We must become alert enough to consciously replenish our creative resources as we draw on them. —Julia Cameron
All Out Of Ideas
This week, I felt like I just couldn’t bear to write this newsletter. I’m all out of ideas, I thought. I’m a creative raisin—all dried up. I felt as if I had nothing to say, and I wasn’t sure anyone would want to hear it, anyway. This is not a mindset that inspires writing, let me tell you.
So I Didn’t Do It
Every evening, I told myself that it was time to work on my newsletter. And every evening, I didn’t do it. Finally, I decided that people could live without a newsletter for one week. I needed a break. I decided to switch gears and read a book. As I’ve been focused on entrepreneurship lately, I’ve mostly been reading books about marketing or business. Often, I read books on writing. But the book I picked up wasn’t any of that—it was a young adult fantasy novel. I read it for fun.
Fill The Well
My friend Heather Demetrios always reminds writers that we need to “fill the well”. You can’t simply take water from an endless source. Sometimes, you have to wait for it to replenish. Anyone who has ever watched a pot of water on a stove knows that the only way to make it boil is to turn your attention to something else, like chopping ingredients. That’s true for our creative mind, as well.
This Week
I’m writing you a permission slip to fill your creative well this week. Listen to a piece of music, watch a movie, look at a work of visual art, or read something new (if you don’t have time for a whole book, try a short story or article). Fill your well and see what refreshing ideas you draw from it.
