Circle Inside the Box: Experiments with Order and Chaos
- Gina Greenlee, Author
- Jul 13
- 4 min read
The creative journey is often described as “untidy” or “messy” because it’s not a linear, step-by-step process. Artists must actively confront and manage chaos in their creative process to achieve any degree of order. This involves exploring multiple avenues, trying different approaches, and iterating on ideas.
The work of creativity is to reframe chaos and paradoxically, develop process that helps to manage its exploration. I call this “circle inside the box.”
When I conceived of the idea to batch write books to align with my brain’s tendency toward idea generation, I asked myself a question: “How do I marry the orderly, structured function that is language (a/k/a “box”) with the chaos (“circle”) inherent to play and creativity?”
The first part of the answer: my brain enjoys riffing off of a single idea into a related series. Each idea is a cousin to the idea before it, yet distinct in individual character. The creative and productivity leaps I took with iterative artmaking I applied to writing.
To Outline Or Not To Outline?
The second part of the answer to the question of managing the duality of chaos and order in writing was, “adventure” or “map?”
The term “Pantsters” refers to those who write by the seat of their pants, one sentence after the next, following the story wherever it leads. Then there are those who map their journey with an outline. They know where they’re headed.
When writing my first novel, that’s when I began to play with the dynamic I call the “circle inside the box.” I realized I was doing both: creating a road map at the same time I was undertaking the journey.
A Journey Of 608 Miles
Let’s say you’ve got a wedding to attend in Flagstaff, Arizona. Your starting point is Amarillo, Texas, 608 miles away. GPS plugged in, you know which roads you’re going to drive. Along the way, you have possible turn-offs and potential side trips: state parks and canyons over here, forts and mesas over there. Along this outlined route also comes surprise – unexpected twists and turns, commonly called, adventures. For your journey between Amarillo and Flagstaff you have both your map (outline) and your adventures (pantsting). In other words, your “box” and your “circle.”
Pantsting (the circle) gives you flexibility to explore surroundings and experiences you hadn’t planned, while an outline (the box) provides the structure to arrive on time for the Flagstaff wedding. If you meander during the entire drive, taking in spontaneous adventures and never check your GPS, you will likely be late for the nuptials.
The Texas-to-Arizona road trip metaphor demonstrates that the circle and the box are not mutually exclusive. In the example of writing, if we adhere so tightly to an outline and don’t explore possibilities along the way, our novel/poem/essay/blog may not have the juice we’d like. We can do both: go with the flow – exploration of emerging ideas – and have a plan.
Artists often grapple with the need to impose structure on the inherent randomness and uncertainty of life, often finding beauty in the process of navigating between these two forces. Art is not just about creating aesthetic objects. It is also a dynamic that helps us acknowledge and engage with the chaotic aspects of life.
Art of Human Experience
Many of us have been schooled in life models centered on command and control. We can’t help but feel that chaos is a “bad” thing. A weakness. Failure.
Yet, creativity involves embracing uncertainty, stepping into the unknown. There’s no guaranteed “right” answer, only choices and decisions born from multiple experiments, revisions, and feedback loops.
“Circle inside the box” reframes chaos as an ever-present aspect of living. In art and in life we cannot create order without first managing chaos.
In Twyla Tharp’s book, The Creative Habit, she framed chaos and order this way: “Before you can think out of the box, you have to start with the box.”
To strengthen your embrace of chaos in life, play with these dynamics:
Embrace your “Messy Genius”: Some believe that cluttered workspaces or environments can actually foster creativity by allowing for more flexibility and less restriction on how ideas are explored. Allow for cross-pollination of ideas in your work and play spaces.
Process-Oriented: Focus on the journey rather than the final product or end goal, allowing for the emergence of unexpected elements.
Sit with Ambiguity: “I don’t know” is a great place to start or continue exploration.
Experiment with Controlled Chaos: play with art techniques such as collage or paint scrapes and dripping, to introduce controlled chaos into your life work.
Recognize Beauty in imperfection: Artists often find aesthetic value in the unplanned, the unfinished, and the unexpected elements within their work. Many of life’s peak moments come from surprise and releasing expectations.
