In this episode of New Material, Herbert Lui and Hamza Khan continue their exploration of creative processes. Hamza shares his consistent 5am (!) wake up routine and tales from his recent travels, including a chaotic week of context-switching between family events and work. Herbert talks about his visits to The Met, his decision to stick to a pressing book deadline, and his revisiting of Virgil Abloh's philosophy on creative work. They explore the playful aspect of creative work “The Idiot” (aka “The Fool”) in the creative process, emphasizing the importance of playfulness and spontaneity. Hamza reflects on his own creative odyssey, including his desire to return to music video production and the impact of playfulness on his public speaking. Herbert shares prompts from his book Creative Doing and his blog on remembering how to play and nurture your inner child.

Useful links:

Chaotic Good by Rachel Jepsen

Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge: Roles and the Writing Process by Professor Betty Flowers

Make time to Play, a prompt from Herbert’s book Creative Doing

The four inner beings of a writer (via Herbert’s blog)

2.5 hours with Rising Green (via Herbert’s blog)

Edited by ⁠Evan Mader⁠