Category: Creativity

To Soar Creatively, Don’t Let What Others Think Clip Your Wings

You have ideas. You have stuff you want to get out there. You have stories to tell and things to share. In other words, you have the ability to think. And that thinking is what gives wings to all this wonderful inner-world beauty of yours.

However, there is this thing that happens. We start to share our fledgling inner beauty with others and they start to weigh in. Sometimes this can lead to great conversation and insight, but other times, there is negativity involved (rejection, doubt, and “suggestions” meant to hijack our thoughts).

We started to grow wings, yes, but then negativity clipped them and now we’re stuck on the ground.

See, I started considering all of this recently when I followed a thread on a popular social networking site. A well-meaning person asked a well-intentioned question, and she got all kinds of good advice. This person was thinking about something and other people shared their thoughts on her thought.

But then? Well, then the trolls stepped out from under the bridge and started to attack her thoughts. Violently. Angrily. As the comments scrolled on and on I could see that these negative attacks caused a slipping of momentum. A drag on progress. Just when this woman was starting to take flight, someone would try to pull her down.

Fortunately, the community was strong enough to overcome this, and success happened, but wow….

You see, the ability to think is what gives our ideas wings. The ability to tune out what others think gives us the power to soar. Consider that the next time you create. All the criticism in the world does not take us into the clouds. Taking on others’ thoughts and holding on to them only weighs us down.

Rather, it is our ability to hear, consider, and let go that keeps us light. Keeps us focused. Keeps us free.

Listen to those who have good advice on how to fly straight and true. Hear out those who want your journey’s success. But never ever be grounded by those who have the ability to criticize, but not the courage to fly.

How To Be Creative With Less Karma

Just One Talk on Karma

I was listening to a talk the other day about karma by a teacher named Paramahamsa Nithyananda (Paramahamsa is a Sanskrit-language honorific title for one who’s achieved enlightenment; I can’t verify Nithyanandaji’s status, but am only reporting on the content of the talk).

It was quite interesting, actually. Nithyananda said that our karma is not really about our actions, but our thoughts. So, as he says, if you fight with someone, it’s not the actual fight that counts karmically. It’s the fact that you engaged the thought of fighting (that brings about fights).

Karma Is All in Your Head

In other words, it’s all in your head folks! That runs counter to a lot of schools of thinking on karma that suggest it’s your actions that bring future consequences (not thoughts). According to Nithyananda, we surf thought currents, and these currents of thought (not action) bring consequences.

For instance, we have some thoughts and thought currents that create nothing in our reality (or just make us miserable in endless loops). These could be considered “bad” karma. Sometimes, however, we have thoughts that create some positive in our reality. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, that could be considered “good” karma.

However, he went on to say that even the things that create some of our reality, and could be “good” karma, can actually have unintended consequences for us down the line. Things that can bind us. He uses an interesting analogy: say you put your thought energy into getting a house. And you get it! You made it! But now, you’ve bound yourself to a mortgage and other issues. So, you achieved something and made it a reality, but now there could be other issues (busted plumbing, loud neighbors, expensive insurance, leaky roof, the need to move, etc.).

Houses and mortgages aren’t “bad.” I don’t think that’s the suggestion here. I think it’s part of a bigger warning about being careful what we wish for, and going in with our heads up. In other words, what we think may be good may have other issues, and we need to be aware and ready! We can get stuck in the quest for good as easily as we can get jammed up behind the desire to avoid bad.

Nithyananda suggests that instead of getting involved with thought currents of any kind (good or bad) the best we can do is stop engaging thinking! That’s right. Bring ourselves to a place where we don’t play endlessly with this thought or that thought. Strive for a quiet mind. In that space, all of our reality will be clear, and that is enlightenment.

It’s interesting to say the least. I can’t describe it all here. It’s too long. But you should check out the talk if you’re interested.

Karma and Creativity

Anyway, all of this talk on karma and thinking got me thinking (uh oh) about the question, “How does this relate to creativity?” We’ve been writing a lot here about writer’s block and busting through that, and then this talk on karma comes along.

I think a lot of what Nithyanandaji said, rings true. When I sit with a manuscript or other piece of creative work, and I get involved in thinking too much, I become paralyzed. Maybe the thought process goes like this:

“Will what I’m writing sell?”

“Will anyone want to read this?”

“Can I write fiction and non-fiction in the same lifetime?”

“Is this a waste of time?”

“Did I leave the iron on?”

“Do people iron anymore?”

You see, much like you, I surf waves of thought over and over until I have created nothing in my reality (or on my page). It’s a spiral. A completely counterprodutive spiral.

Perhaps the better approach is this:

“I’m going to write today, come what may.”

And leave it at that. You see? Instead of engaging the myriad of thoughts that threaten to derail me and pull me into a cycle of creative despair, I release myself to simply be present for whatever comes to mind. Instead of wishing and hoping for “good” to come of what I’m writing, I simply sit down to do it because it’s there to do.

I let the process be the process, and I don’t sprinkle in my doubts or hopes.

It just is.

It’s not about selling a manuscript or writing the perfect article. That’s the stuff of thought and karma. Instead, it’s about simply being available for whatever shows up so that I can create the one reality I prize above all: being creative in this moment.

That, my friends, is the most karma-free reality I can imagine.

 

In Creativity, as in Golf, Just Keep Swinging

A teacher once said to me, “Sometimes the best that people can give you is what they’re giving you in this moment. Don’t judge too harshly.”

That’s good advice, especially when wrestling with the creative muses. If you’re trying to make something beautiful happen, and you’re stumped, don’t be too hard on yourself. Realize that perhaps this is the best the creative gods can give you today.

And, realize you’re doing YOUR best.

Nobody sits down to write for example, with the thought, “Boy, today sure would be a good day to sit and stare at a cursor blinking on a blank page!” Sometimes, it’s just not your day.

But creating is a lot like golfing. See, in golf, you go out there on a crisp morning full of hope. You stretch, enjoy the smell of freshly mown grass, and drive up to that first tee filled with anticipation. You set the tee in the ground, place that new white ball ever so gently, waggle (yes, waggle), get firm in your stance, and…duff. Then swear. Then listen to the melodic sounds of friends laughing at your expense. Ah, the joys of sport!

This continues on for hours until you reach the 18th hole (it’s always on 18 where this happens). You find the groove. You hit the perfect shot right on the sweet spot. The ball sails into bar room legend, and you feel a rush of euphoria such that you’ve never felt before. Even your worst golfing critic in the group puts down his beer and says, “Nice shot!”

It’s that one moment that brings you back for more. That one sweet swing gives you the push you need, in order to remember why you love the game, even though the 90 previous shots drove you mad.

I think creativity is so much the same way. We can struggle for days to find something meaningful in the creative life, but when we get that one great photograph, write that one great paragraph, or sketch the perfect shape, it leaves us wanting more–no judgments and no doubts.

Because sometimes the best we can do is really our best.

In those other times? Well, all I can say is just keep swinging–and don’t judge too harshly.

To Defeat Writer’s Block, Use the Rule of Two

I’ve been wrestling with a new manuscript lately, and the first issue was this: do I tell the story in first or third person?

It led to a pretty big case of writer’s block, so I called a trusted advisor and we processed it a little bit. Wrestled the block together. I didn’t have a definitive answer when I hung up the phone, but I had a new way of looking at the situation.

If you feel stuck when writing today, process it. Talk to somebody about it.

I think of it as the Rule of Two. You type with two hands, so why not get two heads involved in the writing process on occasion? I’ve found that people are pretty nice about this. Every time I think I’m imposing, I actually find people quite willing to help. It’s not about sharing credit or stealing ideas. Rather, it’s about bringing stuck points into the light of day so that others can give us a new way of looking at the situation.

Sometimes it’s a simple word-choice problem. Sometimes it’s a plot point that can change your character’s destiny. No matter how small or large the stakes, getting another opinion can work wonders.

See, that’s the paradox of writing: it’s a solitary pursuit often  made better by sharing with others.

You don’t need to share with a great literary critic or famous author. Talk it out with your dog. Call you mom and try to describe the scene you’re struggling with. Meet a friend, buy him a coffee, and bounce some ideas. Find a writing blog and ask for help from the community in the comments section.

It’s about opening up. It’s about letting some light in through the oft-closed door of the mind. It’s about seeing the elements of your creation through someone else’s eyes if you’re mired in writer’s block or too close to make the call.

The rule of two, folks. Doesn’t work for everyone, but I’ve found it quite helpful in life and writing.

Just my two cents.

How do you get unstuck?

Five Ways to Handle or Overcome Writer’s Block

I got stuck while writing yesterday, so I said to my friend Writer’s Block, “Okay, Mr. Block. Let’s take a walk and get a burrito.” So we did. And we came back full of burritos and ideas.

The surest way to get over a block in the creative process is to acknowledge it and maybe sit patiently with it.

I know that runs counter to what we normally do, which is fight with the muses until they relent and we can get a few more words down, but I think acknowledging the block peacefully is the better course of action.

Why?

Because if the block has come, perhaps it is the creative process telling us that we need to pause. Think. Do something else. But maybe that’s just me. I tend to believe that things happen for a reason, and if I believe that when the words are flowing, then I have to stick to that paradigm even when the well (seemingly) runs dry.

Here are some ways that I deal with creative blockages:

1.  I lean back in my chair and take a few big breath. This form of meditation is quite effective, actually. When I’m hunched in front of my computer for a long time, sometimes my body just needs a new posture. Often, after small shift in body, the mind often frees up.

2.  I close the project and walk away. In life, I don’t get into fights every time someone gets on my nerves. Why is writing any different? Sometimes, the best course of action is to simply walk away from the frustration and live to write another day.

3.  I write words I know I’ll delete. Sometimes, I just let the story have some fun, even if it’s not a “fun” place. I don’t want jokes in a murder scene, so I write them then delete them. I think this is akin to when my parents would let me and my brother run around in the parking lot before solemn occasions so that we’d tire outselves out.

4.  I try a new direction to get back on the straight path. I was driving with a friend in Minnesota once and we started to turn in circles on black ice on the freeway. He let the car move in the directions it needed to go until we came to a gentle stop on the side of the road. He didn’t fight what the car wanted to do. He let it roll. Once we were safe, he pointed the car back toward our destination and continued on. Do you see?

5. I work on something else entirely. In this scenario, I don’t walk away from the computer (like in #2 above). Instead, I just turn my attention to something else. A blog post. Article research. Sometimes, like magic, a main-project insight will hit me while I’m working on something else, and just like that, I’m back.

How do you get over the block? Let us know!

Research Is the Mountain Writers Dread to Climb–But Must!

Today was an important step in my writing process. It was a vital day in my journey to complete a creative project. It was the crowning pinnacle of the writer’s journey!

It was…It was…

Research. Bone dry research. And very little in the big writing process is more important.

Research is the time we spend plodding through the web, dusty encyclopedias (remember those?), or the local library. It’s the time we take to mark up index cards, scribble on the whiteboard, or fill gaps in our story. Research makes an e-learning course better, a novel more coherent, and articles sparkle.

Here are a few ways I’ve climbed that mountain, both professionally and in my personal writing life:

1.  As an e-learning writer, I had to write a short introductory course on conflict minerals (a rip-roarin’ good time if ever there was one!). Of the 24 work hours I allotted to the project, at least eight hours were devoted to initial research. A whole work day of research on a brief course! Some topics, however, like HIPAA, took even longer. But here’s the secret: once the research was done, the course basically wrote itself.

2.  For a work of historical fiction I once created, I spent months researching the following: the topography and climate of the Silk Road, camels (one hump or two? Inquiring minds…), Persian emperors, Christian theology, Hindu mythology, the history of Eastern and Western philosophy, graveyards, dogs, architecture, Roman military tents, fire, and dates (the fruit–my research on actual dating came to a halt because I spent so much time researching alone in my office). I researched all through the writing process and the editing process. The manuscript is finished now, and I still find myself poking through research materials to see what I can add.

Remember these things as you climb the research mountain for work or personal writing:

  • If each assertion of fact you make for articles or work product has research behind it, you’ll be able to better defend your writing when a client or editor questions your accuracy
  • In personal writing, if your characters are set in a historical context (assuming you are going for that and aren’t creating a new world or alternative history), give them what history gave them–accurate clothes, food, and shelter
  • In both personal and professional writing, research does half the work for you–if you know the trail map inside and out, the peak is already close!

Research, my friends. Climb that mountain. The air is much clearer and the sky is much brighter at the top.

How do you approach research in your own writing projects? Do you love it? Hate it? Have any tips? Let us know!

Mark Twain Inspires Us to Just Start!

I ran across a quote today attributed to Mark Twain (this is the Internet, so who knows…it could be something someone’s grandma said a few hours ago).

It said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”

I like that. I have a few new creative projects in the works, and, quite often, the hardest part is that first step.

Let me give you a tip: if you’re considering a new blog, go get the domain name you want! If you want to write a new book, just sketch a character.

Do something. Get started. Take the very smallest step you can take to feel like you’re making some progress!

If you do, it’ll make Mark Twain (or someone’s grandma) very happy.