhelpful. (If you're a writer, and stuck, "Motivate Your Writing" by Kelner is better.) On the plus side, I like Wagner's typing system, she seems to have gotten that spot on, and the advice given to my type (Artisan, devoted to craft, inspired by predecessors, belief that creativity is mostly perspiration, not inspiration) was decent, though none of it new/original. Included setting fake deadlines, getting inspired by creative "parents" to the point of copying (which can help you get an admired poet's style down if you're learning/developing your own voice), and finding collaborators. Her general advice to write your thoughts down first thing in the morning was a great reminder of something I try to do. So it was good in terms of reminders, but not enlightening. The best part of the book was the section for "Activist" artists. I hadn't read anything devoted to that type before and I found that the most engaging part of the book, though, again, it presumes little to no previous research or knowledge of those who have suffered for their art and politics. A mixed bag.

[Aubrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will preface this review by noting that I did not read this book in it's entirety. I read the types I identified with.

The focus of this book isn't to box you into a specific 'type' of creative but to help understand why you create. Let us first start with the fact that we are all creative. Take a look at some of the lies people concoct to get out of meeting with someone or the dinner they made and shared on their Instagram feed. Both are actions of creation. Creativity comes in all forms and some exercise it more than others.

Personally, I find myself truly fulfilled when I create more. Knowing why I create helps to hone my craft(s) more. Having looked at the overview of each, I am easily a blend of Sensitive Soul (wants to express themselves while also helping others) and Activist (has a fiery desire to right wrongs and change the world).

Reading of both of those helped me to understand more why I create. I create because I feel A LOT, mostly in extremes, and especially when caught in some emotional challenges, creating can quite literally save my life and my mental health. I create to feel less alone. I create to share what's important to me. I create to empower others. I create to make change.

While I feel there could have been more depth to the types, I think knowing is enough to hone in more on what makes you tick. For that reason I found value and learned a bit more about myself.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book for a few reasons. One, it was an interesting way to think about the different ways in which artists are motivated. So frequently we assume that artists create because that's their inclination without wondering about the additional motivations behind it. But this was a really interesting way of breaking down those additional motivations. I also enjoyed trying to identify my own motivations within these types. At a quick glance, I would have told you I was A-Lister - someone who appreciates the results more than the process, but after reading further, there were things I identified with more strongly in other types. I also appreciated the information on how to renew the motivation for whichever type you might be, how to conquer your fears and how to be aware of the pitfalls of each type. Finally, I appreciated learning more about artists that have inspired me or who I greatly admire.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

So enjoyed this book. It creates a new genre. There's nothing like it out there.

I read it to ponder my own creativity and the reward was far beyond that. It helped me look inward and understand that I am a game changer and what that means. That was fun to consider what motivates me and what rewards mean most.

It also helped me look at others who write, produce, think differently, act, paint, design --- never before thought about how many ways there are to be creative. I came away realizing each of us is creative and many might not even realize it.

What I especially liked about the book is that it's not overly academic in the sense it is a breezy, interesting read. The concept and then the writing draw you in. I hope this author writes another book. Her creativity is certainly on display here!

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a curious read though I must say none of the types reflected my motives for immersing myself into art. I found the types too specific.
I don't really consider myself an artist but when I ask myself why, why I'm surrounding myself with art all the time, the answer that comes is to escape, which wasn't reflected in any of the types.
I want to be transported to another time, another place, another world. Somewhere pure, beautiful and sublime, full of wonder and depth of feeling.
I want to explore who I am and who I could be.
That and the emotional connections it sparks are what mostly moves me to art (which would mean Sensitive Soul is the type that comes closest).
The fact you are taken somewhere else and get to explore possibilities, visit places and meet wonderful people along the way through art.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book to any creative yearning to solidify their core and reason of WHY they create. This book offers you an in-depth perspective of the reasons why a lot of known creatives do what they do and love what they do despite the ever-changing world we live in.

However I did find this as a slow-read in my case. The information of one chapter can be a lot in one sitting. It’s best to take your time absorbing this book.

Nevertheless, I’m a creative creator myself and I was able to relate to a lot of the anecdotes and excerpts in this book (expect a lot of real-life examples by the way). It gave me a wider point of view on the possible reasons why I create and how it aligns with my individual personality.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initial thoughts: Pretty interesting book. Sections were very well organised and straightforward. A little more basic than I had expected but the ideas and advice are presented in a manner that's very easy to grasp. As always, with typification comes fleeting generalisation, which the author did address as either those who fully fit a creative type or those who have such creative tendencies. Not a lot was said about mixed creative types, though, which would've mad this book a whole lot more informative.

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this pretty quickly and was amazed at how perfectly I matched up with type 2 and how clearly I could see some of my friends in the other categories. I didn't even realize artists could be categorized until reading this book. It gives insight into artist personalities and how to overcome some of the drawbacks with having any of the listed types.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars - A light reading on some types of creativity and some real examples on how each types can bring impact in two ways : to the one who possesses the creativity and to the society. Looking on how the writer draws the narrative, I think this book is meant for college students and anyone who is looking for some quick encouragement in order to be or keep on being creative.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly I just couldn’t put this book down. Insightful, simple with great inspirational ideas and real life stories of real creative people. It doesn’t pigeon people into categories but shows you how each other creative types think. A wonderful book to determine why you create.

[苍妤 · Rating 3 out of 5]

挺短一本书，休息日看的话应该很快就看完了。
作者列出了他认为的几种创造力的类型：明星、先锋、工匠、感知、激进，从知名人物的例子里总结这几种人的特性以及注意事项。
我对英语文化圈（或者可以说泛欧美文化圈）根本不算了解，里面提到的很多人我只是听过名字，不清楚其具体事迹，读来感受弱了点。为了举例子而说明的部分太多，人又不认识，所以读起来格外费劲。
有些地方读起来比较有共鸣，但都没有强到能让我深刻记住的地步。

[Bethany Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting take on creativity. I didn't fit into any of the categories, which made me feel like I wasn't creative at all. Which I know is not true. If you make a living from art, this book may be for you.

[Eleni Thanou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can’t say I found it helpful

[Hannah Bagnall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely helped identify my type, easy and fun to read. Wish there had been a bit more hands-on like "Try this craft"