Do you consider yourself a creative person but are plagued by negativity? I will tell you that you are, in fact, creative simply because you’re human. But while you may be creative, you may have also experienced fear around the creative process.
You may have been distracted by a variety of thoughts: doubt, the fear of being wrong, comparisons of self to others, believing people who tell you you’re not talented.
These negative thoughts are then fostered and nourished until you finally reach a place where you decide to ignore, replace, or bypass the creative process in favor of safety. Negative thoughts about your creativity become self-fulfilling prophesies. Otherwise smart and talented people hide their talents, and diminish themselves as a creative person to the people who ask, “Why are you not creating?”
I see this with writer friends, colleagues, and clients. When I ask them the question, invariably they answer, “I have no time,” or “I’m not really that good.” When in reality they are very good, or they are on their way to very good, but have decided to stop being a student and start being an observer of others who create. Saying time prevents you from being creative is a way to deflect what you may actually think–you’re not all that talented. How sad is that? And how do you reverse this negativity?
Since I work with writers, let me talk to you about writing. To answer the question, write anyway. Seems trite and a bit simplistic, but here’s a quick how-to:
1. Remember how much writing brought you joy, brought you to a place of flow.
2. Purchase supplies, but seriously, for something like writing, you just need a piece of paper and a pen. That’s it. Keep this venture simple. If you write on your laptop, all’s the better. Nothing could be easier than opening your laptop, selecting a new text doc, and writing.
3. Pick a time. Better yet, start now. Making space between now and when you begin allows more procrastination to settle in. And you’ve been procrastinating for a while, why encourage it?
4. When you’re done, sit back, and let the experience soak in. How do you feel? What made you feel complete and excited? Note the experience and savor it. You want to make more of these experiences show up in your life, and you can only do that through planning, not through circumstance.
5. Put your writing aside for a day. Come back to it with fresh eyes. Underline or highlight the parts that sound good. That are clever. That include fresh viewpoints and are well written.
Savor these parts. Feel-good endorphins coursing through your veins is proof that being creative is important to you.
Do you feel good about at least some of what you wrote? Now is the hard part—incorporating this into your life on a regular basis.
1. Open your calendar.
2. Add your writing time to at least one day during the week. You travel? You probably bring your laptop with you, so make 15 minutes on the plane your time to write. Take 15 minutes when you wake up at the hotel and write. Use 15 minutes at the airport to write. You get what I’m saying here. Start with 15 minutes.
3. See? Not so hard. “But wait,” you say, “I have questions about character development, how to start an essay, how to write dialogue . . .” And so on. Lots of questions, and questions are actually good. It means you care deeply about your writing.
You want to improve, be better, craft more original work in your own voice. Ask questions. Ask colleagues. Ask in forums on the internet. Ask your writing buddies, and if you don’t have any, start looking for some. Form a writing group where you can share your work and support each other. They are invaluable. And don’t be afraid of making a mistake. Or writing like an amateur. Or finding that sometimes it’s hard to write.
These experiences are common among creative people, not just writers, and there are ways to overcome each and every one. How? Keep writing. Keep getting feedback from your peers. Read and apply what you read to your writing. If you want to write, start now. Don’t put obstacles in your way. Write in spite of the negativity you’re feeling. And by writing, know that you are overcoming the negativity with every word you choose.