Ellen Mulholland––writer, dreamer
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nurturing your creativity

6/30/2014

10 Comments

 
Picture
You cannot schedule creativity. You cannot say, today, I will write my book’s finest moment. It will be fabulous. Inspiration strikes when it’s ready. Of course, it helps to nurture it with other inspiring and creative people and ideas.

I recently experienced a spontaneous moment of creativity.

Participating in a teacher-training intensive on arts integration, I joined a team of educators at the end of the week to perform what we’d learned. As we brainstormed possibilities, I beckoned “hang on” and grabbed a sheet of paper. From there, the words and phrases bled from my pen like I’d hit a major poetic artery.

Who knew I had a little rapper in me? The words simply flowed and bounced right out of my mind and onto the paper. The rhythm popped and slipped at the right moments; beats dropped; syntax wagged; my mouth spat out the lushly lyrical lingo as if on cue.

I’d never written a rap. I had certainly penned my share of verse, however. Simple haiku, predictable four stanza rhymes, and a few odes in free form.  Never a rap. Certainly nothing Eminem or Snoop Dogg would lay claim to.

Yet, I did. And the ease surprised me. It was easy because I was inspired. I had just spent five days working with a room of incredibly talented and passionate educators, following the lead of several gifted and compassionate artists. I was infected, and my soul’s disease was poetry.

The whole moment got me thinking. You cannot make an appointment with creativity. If someone were to have said to me, “At the end of the week, Ellen, you need to write and perform a rap about what you learned”, I would have froze up. I would have spent the entire week perseverating over this task. By the time the day arrived, I’d have nothing but a bowl of writer’s block.

If you are experiencing some slag in your writing brilliance, consider spending time with those who inspire you. This could be a friend. It could also be time locating and viewing some great Ted Talks or other free online materials that seek to free your inner creative birds.

Here are some of my favorites:

Elizabeth Gilbert tells us “writing is my home”.

Kirby Ferguson says, “everything is a remix”.

Volunteer firefighter Mark Bezos shares why everything matters.

Write on!

*Image courtesy ponsulak/freedigitalphotos.net

10 Comments
Fida link
7/3/2014 04:17:49 am

That sounds awesome, thanks for sharing!

Reply
Ellen Mulholland link
7/10/2014 03:17:36 am

Thanks, Fida!

Reply
L. M. (Chaotically Yours) link
7/3/2014 05:25:44 am

So true!

I wrote a post a while back talking about creativity feeding off creativity. I know I get over my doldrums much quicker when I'm surrounded by inspiring things, be it creative people or just their works (music, fiction, paintings, etc.)

Most of my writing has to be done in relative privacy. (I'm a little too distractible.) :) But nothing beats those moments of inspiration where everything comes pouring out.

Reply
ellen mulholland
7/3/2014 08:26:53 am

I so agree! It's just a matter of sticking with it and finding the clicks :)

Reply
Patricia Lynne link
7/4/2014 11:07:51 am

If only we could make an appointment with creativity, it'd be so much easier. Oh well. You give great advice at the end. Thanks for sharing.

Reply
ellen mulholland
7/4/2014 12:21:12 pm

Appointments would help! Elizabeth Gilbert has a few Ted Talks up. They're good pep talks :)

Reply
Tui Snider link
7/10/2014 01:50:35 am

Love that you were able to rap. How fun!

Your post reminds me of some documentary I saw a long time ago about this Tai Chi teacher who taught each day for free in a park. Anyone could show up.

But... the teacher would ignore new students until they had been coming for at least a year! Then, suddenly, he would off them pointers. When asked, he said something like, "Simple. If they show up for a year, I know they are serious."

Your post makes me think that as long as *we* keep showing up to the page, our muse is gonna realize that we are serious about it and reward us.

p.s. I'm dropping by from the #StoryDam blog hop linky!
Hope to see you at tonight's chat. :)

Reply
Ellen Mulholland link
7/10/2014 03:21:19 am

I love the Tai Chi teacher story. Yes, Tui, we need to keep showing up. Persist. In fact, one of the Studio Habits of Minds that artists use is "Persist and Engage". It means sticking with your work, being there with it.
I've developed a routine for myself to write despite my day job, kids' needs and life. Now, if I don't write in a day, or spend some time on my WIP, I feel incomplete.

Will try to make #StoryDam chat tonight @ 5PM PST.

Write on!

Reply
kelly
7/27/2014 11:19:30 am

what if you don't know who or what inspires you. my creativity comes in random, distant bursts at the most inopportune times....at work, 65 on the freeway, the middle of the night, but never ever when i have free time...very frustrating.

Reply
Ellen Mulholland link
7/27/2014 12:35:46 pm

I hear you, Kelly. You cannot tame the muse, but you can learn to take advantage of those creative bursts. One of my favorite purchases is a mini digital recorder. I used to keep it in my car or my purse or by my bed. Just capturing that moment and speaking aloud my thoughts was enough to lodge the idea inside me. Later, I'd listen to my recordings, write them down in a notebook. Now, most of us have cell phones with voice recorders. I'd say the best thing to do is write every day. Flex that creative muscle. Teach it routine. Eventually, it will cooperate. Good luck, and come back to share your progress!

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  • Home
  • Blog and More
  • Words by Ellen
  • Words about Ellen
  • 10 simple writing tips
  • Writers to read
  • BIRDS ON A WIRE
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  • Author visits, book signings, more
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