Approaching creativity with curiosity
And keeping an open mind
At the moment of writing this, I can say that I’ve officially outlined my WIP all the way through to the end. While this might not seem like a point of celebration—writers finish outlines every day, it doesn’t mean they’ll finish writing their manuscripts or even that they’ll publish—for me, it is. Why? Because save for one fanfic I wrote nearly ten years ago, I’ve never finished outlining any story. Because I’m a pantser and I write a little, then I outline a little, then I write a little more then outline a little more. Then, I usually get stuck, and I don’t finish.
The same happened this time. Just as I hit the climax of the story, I got stuck. While I’ve had a lot of faith in this story, the thought did cross my mind that I had reached the point in the repeating pattern where I dried up and gave up.
However, this time it was different.
To be completely honest, I can’t exactly pinpoint what it is about this time that’s different, but here are a few of my best guesses: First, I have an enthusiasm for this story like I haven’t in a long time. I’ve attempted writing other stories before, but the timing wasn’t right, the enthusiasm fizzled out, or I just didn’t care enough to give my energy to it. Maybe I just didn’t have enough of a vision at the time to feel like I could pursue those the way I have with this one.
My second guess is that I’ve been in therapy enough now and done so much self-work that I’m willing to take a bet on myself. Rather than throw the towel in, I’m willing and ready to fail if I have to but not without trying first. This was a big hurdle for me in the past. I refused to try anything because I was sure I’d fail by default. Thankfully, I seem to now trust that I can do things more for the enjoyment of it than just for the reward. I’m not perfect at letting myself follow my instincts but progress has been made.
What does all this have to do with this month’s newsletter? I’m glad you asked, and I’m glad you stuck around long enough to find out. Because there’s also one new thing I’ve discovered about my own writing/creating patterns that I think I’m also beginning to overcome. My hope is that this can give you some insight on what your own writing patterns are.
As I mentioned before, I’ve always been quick to give up on a project. One thing I’ve realized is that I’ve been approaching ideas for my stories with too closed a mind.
The thing is, when an idea comes to me, I get certain images, bits of dialogue, lines of prose. And then, as I proceed to build the story around these, they become my guiding light. I become attached to the idea of making them work in the narrative. Stubborn even. To the point that I get stuck and can’t move forward, refusing to “kill my darlings” and thus pushing the project away because it just “isn’t working.”
This is where I believe the wonders of therapy have begun to leak their magic into the way I approach my creativity.
Recently, whenever I reach one of these points, I’ve begun to ask myself, “Well…what if I tried it a different way? What if I tried a different option? Worked the scene from a different angle? Let go of this idea that it needs to happen the way I originally imagined? What if I just try?”
It really was that easy. And as easy as it seems, it’s been really difficult for me in the past. But I can now look at something that isn’t working, inspect its nuances, and say to myself, “What are some parts of this where I can consider letting go?” (Seriously, my therapist is going to be so proud of me when I tell her.)
This leads me to wonder, how many of us are approaching our creativity with this kind of closed mindset? How many of us are clinging to an idea we had and trying to make it come about in exactly the same way as when first came to us?
If there’s one thing that can be said about creation is that everything in existence evolves. So if you’re spinning a story from this one single idea, and it begins to grow, then why would the original idea itself have to stay the same?
Approaching our creative work with curiosity is a mindset that I think we don’t give enough thought to. I think we all assume that because we’re creative we’re automatically curious people, and as such, are already approaching our work with an open mind. But I think all of us will be surprised to find that there are sometimes other minor blockages that we’re creating for ourselves.
I encourage you to be mindful of this moving forward. Come to your desk, or wherever your preferred station of work is, and before you set out to do anything, especially if you’re feeling blocked, ask yourself, “What if you tried something different?” I dare you to turn your story on its head, even if just for funsies. Remember that that you don’t have to keep the changes if you don’t like them. But start somewhere and see what branches off. There are small tweaks that will make all the difference and will pleasantly surprise you!
Editing news
In June, I’ll be holding a sale of 10% off for the following services: Developmental Editing, Manuscript Critique, and Line Editing.* This means that if you’re shopping around for an editor for any of these three forms of editing, for a fiction novel (limited to certain genres), then let’s have a chat! If you book in the month of June, you’ll get 10% off your final total. So, we could commence work in August, September, or October, etc., but in order to get the 10% off, the booking of the service needs to happen in June!
*This offer does not include proofreading, copyediting, or any of the packages listed on my site.
Furthermore, I’m now implementing deposit payments. So if you book with me, $200 of your final total will have to be paid upfront to hold your spot until we’re ready to begin working on your manuscript.
For more information, be sure to follow me on Instagram or email me at maria@theintuitivedesk.com!
What I’ve been reading
For the last week of April and the first week of May, I was visiting my sister in Scotland, so I had to stop my reading streak for a bit. But before I left I managed to finish the following titles:
Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto — Sutanto does it again! Another hilarious and uplifting read. I was sold as a fan with Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, but this new book has only solidified that. I’ve already cued up Four Aunties and a Wedding because I need more of this auntie insanity!
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas — This was an experiment to see if I could get into the romantasy craze. While I don’t mean to generalize an entire subgenre based on this one book, I don’t believe romantasy may be for me as I’ve never been a big fan of high fantasy. That having been said, there could always exist a book in this genre in the future that could blow my mind, and I always keep myself open for such an event to happen. I love nothing more than when a book subverts all my expectations.
Then since I returned I read:
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle — This has been such an insightful read. I was feeling quite stuck for the earlier part of the year, with a grim outlook on my life with regard to my productivity, to the seeds I hope to be planting for the future, with the goals I’ve set out for myself. I’ve been a follower of Tolle since I read The Power of Now, but A New Earth somehow goes even into more detail about why focusing on the present moment and giving yourself to it matters and nothing else does. It’s helped to quiet my mind greatly. I admit I killed a brand new highlighter on this book, and if you’re into this kind of thing, this may be the kind of book for you.
And now I’m reading Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez, and I fully believe I may be entering my romance era. I’ve read romance before, but I always end up taking long breaks in between. My preferred narratives have always been a bit darker, angsty, and emotional. But right now I intensely feel the need for something lighter. And with Bridgerton (a show I love) taking over social media, it feels right to dive back into this genre again at this time. I’ve got my eye on so many titles — ready for my self-imposed book-buying ban to reach its end so that I can start adding more to my collection.
Newsletter update
The last time we met, I announced that this newsletter would now be coming to you biweekly. At the time, I was hesitant to announce that, but I knew I needed to cut down, I just wasn’t sure how much yet. However, since then, I’ve decided I will only be sending this newsletter out once a month. I know that once editing work starts to come in, I’m going to find myself against the wall with work, and the newsletter will suffer greatly in quality. I cringe at the idea of sending something out that doesn’t feel thoughtful or helpful (or half-assed, to use a more crass description) in some way just for the sake of sticking to a schedule. I’m incessantly concerned with only sending something out that feels worthwhile. I’m, as we speak, considering ways in which to make this a more stimulating experience for everyone. So once a month is how it will stay with the occasional special edition if something particularly important or time-sensitive arises.
And with that, I promise no more cutting down. As always, thank you for your patience and for your time, which I know is precious. I hope that you’ll stick around and see what other stimulating conversations we can conjure up.
Hi there, I’m Maria! I’m a freelance fiction editor assisting women writers in amplifying their voices through their writing. You can find me on Instagram @theintuitivedesk. Or visit my site
www. theintuitivedesk.com to find out more.
Wonder and what if are the best companions for us creatives. Love it!