In this post and over winter, I’ll be sharing tips and tools to help you understand your own creative process. It’s true that my focus has been split between writing and painting and that makes sense to me. I don’t see being creative as limited to one and only one form of expression. With that in mind, some of these weekly tips and tools will be more focused on finishing a draft of a novel or memoir, and others more of a broad range of creative outlets.

Use what works. Leave the rest. Come back to them as needed.

1. What Are You Working On?

To introduce yourself to the community we’re growing here, tell us a bit about what kind of creative projects you’re working on or wish to start with. This will be a supportive and fun interactive bunch. I’m offering a weekly prompt night for writing folks as well as a monthly hang-out for us to talk about the process or ask for help from each other.

2. Show and Tell

What are you working on this month? It’s a new week, a new month and are you starting a new project?

I have a novel called Rocket that is set in rural New Mexico (USA) with the main character hiding out from trouble after she stole/rescued a dog from an abusive home. Next is this slow revision process. There’s a course here in the classroom that’s an outline of how I revise. What are you upto?

3. Writing Prompt #2

He said/She said: Write a story that is 250-500 words using alternating voices, he said, she said, he said. This is a disagreement about an issue and playing with subtext. What is said and not said?

4. What’s Your Excuse?

One thing to consider is what is holding you back from being and living as you’d like? Whatever that means to you? sometimes it’s a sense that we don’t have time or the funds, both legit reasons but still, sketching as you wait for a phone call, or at an appointment takes no money just a pencil or pen. Or perhaps you feel like it’s time you lack? Well, my challenge for you is to put away your “smart” phone and pick up some magazines and cut out images you like. Or focus on cooking a meal you’ve not tried before…make your dinner into a lovely tasty creative meal.

So write down some ways you can step into the life you want with smaller steps.

5. When do you feel most creative — and what’s happening around you at that moment?

I’d like you to think about what you have done in the past or currently and what was going on around then? This is a great habit of noticing because once we are aware we have choices. We are rewiring our brains by that simple act of noticing.

For me, let’s see. I get overwhelmed by noise yet if I visited a city, it would be amazing and inspirational on some levels. Most of my life, I live in rural and mountainous areas so when there, it’s the colors and shapes of the landscapes that stirs up something in me. The sunrise and sunsets. The bird songs. The wind.

So again, take your time and think about what inspires you to express yourself creatively? Let us know.

6.What does being a creative person mean to you?

We all see it differently. If you can articulate what creativity means to you, it gives you room to move, to explore. So think about this question and jot down some ideas.

7.What is your biggest hope for the next year, creative-wise?

Given the direction of becoming more creative in our lives, this question can help you set markers, goals and then break it down into steps to get there.

Play with ideas and start to keep track for the year to come. With each of these questions/prompts, freewrite or act on them, your call! They are here to inspire you to think bigger, get ideas out into the world and open you up to new creative projects and skills.

8. Steps for Success

I found this list recently about getting rich. I think we can also use this as steps for consistent creativity in our lives. (I’ll credit the source in a comment.)

• Desire: Write down what you want + why. Read daily.
• Faith: Say your goal out loud as if it’s done.
• Autosuggestion: Repeat a mantra until it sticks, and feel it in your heart.
• Specialized Knowledge: Master ONE skill that moves you forward.
• Imagination: Brainstorm creative solutions daily.
• Organized Planning: Break goals into weekly & daily tasks.
• Decision: Act within 24 hrs.
• Persistence: Do 1 small action daily for 30 days.
• Mastermind: Surround yourself with 2–5 growth-goal-oriented people.
• Subconscious Mind: Visualize success before sleep.
• Brain: Replace one negative input (SM, News or people) with positivity.
• Sixth Sense: Trust & act on your gut; it knows!
• Overcome Fear: Take one step toward your biggest fear.

9. How important is a community for you? Having a creative cohort? And how do you find one that works for you? Online, in person, readings, courses, events, what works?

10. Stuck:

When you think about starting something new, or letting other people see what you’ve made, what tends to hold you back, if anything? I suggest you think about this over the next few days. My challenge is slightly different though. I tend to share new paintings, get great responses and now I’m frozen. I can’t recreate what they loved and I get stupidly frustrated. What would you do if you were in this crunch?

There you go, enough food for thought. Take your time with these questions, let them seep into your day and come back to them.

Then if you want to join a creative cohort find me on https://www.skool.com/explore-create-share-8023.

And if you want more specific one to one manuscript development because you’re stuck with a draft, contact me via https://www.skool.com/finish-your-book-1908

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