Gentle Creativity or "What do to when you've got too many ideas & not enough time to create"

Hello Creative Friend,

We are moored in the river at Newcastle after sailing here on Tuesday. I managed to get seasick for most of the journey, which isn’t common for me, but the seas were messy when we came out of Pittwater and I made the mistake of going down below deck to try to have a nap. Before long I was back up in the fresh air, keeping my eyes on the horizon, and burping for the rest of the ten hours it took to get here. Maybe that’s more information than you care to hear 🙂 . Anyway, we were greeted with a huge seal lounging in the sunshine on the bottom of the channel marker at the entrance to the port, which made me very happy.

The Process of Writing My Book 

This past week I’ve been mostly working on my book about creativity. I’ve written over 80,000 words, but it feels like I’ve still got so much more to say, (perhaps it will have to be two books!) and such a long way to go in editing. I am loving the writing process, though, and feel delighted to see my ideas taking form on the page.

Writing a book is such a different creative process to anything I’ve ever done before. The sustained focus over a long period of time (I’ve picked up and put down this project multiple times over the past three years) is quite different to making a painting in a day or a week, or even making an e-course over a number of months. Figuring out how to structure the chapters so they flow and are useful to the reader, reacquainting myself with my ‘voice’ and how I like to write after not writing for months, and feeling into the energy I want to write the book from have all taken a lot of trial and error.

I thought I would write the book in Tamworth, but my mental health took such a hard knock there, I couldn’t even contemplate putting my work out into the world back then. It felt far too vulnerable. Sometimes the gentle approach is to put creative projects down for a season.

Like anything, I feel it will be much easier to write my next books after I’ve completed this one, since I’ll have a better understanding of the process and what to expect. I already have so many ideas overflowing in my ‘book ideas’ document, and now that life has settled into its own strange kind of rhythm (instead of being focused on selling everything and setting up life on a boat, then painting the biggest commission of my career) I’m so happy to know I can focus on writing. And Oh. My. Goodness. How much pleasure and joy it is bringing me. I do hope you love reading it when it is complete.

The Value of Creative Containers

Do you have any long-held dreams or desires you want to create in the world? I know they can feel like they are slipping through time when life is busy or other projects are taking our focus. But doing a little bit when you can, and using creative containers to capture your ideas, research, and impressions, no matter how fleeting, is something I find helps me to pick up and put down creative projects.

So in the case of writing, having a document you can jot down ideas on your phone is an excellent creative container. I’ve recently discovered Google Docs has been updated and can now be used offline, which is very handy living on the boat when we are occasionally out of range, and it syncs with my phone and computer. Perhaps you could use Evernote, or simply carry a notebook with you to have a safe place to jot down your ideas.

If you want to pick up painting again, make a container to capture your inspirations. It might be a Pinterest board with images you love, a blank visual journal you fill with clippings, notes and quick sketches, or simply a folder on your desktop with photographs you take and screenshots of things that delight and inspire you. I’ve used all these containers and at the moment I’m finding the folder on my desktop is working best for me, probably because I’m enjoying a minimal lifestyle, but at other times I’ve loved having a physical visual journal the most.

Find What Works for You

There’s no right or wrong way to have a creative container, and sometimes it takes a bit of playing around to figure out which one is the best for you, at this time in your life, and for this particular project. The key is finding something you can use with ease so your inspirations don’t slip through your fingers.

The reason being, after the project you’re currently focusing on is finished, or the season you’ve been in passes, and you have the determination, focus and desire to create what your heart is calling you towards, you’ll have the fertile ground to begin planing seeds into. Your creation is more likely to flourish, drawing from the nutrients of the inspirations you’ve already gathered.

We’re planning to sail to Port Stephens this week now that we’ve caught up with Denise and Mark Duffield-Thomas yesterday. They kindly dropped off the washing machine, folding chairs and water maker we had delivered to their house (online shopping is a challenge when you don’t have a physical address!) I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to do my washing as I was yesterday with my new machine. We had so much fun with their cute little kids George and Willow onboard and it was fun talking about self-publishing with Denise, who successfully self-published her first two books and is currently working on her third, which will be published with Hay House. It’s inspiring hearing how others have done what you want to do, so you know it is indeed possible.

So, I’ll probably be in Port Stephens when I write again. Oh, and it will be my birthday next weekend! Yay! I will be 36! How time marches on. Hopefully, this year will be the year I publish my first book.

I can feel it in my bones.

Wishing you clarity on your creative projects in the new year. Here’s to finding creative containers to capture our desires and inspirations.

Have a great day!

~ Nicola

PS. If you would like to discover more about how I run my creative business gently, so I don’t burn myself out, find clarity on what projects to focus on next, get things I’m passionate about actually completed, incorporate playfulness into my workflow, and remember to take care of myself along the way, you may like to sign up for the free video series Amanda Rootsey, Naomi Arnold and I are putting together for our Gentle Business Mastermind 2018.

You can hop on the interest list here. The free videos series will be coming in the new few weeks.