Love the process
Aaagh! This was supposed to be a simple post about how, yes it can be difficult to love the writing process, but that’s what we should be aiming for.
My thinking parts had it all outlined:
Traditionally, I’ve been bad at loving the process
That’s because I have parts who are way too focused on the outcome
That gets me into trouble, isn’t so enjoyable, limits potential, etc, etc
But I’ve learnt how to be in the process and not rush to an outcome
So yeah, let’s love the process!
Blah, blah, blah.
Sounds like a great post, right? Or a good enough one?
Except no, it isn’t. It’s terrible.
Because, not to get to meta on you, but it’s an example of a post, a piece of writing, that is not born out of the creative process.
Instead, it was railroading through the creative process to get to a specified end. The objective being - I’ve written this week’s post. Ticked off the to-do list. Done.
No, no, no, no. I can’t write about being in the creative process if I’m not in it.
Let me back track and show you what happened.
I had parts of me saying, It’s Tuesday afternoon. You haven’t written a post for next week yet. You need to write a post. Remember how last Tuesday afternoon you wrote a post and you had it all formatted and ready to go in time? That was great! Let’s do that again this week. And let’s do that every week. That’s a good schedule to keep. Go!
Then they started kicking in with their ideas for a post: Okay, you need to write about the writing process. Oh hey, look at that pic you’ve got on your window sill that says ‘Love the process’. Write about how you’ve struggled with that. Here’s an outline. Go!
I’m so used to these parts of me taking over and running the show that even though I know this isn’t the creative process, I followed along.
I sat at my computer and started to try and write this post.
Blah, blah, blah.
It was okay. It wasn’t terrible. But it wasn’t it. It was the opposite of it.
Because the thinking process is not the creative process. It just isn’t.
Sometimes, I wish that creativity was as simple as thinking something through. Problem solving. Analysing. Sorting it all out. But it isn’t.
The creative process is way more mysterious than that.
Now you may be saying that there can be mystery in problem solving. When we don’t know something, we have to be in the mystery before we work it out.
And yes, I agree with you to a point.
But for me, the creative process is about what we do, and often, what we don’t do when we’re in the mystery.
The mystery, to be clear, is simply that space in between where we have an intention to create but we haven’t yet.
We might be sitting with pen poised or laptop ready, and we’re there, and we’re open but we don’t know what’s going to come through yet.
For me the creative process is about being in that mystery as long as is necessary for the deeper truth to appear rather than rushing through it by thinking my way through it.
My thinking parts are smart but not that smart.
They think more rationally, of course, less emotionally. They like clever ideas rather than heartfelt truths. They’d prefer to stay surface rather than dig too deep.
If we don’t try to think our way through the mystery and instead be in the creative flow, which to me looks more like listening than thinking (more about that here), amazing things happen.
Because what our thinking parts don’t realise is that within the mystery is unlimited potential.
It might look like:
A different plot point, not the same old, same old
An unexpected emotional response, not the obvious one
Phrasing, word choice, language use that’s uniquely your character’s
A spin on a theme, subject matter, motif that’s refreshing, a new perspective
Extra nuance, layers of meaning, more said-not-said
Wow, just wow. That’s what we need more of. We need more to emerge from the mystery.
And we do that by committing to the creative process and not rushing our way through it by thinking too much.
That’s why I ditched the first draft of this post that I wrote this afternoon and I’m now banging this out on my ipad on the couch when it’s past my bedtime.
I wasn’t in the creative process this morning. I was in the thinking process. But tonight, I’m here.
(As an addendum, it’s also why I was up early the next morning when I’d normally be sleeping, adding to the post with the creativity that emerged overnight).
I’m collaborating with the creative process and not trying to co-opt it for a specific end.
The times that I’ve ‘not loved the process’ have been when I’ve wanted to get through the process as quickly or with the least resistance or as efficiently as possible to get to the outcome - that is, a finished piece of writing.
When I’ve gone more slowly, intentionally, when I’ve created pauses, listened, waited, opened up more to possibility, I do love the process, and it actually feels less of a struggle.
If I’m with and trust the creative process, I struggle less.
And just as importantly, when I’ve finished a piece of writing, I feel more fulfilled.
It’s not the surface fulfilment you get from ticking something off your to do list. I finished writing a post or I hit my word count for the day. Done!
It’s the deeper fulfilment you get from being in the mystery, in the creative process and being curious about what appears. Wow - I did not expect that!
Okay, so here’s a summary…
The thinking process involves
Thinking of an idea for a piece of writing that’s a good idea
Thinking about what needs to be said
Thinking our way through the writing
Feeling somewhat satisfied at the end because we’ve written the thing
Whereas the creative process looks and feels like this…
Sitting in the creative unknown until an idea emerges that feels right
Sitting in the creative unknown with that idea as it takes shape
Listening our way through the writing
Feeling deeply satisfied with what we’ve written because it’s come from a deeper place
I’m going to be writing more about the creative process because it’s so fascinating - the mystery and the magic.
If you have anything you want me to explore or you have any questions about the creative process, please hit me up in the comments. Let’s do this together.
And in the meantime, see if you can get your thinking parts to sit back and relax. They don’t have to work everything out.
You and the creative process have got this.
Photo credit: https://ilovemytype.com/product/love-the-process-black/. I love this!