Bad Advice

I mentioned before that I am sort of between writing processes right now. I feel that I have lost touch with my writer's intuition, and the organic process of creating that used to guide me. This problem started, I believe, about six years ago when I started attending writing conferences again after many years away.

Now, I love writing conferences and other conventions. I love seeing old friends and meeting new ones. I love visiting, commiserating, and networking. I love attending classes and workshops. But, I think that along they way, I been given some bad advice at these conferences. (Bad for ME, mind you. This advice might be great for other writers.) Outlines, structure, character arcs, etc., etc. are all great things. They are also hampering my creativity. Big time. I feel almost paralyzed when I sit down to write for fear that I'm going about it all wrong.


Something's got to change, and fast.

So, I'm very sorry, but I am ditching story structure. I am ignoring character arc. I'm not outlining. I'm going to sit down and tell stories the way they unfold in my head. The way that feels natural and right to me. Yeah, maybe I am doing it wrong. I don't care anymore. I just want to feel creative again.

We'll see how it goes.

New Writing Plan: I will create wonderful things, joyfully, courageously, and with reckless abandon

 I will create wonderful things, joyfully, courageously, and with reckless abandon.

Well, now we come to the hard part. The part I have been failing at for months on end. The part I'm not sure I can ever achieve again. The part that all the other pieces are trying to lead me to.


I will write stories I would want to read. Stories I feel excited about.

I will let go of my need for worldly rewards. (Where have I heard that before?)

I will set reasonable goals.

I will focus on daily writing, preferably for at least two hours a day.

I will practice believing that it matters. (See this list from Mette Harrison)

I work on knowledge-time-enthusiasm and relaxed-focused-prepared. (See these posts to find out what I mean here.)

I am still not having much success in actually creating anything. But I am trying. Honestly whenever I sit down to write, I am overwhelmed with fear and doubt. I know these things take time, so I will continue to work and to pray so I can get where I want to be.

Qualities of a Writer Part II: Creativity

cre·a·tiv·i·ty [kree-ey-tiv-i-tee, kree-uh-] –noun. The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination. The process by which one utilizes creative  ability.

This one's a no-brainer, right? We wouldn't want to be writers if we weren't creative. President Deiter F. Uchtdorf said:  The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

That desire to create is at the heart of writing. But creativity can wither and die if we don't give it constant care and nourishment. Some things that I do to nurture my creativity are:

Listen to good music

Read good books

Go for walks around the pond

Spend time in nature

Have fun with my family

Play piano or guitar

Sing along with the piano or guitar

Get enough sleep

Get some exercise

Pray and meditate

Study scriptures

Nurture my relationships with family, friends and God

What about you? How do you keep that creative spark alive amid all the pressures and stresses of life that threaten to suck all our creativity away?

Something to Think About

My sister sent me some new notebooks for my birthday. (Thanks, Lindsay!) She put inspiring quotes inside the front cover. Here's one:

Creation is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Start small. Don't let fear of failure discourage you. Don't let the voice of critics paralyze you--whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create." -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Nice, huh? If one were turning, say, 39, today and one wondered if it maybe it was just too late to make one's dreams come true, one might be really encouraged by that quote, especially, "don't let fear of failure discourage you," and, "don't let the voice of critics paralyze you."

And don't forget this one (it's over there on the sidebar):

God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But, He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe.
- Jeffrey R. Holland

 So, go ahead. Create. Believe. Here's a toast to dreams coming true, no matter how long it takes!

Pretend that's sparkling cider in there!