How to be creative in 5 steps

Photo: Thorley Illustration

If I were to coach someone on STARTING a creative practice, it would be this 5 step process:

1. STOP
   You need to quiet yourself. Stop jamming so much in your day. Create pockets of time to make quiet spaces to hear your intuition speak to you. Your intuition is shy and polite. It holds back when you’re running the roads. We fill our days. That’s what we do. Take some of that off the agenda to fill it up with a practice.

2. ASK
   Now that you’ve opened up space, ask yourself “What is my intention?” Want to strengthen your inner conversation with that voice through art? Inspired by other artists and want to create art like they do? Want to make something so you can sell it because what you really want is more money to travel and see the world? Having a clear intention gets the ball rolling and builds energy.

3. TRY
   Find your own art. A practice that works for you. Try all the things. Paint, write, draw, recite poetry, act out dramatic scenes, make collage from sea glass… you get the idea. Doodle poodles. Restore vintage paint-by-numbers. Try things based on a) what is easily accessible b) what feels good (example… I’m not going to take on carving stone in Italy or pottery because one is too far away and the other doesn’t feel good in my hands).

4. LEARN
   Evaluate the experiences. Many things will bore you. Some things will intensify your curiosity. At some point you’ll land on something that is better than you expected and you’ll feel like you’re making it WITH someone. Even then sometimes it’s boring but you don’t mind this particular flavour of boredom. I still get bored when I’m painting. I’ve learned to get faster at painting. I have to outpace the boredom that will seep in if I spend too long on one piece. Plus, all that futzing about usually ruins it.

5. REPEAT
   If you found something that makes you come alive, repeat it. If you’ve found something so very boring, repeat step 3. If you run out of energy to even try, repeat step 2 and ask yourself again what your intention is. You might have to fine tune your WHY to reenergize yourself.

I did not expect to find a creative stream of consciousness through typing on an old manual typewriter. It was through trying it out (step 3) where I discovered it. Typing on a typewriter is an interesting ghostly communion while typing on a computer is not. I can’t explain it. Oh wait, yes I can.

Breathe Magazine recently interviewed me on creativity through typing on a typewriter.

Photos: Thorley Illustration (who also designed the piece)

The author of the Breathe Magazine article, Alice Elgie, sums it up nicely:

“No email facility, no news or social media feed, no online search function – a lack of distraction is one reason for choosing to compose first drafts on a typewriter. More than that, however, is the momentum, the rhythm, the sound of ideas moving from mind to hands to page.”

About using a typewriter to get in the creative mode:

“Janice MacLeod, creator of letter-writing subscription project, Cottage Letters, and author of Paris Letters, fell in love with typewriters when she was gifted an old manual model. ‘It reminded me of the joys of typing on a typewriter when I was a kid, back before correction tape and screens, when mistakes happened and that was just fine.’ Janice harnesses this sense of liberation in Cottage Letters:

‘My one goal each month is to exquisitely describe the month as best I can, and for that I use my secret weapon: the typewriter.’”

The August Cottage Letter in the Etsy Shop

The magic behind using a typewriter:

‘Typing taps into the same source I feel when meditating and I also feel my chest sort of vibrate when I type,’ she says. ‘I believe the body holds memory, and whatever memories are inside are jostled when typing. If you think about it, the chest is face to face with the keyboard, like the chest is doing the writing.’

Perhaps the most important point:

‘I never, ever have something interesting to say before I sit down at the typewriter. Not a clue. I sit down, put the paper in and… wait. The typing itself gets me into the mindset to create, I don’t get into a [creative] mindset first.’

How it feels to write with a typewriter:

‘It feels like a ride I’m on, but a slow ride, like an olden-day kids’ train. For me, the lack of distraction is at play, especially since the typewriter has its own noise.’

Photo: Thorley Illustration

There is more in the article. And you don’t need a typewriter, but it sure is fun to have one.

Janice

PS Thanks for all the help in the previous post when I asked if I should include my own art in the Cottage Letters. The answer is a resounding YES. August includes an art card featuring blueberries. More to come…