It’s #ThrowbackThursday, and we’re looking back to a post from 2009. How do you spark your creative process when you’re stumped?
The creativity killers have invaded
The creativity killers have invaded, and I’m stumped on how to spark my creativity. I’m at an odd place in my writing – too close to the end of one book to be interested in it (no surprises left) and not far enough into another to know what the characters are doing. Plus, it’s summer, and my attention has been pulled toward vacations, sunny days, and a four-day work week.
What to do, then, to spark the creative side of my mind and get back into the swing of writing?
Not plotting. Not goal, motivation and conflict.
We’re going back to old school, folks.
Hand writing. It’s an exercise called Morning Pages, and it’s the brainchild of Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way. The premise is to set aside a specific time every day and free write until three pages of 8-1/2″ x 11″ paper is filled. No plotting, no stories, just whatever comes into your head and DON’T REREAD. The thought is deeply buried problems will be revealed as well as the solutions. After a specific period of time (I was given seven weeks. I’ve made it through three days so far) you’re to reread all your writing, circling the items you want changed and underlining action steps. More often than not, the solutions are tucked away within your gripes.
Now, I haven’t read the book yet, and I’m taking the exercise from someone who participated in a class a decade or more ago, but it sounds like a solid theory. I’m willing to give it a try. So far, the writing has swung between griping about not having enough organization in my life and lists of ways I could organize it. See, it’s working already.
Off now to put in my pages for the day.
Good luck on yours.
***2018 Cheryl returning****
p.s. I’ve since purchased The Artist’s Way.
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