For today’s Write Tribe Festival of Words #6, I invited a very special young lady to share her thoughts about what it takes to live a creative life. Enjoy!
I was really excited when Shinjini asked me to write about living creativity. It’s something that’s really close to my heart. And though it is a wide and broad topic, there are three key things that I want to focus on today.
Making friends with the inner critic
Before I even begin talking about creative living, I think it’s important to address the elephant in the room – the inner critic. Mine is called Prissy Missy, and for a long time, she had me convinced that I didn’t have a creative bone in my body.
You see, the inner critic’s sole job is to protect us. And she {or he} does it by trying to keep us small and contained within a well-defined box, if you will. This box looks different for everyone, built as it is with elements from the society we grew up in, our family influences, initial schooling, formative years – you get the drift. So, every time we want to do something even slightly different, something that may set us up for failure {gasp!}, or something that’s so new that the inner critic has never heard of it before, she will go into panic mode. And creativity, my friend, sends our inner critic into a frenzy!
You’re not good enough. Your <insert creative dream> sucks! You will make a fool of yourself.
These are just some of the weapons she lobs at us. And you can’t just bat her away like a fly and go do your shiny thang, ’cause she will then go into kamikaze mode and attack you when you least expect it. So you got to make friends with her. Listen to her, understand her concerns, and then tell her something like: “Thank you for sharing that, but I’m going to do this thing anyway. So I’d really appreciate if you just let me try and sit quietly for a little while.”
Making the time for creativity
Here’s the other thing about creativity – it is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. And as it gets stronger, it becomes even more…how should I say this…demanding.
You’ll be bombarded with ideas and inspiration. There may be times when you’ll have to pull the car over to the side and start writing those ideas down furiously {true story!}. They’ll be flying around you so thick and fast that you will want to scream, and will then go into panic mode, because there’s no way you can do all of those things! And you, of course, want to execute all of those bright and shiny ideas.
So here’s a little tip: Clear out your weekend schedule and become a slave to your creativity. Because the more you create, the more you follow your ideas down the rabbit holes through which they lead you, the more enriching your life will be.
Understanding creative ebb and flow
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you have to kiss your social life goodbye forever {thank the Lord!}. Because here’s the final thing I have to say about creativity today – it ebbs and flows.
So while you go through a phase of creative….mania? {see point above}….there will come a phase when things will slow down. After the initial relief, you may want to give into paroxysm of tears because you’re convinced that all your ideas have dried up and that Prissy Missy was right, you don’t have a creative bone in your body.
But hold up there, buttercup. This is normal. After all, you really don’t want to live like a creative maniac all the time – that way lies insanity! Use the down time to polish up your projects, do any administrative tasks you may have ignored, remind your friends that you’re alive and well. But most importantly, use that time to feed your muse. Explore new artists, new art forms, watch some artist interviews, read some inspiring books – and slowly, the ideas will start dropping in again, until you’re back and raring to go with a brand new creative project!
I do hope these tips helped you, and that you are inspired to lead living more creatively!
Yes, I realize I didn’t introduce my guest for today. Well, here she is!
Yup – all of this came to you courtesy my trusted Tarot deck. I didn’t have enough time to rope someone in for a guest post or an interview. I thought of featuring the husband and his passion for woodworking, but I didn’t have enough time to think it through and do it any kind of justice.
When I was at my wit’s end, I thought why not approach this more creatively. So I decided to channel the wisdom from my Tarot deck. I separated all the major arcana and court cards and pulled my character from there. I then shuffled the rest of the deck, pulled three cards, and used those as prompts to build up this article.
Fascinating, these Tarot cards, eh? 😉
If I’ve managed to pique your curiosity about the Tarot, you may want to look into the Tarot Fundamentals ecourse.
This is the perfect course for beginners, where we cover all the things you’d want to know at the start of this fascinating journey:
- what the tarot is
- how it works
- the best decks for beginners
- the structure of the tarot and much more!
Plus, I share an easy way to help you start reading the cards with ease. Click here for all the details and to sign up.
Wow! That was an amazingly creative interview. Please tell Prissy Missy and your Inner Critic that they are absolutely wrong . As I said before your tarot cards and you are pure magic
Love this message! I look forward to following these key tips to nurture my creativity. Thanks for sharing.
Smart Chica! I kept reading thinking that you forgot to intro your guest and give the name of the person. Hehe.
Conquer your inner critic first then everything will follow. Lovely interview. Thanks for sharing.
Great post. i was rereading the post to know the guest name. And I was happy that the guest is the writer herself. Great take.
Wait, what?? Hahahaha… very insightful. She reminds me of a real life editor, Rose, who asked me to write to her about why I was afraid to write a novel. I didn’t think I was…till I sat down to write. http://jahangiri.us/2013/novelist/
I love the name of your inner critic. Mine must be haughty totty 😛
I could so relate to ebbs and flows part. Somedays I draw like a machine, other days I barely feel motivated to pick up my pen. Loved your idea for the prompt.
Wow! That was a really creative take on the prompt Jini. Don’t we all have this prudish miss Prissy Missy in our lives, raising her disapproving head at anything new we do!
Loved this.. Well expressed.. And so true for everything actually… But your inner critic has a cool name atleast ?
This is a great inspiring post. I used to be nervous about anything that I made and never thought people would like the stuff I do. Sarah #mg
The past three weeks I have worked endlessly on creative projects like my blog/writing planner and writing new blog posts but haven’t found the time to write my stories. Of course, I haven’t had the thoughts there either. It does ebb and flow for me too and I know my ideas are still there. I’m waiting until my kids go back to school in two weeks and hopefully I will have more time with my writing. #mg
I could see myself so much in this post, that inner critic held me back for so long and in some ways still does. Beautifully written! #mg
Absolutely loved these tips for creativity! And totally agree with the ebbs and flows bit!
There are so many tips that resonate for me right now, I am going through the flow process of intense inspiratation so reading this was lovely backup to my process. Thanks for sharing. x
I love these tips and for me I think the most important one is making time! When its getting busy with uni stuff I really need to remember this one!
xoxo Annaleid
http://www.actuallyanna.com
always good reminders – especially inner critic for me. Still working at times to silence her but getting better. I agree acknowledging her “I have to try or I’m off to play” is a good plan.
Feed the creative muse! I love that. So much of what we do as creative individuals (whether we call ourselves creatives or not) has to do with experiencing life and allowing it to change us. Seeking experiences that feed the muse, and actively looking for ways to connect what we are seeing, feeling, experiencing with our own creative outlet charges my batteries when I’m feeling low. I also have to remember NOT to overcommit. I have about eighteen hours of alone time coming up here and I already have a laundry list of stories, scenes, and blog posts I want to write or edit. I need to make sure not to invite my inner critic to the creative table by promising I’ll do more than I reasonably can, then blaming myself for my failure later. Thanks for the awesome reminder and the fun read!
Yes! Yes! Yes! Every word is true! Bombarded with creative inspiration…must quell the fear…ebb and flow. I’ve been on this journey for about a year now, and it is incredibly rewarding! Thank you for this awesome post!
I call my inner critic Larry Lizard! I strive for creative living. I have original works of art in my home, paintings, sculptures, live with musicians – yet sometimes I feel the ebb and it depresses me. I am a full-time writer and often I think I will never afford a car because my creativity isn’t creative enough. I write anyway, because it’s my job. Great tips here. Motivating.
Ohh I need to name my inner critic. Prissy missy sounds like she’s a toughie. Loved this post as really sums up the process of creativity. Just what I needed to read today!
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inner critic – we definitely have a love hate relationship with that one, no?
Wow! that was something i read above. I know I have the creative bug within me, but the issue is how to spark it. So, m definitely gonna use the above tips. Hoping for the best. Cheers!
Prissy Missy can hang around for constructive criticism, not for putting doubts where there aren’t any. You shared some good points here. Writing bravely and creatively is most important.
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