Monday Musings: Keeping in Sync with Your Creative Drive

I have two more tips for keeping your creative bucket full that I did not cover last week.

Keeping in Sync with Your Creative Drive

Many of us have patterns and rhythms to our creative drive. I've mentioned before that autumn tends to spur me on to be more creative. It's not that I don't feel creative during other times of the year. It's more that when the first crisp days of autumn hit, I have to make something. I haven't always been aware of this trend, but ever since I first noticed it, it's something that I've come to expect, take advantage of, and even rely on (see last year's difficulties when I didn't experience this creative surge).

When I mentioned this in writing group two weeks ago, one of my friends said that she has  a way of telling when she's ready to work on a new project. Much like pregnant women tend to nest and get their houses ready for a new child, she starts cleaning and organizing her writing space. It's not a conscious act, but by becoming aware of her tendency to do this, she is now equipped. She knows when the organization comes, she's ready for the new project.

What I take away from this is that we all have cycles of creativity and inspiration in our lives. If you're having trouble keeping yourself in your art or your writing, take a step back and try to spot the trends in what happens when you're at your most creative (or your least creative) and begin to figure out what your cycle is. You may not figure it out right away, but the effort will equip you to figure out how to move forward. Sometimes your creative cycle won't be normal (see me last fall); that's okay. It doesn't mean you're broken or will Never Art Again! It just means you're having an off day/month/season and you need to find something that sparks your art or even take a purposeful hiatus. Sabbaticals aren't just for pastors and CEOs. Don't be afraid to take a break from your art to work out what's holding you back or deal with other priorities in life. Just be sure you jump back in afterwards.

And while you're taking a break, or figuring out your creative cycle, why not . . .

Learn Something New

Specifically, learn something new about your art form. Pick up a book on sketches or anatomy. Find a writing craft or exercise book that focuses on elements you have difficulty with. This kind of repeats my tip from last week about trying new things, but I'm more interested in the idea of consuming new ideas rather than producing them.

I recently picked up Steven James' first book on writing, Story Trumps Structure. I've enjoyed James' Patrick Bowers thrillers, and the fact that his writing process is organic rather than outlined intrigued me. How did he write mysteries without plotting? So far it's been possibly the most helpful book on writing that I've read. It focuses on tension and character and asking the questions that will drive your story forward in the most consistent and gripping ways. If you are a writer of any persuasion, I recommend reading this book. I feel much better equipped to tackle the edits on Albion Apparent and to write my other stories now than I did before I started reading it.

Do you have any other tips that help you keep your creative bucket full? Share them in the comments!