People often want to know how you “do” your creative thing. (Probably the Number 2 question after “Where do your ideas come from?”1) How you make your art, how you actually get the idea out of your head/heart/interdimensional creative channel and out into physical form, whether on paper or some other medium.
Yes, I have taught classes on creative writing. Yes, there is much to be learned about craft, tricks of the trade, from character development to rising action, etc. No, it is not just about putting your butt in the chair and doing the work. And yes, it is about just putting your butt in the chair and doing the work. Oh, wait….
Let’s get clear: this is my secret sauce as someone who has been passionately pursuing creative work, in particular writing, for over twenty-five years. And with creativity, theory is great, but what you really need is experience. You need to practice doing the thing. (Probably that involves putting the theory into practice….) You also need to get comfortable with the fact that you will probably never be paid for all those thousands of hours you’ve spent practicing doing the thing—though hopefully you will get paid for a portion of them. You need to get behind this fact: in order to have a creative product, you will need to do the creative work.
So how do you do it? How does the sausage get made?
Everyone has their own way. Julia Cameron made the morning pages famous with her book The Artist’s Way. (I don’t do morning pages, but maybe they will work for you.) Other artists have other rituals. Maybe like Thoreau you need to go for a long walk and let the words percolate up through your consciousness as you commune with the natural world. There are all sorts of ways. This is just my way.
But before you embark on your way, we actually need to back up and get clear on something: This is your way. This is the method you use to clear the gunk from your creative channel so you can go be the cup spilling over with ideas. You are doing this for you and for your work. Engaging in your way has a purpose and it will help you. Doing someone else’s way will just annoy you.
How will you figure out the difference? Well, you’ll be irritated one way and more calm, focused and inspired the other way. I suppose sometimes your own way can get frustrating or test your patience, too, and that’s where experience comes in. You get to the point where you trust that your way will get you to where you need to go (i.e. creating stuff) and by doing it, you will release your resistance and a few of the little voices in your head saying things like, Did I put the laundry in yet?
Of course, you can create stuff without a way of getting there. You can just sit down and do it. But sometimes that’s a lot harder than it sounds, and that is when you need a way.
So. Here is my way.
Actually, one more thing. I really doubt that your way will or should be glamorous. It will probably be something small and quiet that gets you in rhythm with yourself. You know, it’s about getting clear on going within, not about impressing other people. My way is very quiet. It probably will not sound glamorous. It might even seem boring or banal to you. But it is my way.
Here is what I do: I pray or meditate before I write. Mostly, I pray, but somehow saying that sounds loaded to me, implying that you follow a particular tradition, so I prefer to say that I do a prayer practice. “Prayer practice” sounds more engaged to me, more as if I am communing with something, choosing my own words and entering my own experience. No matter how restless I am, by the time I’m done with it, I almost always feel calmer and clearer. I go straight to notebook or computer and get to work. I guess you could say that I am hearing that small, still voice within.
So there you go. That’s it. My secret sauce. It’s all about getting quiet enough to hear the whisper of my own inspiration. Picasso famously said, “Inspiration exists but it has to find us working.” Actually, I disagree a little bit…am I allowed to do that with a famous artist? ;) Inspiration exists…and if we can find a way to enter into its energy, then it will help us to work.
That’s my way. What’s yours?
Friendly reminder that things are changing in these parts starting in March! Every other week will continue to be free essays like this, no need to do anything, you will still get them; and every week in between will be fiction or art or meditation shares for paid subscribers. Yay!
They come from Idealand! Capital: Inspirationia.