Creativity & Time (In The Word Cellar)

The last "In The Word Cellar" post wrapped up the MFA mini-series. That said, I'm happy to add to it if you have questions, so just let me know. This week I'm thinking about creativity and time. I'd like to write a beautiful, meditative essay about this topic, but that's going to take more time than I have right now. So for now here's an off-the-cuff post instead.

Doing stuff takes time. Doing creative stuff can take a lot of time. It can also make time go all wonky, contracting and expanding it, making it refuse to play by the normal hourly rules.

Scenario #1: You sit down to write and the words won't come. You tell yourself, I'll sit here for one hour and do nothing else but focus on writing. Time limps, drags, scrapes by until you're begging for mercy, aching to stand up and do something more pleasurable, like wash dishes. 

Scenario #2: You set out to write (or paint or dance or take photos) and you shimmy into a sweet groove. You are in the zone. You look up and zip! You've "lost" an hour or two or five.

Scenario #3: This is the in-between scenario: You write something, maybe a blog post. You think it will take about an hour to write it, edit it, proofread it, add a photo to it, and hit "publish." Sometimes it takes an hour. Sometimes it takes three. It's not that time zipped or dragged, it's just that the process was more involved and consuming than you thought it would be.

I was talking about creativity and time with a client the other day. She was feeling frustrated because Scenario #3 happens to her a lot. It happens to me a lot, too. Things often take much longer than I think they will. (Except when they don't, of course. Sometimes I put off doing something because I'm sure it will be difficult and a major time-suck. And then it ends up being easy-peasy and taking five minutes, and I feel like a schmuck, albeit a productive schmuck.)

I've been thinking about the nature of creative work, and how it forces us to play by different rules than if we were just making widgets on an assembly line. Creative work isn't so regulated, so orderly, so perfectly timed.

Ideas don't come down the conveyor belt in perfect succession, spaced apart just so. 

Developing an idea doesn't happen in an orderly, assembly line fashion. It's messy. Things do not always proceed in a linear direction. There is much doubling back, doubling up, rearranging, redoing. I have to remember this every time I start writing a new essay or developing curriculum for a new course. Each time I do it I learn something new, but the learning never stops.

The most important thing I keep learning about creative work is that it needs time and space to breathe. If I sit down to write, I want to be writing--actively. I want to see words filling up the blank page. Letter after letter, word after word, line after line, punctuation mark after punctuation mark. Progress! I worry that if I'm not typing, I'm not doing anything. And if I'm not doing anything, then I must be lazy or stupid or creatively blocked. But no, this is not so. Idling is a good and necessary part of the creative process. Let your mind wander. Daydream. Doodle. Give yourself -- and your work -- time and space to breathe. I mean this literally (meditation, yoga, deep breathing, taking walks -- all good things), and more metaphorically. Let things steep and simmer for awhile. It adds flavor and depth, like a good soup. (Not everything needs -- or can wait for -- a lot of marinating, of course. This blog post, for example, won't get a lot of breathing room. It's a bit more slapdash than that. But the essay I'm working on this week is getting a lot of breathing room. I've been noodling with it since August. This frustrates me, but I also know that it needed this long to come into being and to come into its own.)

Creative work is like window caulking: It needs time to set-up and cure. Or compare it to wine and men: It needs plenty of time to mature. (My apologies to the men. And the grapes.)

(Those jokes probably won't make it into the meditative essay I want to write about creativity and time, so thanks for indulging me here.)

What about you? How does time fit into your creative process?

{In The Word Cellar runs on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month. Read other posts in the series here.}

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If you'd like to explore your own creative process and give yourself the time, space, and permission to write, I invite you to join me for Alchemy Inspiration: Start Writing. This fun, gentle, and encouraging 4-week ecourse is perfect for anyone who wants to start writing for the first time or the first time in a long time. Alchemy Inspiration runs February 6 - March 2, and registration is open.

The Word Cellar Writing Workshops: Why Get Feedback?

In this video I talk about The Word Cellar Writing Workshops, which are my new small-group, intensive sessions for writers who want feedback on their work and mature community with other writers. It's a rather long video; I basically pretended that I was sitting down to talk with you about why workshopping can be valuable. I may write a more streamlined essay about this someday; there is a lot more to say about the topic. But this is a good start for our current purposes.

Here are some of the key points from the video and about the workshops.

• Each workshop will be a very small group, only four people per session.
• The first session is slated to start February 1. This workshop experience includes a private group blog and five group phone calls. The dates for the calls are listed over here, but there is some flexibility based on the group's needs. So if you are interested in participating but can't make those dates, just email me and we'll figure out what to do.
• Each participant will submit 10-30 pages of writing (prose only, please) to the group. You'll receive feedback from the other participants and from me.
• This is an MFA-style workshop, which just means that I'm using the word "workshop" in the sense that it's used in MFA in writing programs. BUT, no grad school or previous workshopping experience is necessary! Really, this will be accessible whether or not you've been to grad school or done this kind of workshop before.
• I'll be providing a workshop tutorial with some instruction on how to give and how to receive feedback. I'll also help you figure out how to integrate the feedback you receive with your own vision.
• This will be an experience in which we create a kind and respectful environment where we support each other.

And the big questions: Why workshop? Why get feedback on your work?

• First of all, it's not about changing your creative vision based on everyone else's opinions.
• Sometimes you'll get conflicting feedback, and this is a gift! It helps you to clarify your own creative vision. (I've written about my own experience with this over here.)
• Getting feedback on your work helps you to see your blindspots.
• Writing is a tricky business because it forces two competing elements of language to co-exist. On one hand there's the useful side of everyday communication. On the other is the artistic use of language. When the overly useful invades the artistic, things can feel flat on the page. When the creative overtakes clarity, readers may be confused. Having "test" readers helps you to find out if either of these is happening so you can recalibrate.
• Something I don't say in the video, but an important element in sharing our work: Courage. Getting feedback from people you can trust is a good exercise in courage. It can be frightening to share our work for the first time. Practicing it in small group is a good way to start.
• Any questions at all? Please email me. I'm happy to help you decide if this is the right kind of group for you right now.

A Lesson in Kindness 22 Years in the Making

"It takes me a few minutes to understand that the screeching, crunching sound is coming from my backyard...." 

Read the rest of my Kind Kindred guest post on Kind Over Matter today.

New Courses, Workshops, & an Ebook

So... I do this weird and counterproductive thing sometimes. I work like a madwoman behind the scenes getting new projects ready to unveil to the world, I post them to the site, and then I neglect to tell you about them. Not the most sense does this make, I know. The thing is, I get so tired with all the planning that I decide to take a little breather to catch my breath. Not a bad idea in general, but I know some of you have been waiting for me to announce my new writing courses.

Something new this time around is that I've made sure I have something for writers at many different levels...

...from introductory (you've never written before or have just dabbled)...
...to intermediate (you write a little bit to a good bit, but you want to learn and grow)...
...to intensive (you've been writing for awhile now and you're ready to share your work and get serious feedback on it).

And so, with a bit of an apology for the delay, without a drum roll, and perhaps with just a smidgen of fanfare...they're here!

I thought I'd give you an overview of everything now, and then do a few separate posts about the story behind each offering.

First up is something completely new here: The Word Cellar Writing Workshops. I'm pretty excited about them. These are intensive level, MFA-style workshops in which a small group of writers share their work and offer each other feedback. Each session is limited to just four writers, and the first round starts February 1.

**If you write prose (fiction or nonfiction) and have been longing for serious feedback and community with other creative souls who are dedicating themselves to the writing life, please consider joining us.

**You'll get five group calls (with one call devoted to your work), a private blog for resources, inspiration, and support, plus a private 50-minute coaching session with just you and me.

**I've tricked out these workshops with so much support and feedback because I know some of you are out there aching for this kind of community and growth.

The exact dates for the first session are posted over here, but if you want in on this experience and can't do those dates, please contact me first before you write it off. Since the group is so small I can be flexible in a way that I can't with my other courses. So if this is calling to you, let me know. (I'll post more later about why sharing our writing in a safe environment can be so good for our work. And if you have no workshopping experience, fear not! None required. One of the components of this experience will be learning about how to give -- and how to receive -- useful, kind, respectful feedback.) Sign-ups are now open. (And questions are welcome.)

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Next up, I'm calling all stalled writers and all of you wish-to-be-writers! Calling all artists who dabble in words, all photographers who think they might want to write a poem. Calling all dancers and cooks and mamas and accountants and lawyers and teachers and anyone and everyone who has a secret (or not so secret) desire to put a few words together, to whisper their stories onto the page, to tell a truth or weave a tale or just write one sentence at a time. You are all invited to my newest Alchemy ecourse: Alchemy Inspiration: Start Writing. This is a 4-week online course (introductory to intermediate level) for anyone who wants to write. It all starts Februay 6.

This is a fun, gentle, and inspiring course to help you do the following:

**Find the stories around and within you

**Uncover and use your writing voice(s).

**Explore your unique creative process.

**Give yourself the time, space, and permission to write.

**Connect with other writers in a private online community.  

Registration for Alchemy Inspiration is now open, and class starts February 6. I would love to have you join us!

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Back again for its fourth appearance is Alchemy: The Art & Craft of Writing. This 6-week course (for intermediate to intensive writers) starts April 2 and is designed to help you deepen and  w i d e n  your writing. It's packed with writing techniques, tips, and inspiration to help you transform your words and ideas into meaningful stories.

**Learn writing techniques to create beautiful, meaningful stories that connect with readers.

**Discover tips and tricks to overcome your writing challenges.

**Embrace the creative life and enliven your writing.

**Connect with other writers in a private online community.  

Plus, you've been asking for it, and I'm finally going to have it for you: an ebook of the lessons in Alchemy: The Art & Craft of Writing.

And good news for alumni of this course: you'll be able to get the ebook, too. It won't be ready until this spring, but I will contact all past participants when it's available.

As always, this course will overflow with a beautiful combination of the practical and the inspirational. Registration is open for the session that starts April 2. This course is a piece of my heart's work. I love and deeply believe in the material in it, and I'd be honored if you joined in.

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And finally, not a course exactly, but a new body for a past course. Alchemy Daily is now available as an ebooklet over in The Word Cellar bookshop. These 30 prompts and tidbits of inspiration are appropriate for all levels. I have a love-hate relationship with prompts (leaning more toward love all the time), so I'm pretty picky about the kinds of prompts I included. I also tried to include a wide variety of prompts so everyone will find something that gives them a creative spark.

I may bring Alchemy Daily back as an ecourse again, but for now it's available anytime, anywhere for immediate download.

(A note to Alchemy Daily alumni: This edition of the ebooklet contains most of the prompts that were used during the 30-day sessions of Alchemy Daily during 2011. If you participated in a session of Alchemy Daily that did not include the ebooklet, you can purchase it for a discounted rate. Details are over here.)

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As I said, I'll be back with some stories and behind-the-scenes stuff about each of these. Any questions? Just let me know!

MFA Alternatives (In The Word Cellar)

This installment of In The Word Cellar is a bit late, either by a few days or a whole month, depending on how you're counting. I started it in December and then lost it when Squarespace hiccupped and deleted it. I put it on hold until last week, and I'd intended to have it up on Wednesday, but I was sucked down the vortex of project planning as I whirled and twirled like a dervish to get my new courses and workshops ready. (Last week's column was all about overcoming my sticking points between brainstorming and implementation. I'm happy to have forged ahead through the sticky parts.) And now, onward to this week's column! 

So you've read about my road to MFA-ville, pondered why someone might pursue a graduate degree in writing, looked at how to research and choose a program, and learned all about the low-residency model. Maybe you've started your own list of prospective schools or put the MFA experience on your bucket list.

On the other hand, maybe you've decided hell-no-I-don't-want-to-go-to-grad-school! Or maybe it's just not a feasible option for you right now. Well then, this post is for you.

As I've said all along, I don't believe that you must get a degree to become a better writer or to be published. I knew that I could have found everything I wanted (a writing community, feedback on my writing, craft lessons, and connection to the writing world) inside an MFA program or outside of it. I chose one possible path, but there are many others.

Here are my suggestions for alternatives to getting an MFA in writing. (These also serve as reminders for myself, post-MFA, of what I can do to keep growing and learning and writing.)

Read. Read a lot. Read literature. Read in your genre and far outside of it. Read for pleasure. Read for osmosis.

Reading good literature—the kind we'd like to write—infuses us with a knowledge that goes beyond what we may learn from textbooks or lectures: good literature settles deep within us so, when we write, we can summon what we've received from our predecessors—to emulate, to build. ~ Renee Ronika Kluug, "On Writing: Why Reading Matters," guest post on Rogue Writer

Read books about the craft of writing and about the writing life. (Randy Susan Meyers' post "My Homemade MFA" on Beyond the Margins has a nice collection of quotes of writing advice.)

Learn to read like a writer. This is one of the most important skills I've acquired. How do you read like a writer? Ask yourself why you like a piece of writing. What do you admire in it or dislike? What do you want to do in your own work? Try to see how an author does what she does. I know this sounds techical and like I'm telling you to kill the joy and magic of the written word, but it's not like that. Study other writers as the artists and the technicians that they are. Identify authors' strengths, and turn to them when you need help with something in particular. Let your bookshelf be your writing apothecary. Are you struggling with structure, voice, or incorporating humor into your work? Read the authors who do these things well. Learn from them through osmosis and through conscious study.

Get critical and respond like a writer. One way you can learn to read like a writer is to write critical responses to or papers on a piece of writing. (Yes, write papers for yourself.) I explain what critical means here in this post; here's an excerpt from it: 

First off, it's not nearly as dry, boring, or terrible as it sounds. Part of the MFA program is learning to read as a writer; to dive into another author's work and begin to figure out how she made the magic happen on the page. This is learning to look at creative work with a critical eye. Not critical in the sense of being harsh or belittling. Rather, this is about applying critical thinking skills to the craft of writing.

[Keep reading here (scroll down to the subheading called "The critical work."]

Read critical and craft essays in publications such as The Writer's Chronicle and Hunger Mountain's The Writing Life.

Write. I know this should go without saying, but I'm saying it because I need to hear it. Write. A lot. Keep writing. And do it again the next day.

If you write a bad story, the way to make it better is to write three more. Then look at the first one. You will have grown in understanding, in honesty. You will know what to do to it. And to yourself. ~Brenda Ueland, If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit

Mind the gap. There's always a gap between who we are and who we're becoming, between our current skill level and what is possible. Jen Lee talks about the gap in The Emerging Icon Series. Ira Glass (from "This American Life") talks about the gap between your ability and your taste. Don't let the gap stop you from creating. Be aware of it and keep forging ahead.

Set goals, deadlines, and dreams. If you, like me, are not to be trusted to hold yourself accountable, call in back-up. Support and accountability are priceless in all of life, and your writing life is no exception. Do you need external deadlines to make sure you get shit done? Do you need people to ask you what you're working on? Do you need project and submission deadlines to make sure you actually write? I do. I wish it weren't that way, but it is. Forget the shame and guilt of how you think a writer is supposed to operate, and do what works for you. If it works for you, then it's working. If you're writing, then there's no need for guilt or shame about not writing.

Share your work. Support and accountability, baby. Share your drafts with writers and readers that you trust. It's a good exercise in courage, and it's a good way to learn about your blind spots. And that leads me to the next point...

Workshopping is a verb. Share your work with trusted writer-peers and get their input on what's working well and what isn't working as well in your writing. Words are wonderful and slippery things. They will mean different things to different people. You don't have to change things based on another person's vision or opinion, but if nobody in the group understands that your main character is a ghost, and you wanted readers to understand that your main character is a ghost, well, it's time to rethink how you present Ghosty. (I've written more about dealing with feedback here.) (If you're looking for a small group to workshop with, I'm facilitating one here.)

Give good feedback. This is still about sharing your work and workshopping with other writers -- and about reading/responding like a writer. Practicing giving useful, respectful feedback on your peers' work will deepen your own understanding of your craft. It will make you a better writer.

Submit. Send your work out into the world. Publish it on a blog. Submit to magazines, newspapers, literary journals.

Literary journals! Read them, subscribe to them, and send your work to them. Volunteer with them. If you don't know much about lit journals (I didn't just a few years ago), check out NewPages.com to get the lay of the land. (Are you interested in learning more about lit journals? Should I write a separate post about them?)

Find a mentor. Living or dead, real or imaginary.

Attend conferences and readings.

Take writing classes (online or in person).

Go on a writing retreat.

Travel. Seek adventures. Do stuff. Write about it.

I'm getting a little punchy here at the end of this list, but it's all advice that I myself need to hear. 

What about you? What MFA alternatives can you share with us? Please chime in below.

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{In The Word Cellar normally runs on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month. Read other posts in the series here.}