Got Skills?

You've probably heard a zillion times that the best writers are well-read people.  Why is that?  Bottomline is "skill".  Twyla Tharp addresses this in Chapter 9 of "The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life".

"The better you know the nuts and bolts of your craft, the more fully you can express your talent."

She goes on to state that with absolute skill comes absolute confidence.  Therefore it is important to build skill to build mastery, and continue to practice to keep and hone your skills. 

Then, when you have gained mastery in one area, move to another.  Concentrate on your imperfections.  Do not become satisfied with being skilled in one area of your art...move on, stretch yourself.  Take a break from the confidence.  Afterall, when you are inexperienced in something it erases your fear and everything is possible.  Basically, you do not know the rules or expectations, so you just create. 

This is a perfect week for me to be blogging about skills because I am not only completing the "Writing Wonderful Character-Driven Picture Book" e-course tomorrow, but I am also attending the SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC this coming weekend.  Both are good examples of investing in the nuts and bolts of my career.  Even writing a blog and working my way through Twyla's book is building skills.

I know it takes time to work on your skills.  And it also takes money. But its quite a worthy investment.  You won't be sorry.

Ways to build skill

 

Attend a conference

Take masterclasses and workshops

Participate in an online writing community and/or challenge

Find critique partners

Read!

 



And I leave you with a quote from Twyla to sum it all up:

"We all need breadth and passion if we're going to keep perfecting our craft, whether or not there is approval, validation or money coming from it.  Without passion, all the skill in the world won't lift you above craft.  Without skill, all the passion in the world will leave you eager but floundering.  Combining the two is the essence of the creative life."

How do you plan to practice skill-building in the coming weeks?

Your Spine: Telling the Story YOU Want to Tell

This week has been a good week for me.  After 13 drafts of a manuscript that I have been working on for exactly ONE year and ONE day, I think I finally have it "right"!  What a great feeling.  But what a long and winding, sometimes totally wrong, path it took.  And when I say I finally have it "right", I mean that it is the story that I want to tell.  That's the key.

This particular manuscript idea came to me through a friend's Facebook status one day.  Immediately I set to write the story.  I was so inspired.  I loved the idea and thought it to be totally original and fun.  I was excited by it.

Fast forward several months and several critiques later.  I looked at my manuscript, and although it was still a cute story, it had .lost something.  It had lost my original idea and any thread of the inspiration.  It was no longer the story I wanted to write, but completely different...created from the various critiques and comments I had received from many teachers and colleagues.  It was no longer the story that I wanted to tell.

Enter Scott.  He's a member of my Critique Group and had heard me speak of the original idea behind this manuscript and had even read some early early drafts.  Upon reading a later draft, he told me that he liked the original idea and felt that I had gotten way too off-base.  I needed to hear that.  He was right.  Thank you, Scott, for being honest and setting me right.

That night I got home, pulled up one of the early versions of the manuscript on my laptop (and yes, I do believe you should keep all versions of your stories...maybe for this reason) and I set to work on rewriting and getting back on track.  Phew!

Twyla talks about this exact thing in Chapter 8 of "The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life".  She calls it "spine". 

Spine, to put it bluntly, begins with your first strong idea.  You were scratching to come up with an idea, you found one, and through the next stages of creative thinking you nurtured it into the spine of you creation.  The idea is the toehold that gets you started.  The spine is the statement you make to yourself outlining your intentions for the work.  You intend to tell this story.  The audience may infer it or not.  But if you stick to your spine, the piece will work.

What a great feeling to have found my spine again.

What are you currently working on?  Re-visit your original spine.  Are you telling the story YOU want to tell? 

"Creative Habit": #7 Accidents Will Happen

The best laid schemes of mice and men / Often go awry  ~ Robert Burns, To a Mouse

Since starting to work through Twyla Tharp's "The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life" I have been stressed, perplexed and at times obsessed with routine and finding the creative routine that works for me.  It is this obsession that fuels my January, as I take time off from "work" to focus on writing.

The funny thing is, that as I looked to these weeks as a fulltime writer, I had many many plans.  I had my days mapped out.  I had my projects laid out.  I had my location spotted.   But, as the Robert Burns line says, these plans "often go awry". And they did.

And then I came to Chapter 7: Accidents will Happen. 

It seems that even Twyla knows that we cannot plan out every aspect of our creative work...that very planning can be the death of our creativity.

A plan is like the scaffolding around a building.  When you're putting up the exterior shell, the scaffolding is vital.  But once the shell is in place and you start work on the interior, the scaffolding disappears.  That's how I think of planning.  It has to be sufficiently thoughtful and solid to get the work up and standing straight, but it cannot take over as you toil away on the interior guts of a piece.  Transforming your ideas rarely goes according to plan.

Your creative endeavors can never be thoroughly mapped out ahead of time.  You have to allow for the suddenly altered landscape, the change in plan, the accidental spark -- and you have to see it as a stroke of luck rather than a disturbance of your perfect scheme.  Habitually creative people are, in E.B. White's phrase, "prepared to be lucky."

On the morning of January 3rd I set out for the main branch of the Brooklyn Library to work fulltime to be a writer.  To be creative.  What I encountered were some disturbances:

• The entire area I was looking to work in was occupied by a large group of mentally challenged adults.  I got the feeling that they spent every day there.  So it was not as quiet as I hoped.
• I planned to pack my lunch and eat as I worked.  But my salad exploded in my bag and I had to spend the first part of my day cleaning it up.
• I got hungry and mentally tapped by 1pm.  I needed a break.
• I had my day broken into 3 parts...but the first part took longer and I was quickly off schedule.

It was less than perfect.  I kinda felt defeated.

Today I sit at my local coffee shop.  Its closer to home.  I can take a break for some fresh air and lunch at home.  Serendiptiously I met a local (very accomplished writer) last week!  I've been able to get work done.  And for today its good.

Perhaps what makes us creative people is not just the work we create, but the way in which we are in a constant state of learning to go with the ebb and flow.  Life is in a constant state of change and so are we.

So today I am in total agreement with Twyla.  Surprising, right? 

Let go of your perfectionism.  Trust your preparation.  And then....who knows.

Scratching Away: Taking Class

Some time ago I made a list of everything I wanted to try and accomplish in January when I would be "in between" jobs.  Keeping in mind that I wanted to best use this time, I contemplated taking another writing class.  It has been awhile.  And I was not interested in taking another Picture Book 101 class or another class that lumped all Childrens Books together into one.  Alas, I was at a loss and really thought that a class was not going to happen.

Enter the Picture Book Academy's newest e-Course.

1)  It focuses on writing character-driven picture books. (Who hasn't heard that phrase used by an agent and editor in the last 6 months?!  I swear I have probably heard "character-driven 30 times!)

2)  Its four sessions.  (I have 4 weeks in January!)

3)  Its self-paced!  (As I struggle to figure out what my routine is this month, I can easiily find time that works for me to "'attend".)

4)  Its taught by the utterly fabulous Marsha Diane Arnold!  (Its like having a highly-successful, award winning author visit you in your jammies or in your local coffee house to privately tutor!)

Anyway, this week I took Session 1:  Understanding the Characters Kids Love. 

This session is billed as, you’ll explore what makes certain picture book characters so appealing to children. You’ll be introduced to a wide variety of characters that capture readers’ hearts, from a dancing cow to a garbage truck. When you finish this session, you will understand more clearly what makes certain characters so loved and relatable to children.

Perhaps the best "take away" for me was to look at my own characters and put them to the test.  Are they the kind of characters that someone would choose to spend time with if they were "stranded on a deserted island", as Marsha says.  What a powerful question. 

Anyway, I totally recommend the class and will be blogging about all four session as I take them.

Thanks, Marsha and Mira!  Scratching away...

For more info on the Picture Book Academy and Writing Wonderful Character-Driven Picture Books, visit http://www.picturebookacademy.com/writing-character-driven-stories.html.

Scratching for Ideas: Bottling Lightning

Monday I blogged about Twyla's 6th  Chapter on preparation in which she outlines ways to "scratch for ideas.  So, with the agenda to revise one of my "problem" manuscripts, I set out to scratch yesterday.

Scratching = preparation.  Its just that.

Twyla writes that a lot of this scratching can be done through reading.  Of course, for a writer this is pretty obvious.  But I love her concept of "archeological reading".  Basically she says that we need to do two things: 1) read the masters and 2) read chronologically to get deeper and deeper.

I made a list of all of the concepts in my manuscript.  I made a list of similar stories.  I made a list of influences of this story.  And then I started to dig.  I read book after book after book.  I looked at style and plot arcs and resolutions to conflict.  I read the newest of self-published stories of unknown authors.  I read modern classics by Oliver Jeffers.  I read the mastery of Beatrix Potter.  I was on a mission.  I was scratching and gathering ideas.  I kinda look at it like I was filling up my well from which I would draw ideas.

And then I looked at my manuscript again...and I wish I could say that magically all of the problems went away and the manuscript was revised and is perfect now.  But you know what?  I was still stuck.  So I packed up my laptop for lunch and I continued to marinate the ideas I had gathered throughout the rest of the day.

Today while sipping my morning coffee.  Before my morning run.  I got a visit.  Not from the "problem" character in my "problem" manuscript.  But from a character I had thought of during PiBoIdMo.  He had something to say.  In fact, I had his whole story written within 15 minutes.

You see, the work I did yesterday was preparation, but with creativity there is sometimes no way to tell the lightning when or where to strike.  Perhaps we just bottle the lightning for use later.  And in that bottle it simmers and sautees.  It transforms and melds.  It builds and builds til the pressure can no longer be contained and it erupts

Every blog entry.  Every book.  Every challenge.  Every conversation.  Every class.    Its all scratching.  As are the museum visits and conferences and critique groups. 

And someday....BAM!

Join me Friday as I continue to scratch.  I will be blogging about the first session of the fabulous new self-paced e-Course from the Picture Book Academy --  "Writing Wonderful Character-Driven Picture Books" (taught by the lovely Marsha Diane Arnold. 

"Creative Habit": #6 Scratching

Happy New Year, everyone!  Its good to be getting back to a more "normal" life after the travel and hub-bub of the holidays.  And of course, for so many the new year means setting new goals and aspirations...or resolutions, if you will.  I hope that 2012 if looked on fondly by you and that 2013 has started off to your liking. 

For me, 2013 is starting off with a little "experiment", shall we say.  After ending my job on December 21st, I have decided to spend at least January...if not longer...being a "fulltime writer".  I figure its the best time to do it seeing as I am in-between jobs. 

Its been interesting so far.  I returned from vacation last Wednesday and started my "new job" on Thursday.  I went to the library for a day of work...and the atmosphere was not what I hoped.  It was hard to get work done.  And then on Friday I was so tired from traveling that I worked a half day at a coffee shop and then went home to "do work" which equated to napping!

There is definitely going to be a learning curve.  In fact, I have joked that I will probably FINALLY figure out what routine works for me and then start a new job the next day.  :)

But hopping back into things, I am pleased to be able to return to Twyla's "The Creative Habit" and be able to further put  into practice some of her advice about living the "creative life". 

The way I look at it, working at being a fulltime writer includes: blogging, my Teacher's Guide business (which is flourishing, btw), creating my website to hopefully launch soon, maintaining presence in online writing communities, and taking some courses.  This stuff I find easy to schedule time for because there are concrete results that I can measure and deadlines to work toward.  What I have a really hard time with is my creative writing...my manuscripts. 

I currently have 2 manuscripts that I know are good but not good enough.  I need to revise.  They need some real overhaul and attention.  But I have a hard time figuring out where to begin or how to work on them.

Last night I picked up Twyla once again looking for some direction.  In Chapter 6: Scratching, she talks about this struggle with beginning and developing ideas.  Twyla calls it "scratching". 

"You know how you scratch away at a lottery ticket to see if you've won?  That's what I'm doing when I begin a piece.  I'm digging through everything to find something.  It's like clawing at a side of a mountain to get a toehold, a grip, some sort of traction to keep moving upward and onward."

She goes on to list the many shapes that "scratching" can take:  reading through books, museums, people watching, etc.  Its all stuff we have heard before...but it really is about allowing even the smallest microcell to inspire us.  Its being hyper-aware. 

But my problem is that I become way too passive in this pursuit.  I expect ideas to just come to me in due time, so I am not actively doing something daily to "scratch".  This is what needs to change.

Twyla refers to improvising as a way to scratch and create new ideas.  I know I have writer friends who sit down to write everyday even if what they write is "I have nothing to write" over and over again.  They say that the act of actually writing and keeping at it helps ease them into creation.

I think my problem lies in the short form that I work in.  As a Picture Book writer I am looking to revise two of my manuscripts that are only 300-500 words each.  I know they need revision (one needs a whole new climax and conclusion, the other needs some cleaning up).  But I really have a hard time understanding how to DAILY work on these pieces.  Maybe I need a daily assignment.  Maybe the size of the projects make them feel too restrictive to me.  I am not sure.

Anyone have any great daily "scratching" ideas that you use to work?  I would especially love to hear how you scratch at those existing pieces which need revising.

Throughout this week I will continue to blog about this idea of "scratching".  Be sure to stop by!

"Creative Habit": #5 Start with a Box

As the new year approaches, I feel the need to get organized.  Often I spend the early days of January cleaning out my closets, cabinets and cupboards.  But now that I live in a loft space (meaning one big room, with only one big closet) the need is not as great.  I do find that I stay more organized throughout the year now that there are less nooks and crannies to stuff things.

But, I do wonder if I need a different organizational strategy for my writing projects.

Right now my various projects live in WIPs (Works in Progress) folders on my laptop.  And although these folders are on visible on the desktop, I still feel a tad disconnected from its contents. 

I wonder if a more tactile approach would work better for me.  Twyla Tharp discusses her approach to organization in Chapter 5 of "The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life".

"Mine (organizational system) is a box, the kind you can buy at Office Depot.  I start every dance with a box, and as the piece progresses I fill it up with every item that went into the making of the dance.  This means notebooks, news clippings, CDs, videotapes of me working alone in my studio, videos of the dancers rehearsing, books and photographs and pieces of art that may have inspired me.  The box documents the active research on every project.  There are separate boxes for everything I have ever done."

This idea of a box of inspiration for each project really appeals to me.  If working on a particular project meant opening a box, instead of choosing another "folder" on the computer, it seems to me to be a very tactile way of determining the days work to be done.  Its a very visual indication of the various projects I have going on at one time.  Its a bolder depiction of each project that begs attention.

Now I know that most of my work...being creative writing...would not fill a box.  In fact, I can't tell you exactly what would go into the box.  And many of my fellow writers might say that they use Pinterest for this vary reason.  But this box idea is so intriguing to me.  I wonder what my equivalent would be. 

Twyla says that she starts each box with an idex card which states the project's goal.  "Sometimes the goal is nothing more than a personal mantra such as 'keep it simple' or 'something perfect' or 'economy' to remind me of what I was thinking at the beginning if and when I lose my way.  I write it down on a skip of paper and it's the first thing that goes into the box."  How awesome is that?  I can't count how many times I have set out to write a certain story and then I lose my way.  Its important to remind myself WHY I am writing, to state the beginning goal.  After that, anything that inspires or informs the work goes in.

Twyla warns, however, that "sadly, some people never get beyond the box stage of a creative life.  Weeks, months, years pass and they produce nothing.  They have tons of research but it's never enough to nudge them toward the actual process of writing.  My solution for them:  This isn't working.  Free yourself.  Get out of this box.  Put it away for another day and start a new box.  But do so with the faith that nothing is lost, that you haven't put in all this effort for naught.  Everything you've done is in the box.  You can always come back to it."

I am inspired to spend some time this week looking at some different, more tactile and concrete, ways of organizing my various writing projects for the new year.  What do you use?  All suggestions are welcome.

"Creative Habit": Looking Back at 12x12in12 & Weekend Homework

Hopefully, you are looking with anticipation to 2013 with plenty of new memories from 2012 in your pocket.  I can definitely say that this year has been a journey. 

January 2012.  It seems like ages ago. However, I vividly remember sitting down and bringing to life my first manuscript for the 12x12 Challenge.  Since then that manuscript has evolved through critiques at Gotham Writers Workshop, revisions suggested by my Critique Group, suggestions made at WriteOnCon and it has been submitted to an agent.  It to this date is one of my favorites. 

Fast forward almost a year and I have 11 total (I haven't gotten around to my 12th) manuscripts!  Now some of them were first drafts that will probably never see life outside of a file folder on my laptop.  Others are great concepts that need some more TLC before they are considered anything.  One is better suited for a wordless picture book (don't ask!  I don't illustrate!).  But each manuscript represents a step on my creative journey.

In addition to the manuscripts, I have gathered such a wonderful circle of friends on this journey...some of whom I was able to meet in person (all I can say is next time I see Julie we TOTALLY need to go to a karaoke bar!)  I have seen my blog grow from a hand-full of Followers to 128!  And I have even launched my new business creating Teacher's Guides for Picture Books!

So, as I look to 2013 I might not have 12 totally polished masterpieces.  I might not have an agent.  I might not be in Publisher's Marketplace.  But I have grown and I owe a lot of that growth to 12x12 and its amazing community. 

Thank you for the memories, but thank you also for the encouragement, confidence and support that will surely help me take even more steps in the year to come!

Speaking of memories, Twyla's Chapter 4: Harness Your Memory, has some wonderful exercises to help you do just that.  Enjoy!

• Name that muse. Associate a series of objects with something you are familiar and with similar meaning,e.g. Urania sounds like Uranus, hence associated with astronomy. I often use this method to remember a list of facts.
• Trust your muscle memory. Learn to train your muscle memory, your ability to retain and repeat motion.  Does "butt in chair" count here?
• Mining your memory in a photograph. Take a family picture, any picture, and study it. What do you see in it that is indisputably similar to your life today, to the person you’ve become? What is vaguely similar? What bears no resemblance or suggests nothing memorable? The goal is to connect with something old so it becomes new. Look and imagine.

"Creative Habit": #4 Harness Your Memory

This past weekend I helped my parents decorate their Christmas tree.  As I lifted the lid off of the dusty box of ornaments I was flooded with memories of Christmases past, of my childhood.  I was instantly transported back to days of macaroni ornaments and construction paper chains.  Jumbled stories and visions filled my heart.  I was suddenly 6 years old.

Memory is powerful and perhaps one of the most useful tools for an artist.  "It's the skill that lets us story away the vital and seemingly trivial data and images and experiences of our lives."  However, Twyla states that creativity is more about taking our memories and finding new ways to connect them.  This is "metaphor".  It "transforms the strange into the familiar."  If all art is metaphor, then all art begins with memory".

In Chapter 4 of "The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life" Twyla discusses types of memory:

• Muscle Memory ~ After diligent practice and repetition of certain physical movements, your body will remember those moves years, even decades after you cease doing them. 
• Virtual Memory ~ The ability to project yourself into feelings and emotions from your past and let them manifest themselves physically.
• Sensual Memory ~ When the suddent appearance of a smell or taste or sound or color instantly floods the imagination with images from the past.
• Ancient Memory ~ A connection to our ancestors, which feeds into our own lives and personalities.

Twyla states that "Once you realize the power of memory, you begin to see how much is at your disposal in previously underappreciated places.  The trick is figuring out how to tap into it.  Somestimes you ahve to be proactive about mining the veins of memory within you."

Later in the week I will share some exercises that Twyla shares to help us learn to access and use memory.  But how do you utilize memory in your work?

"Creative Habit": #3 Weekly Homework

The focus of Chapter 3: Your Creative DNA is learning more about yourself and who you are in regards to your art.  Twyla therefore gives us two exercises we can engage in to move us in this direction of self-discovery.

Go on.  Give one or both of them a try this weekend.  I look forward to hearing your experiences.

1)  Go outside and observe.  Pick out a few people to watch and write down everything they do until you get to twenty items.  I am sure it wouldn't be hard to them apply your imagination and come up with a story.  You can do this for an optional exercise.  However, writing a story is not the goal.

Now do it again.  Pick out another few people and this time only note the things that happen that you find interesting ~ things that please you aesthetically or emotionally.  It will take longer, but compile a list of twenty items again.

Now study the two lists.  What appealed to you in the second?  What you included in the second list or left out speaks volumes about how you see the world.  If you do this exercise enough times, patterns will emerge.  The world will not be revealed to you.  YOU will be revealed.

2)  Pick a new name.  Imagine you could change your name.  What would you choose?  Would it be a name that sounded good or belonged to someone you admire?  Would it make a statement about what you believe or how you want the world to approach you?  What would you want it to say about you? This is not just an exercise in "what if."  It's about identity--who you are and aim to be.

Join us next week for exploration of Chapter 4: Harness Your Memory.

"Creative Habit": #3 Your Creative DNA

In Chapter 3 of “Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life”, Twyla, through many examples of creative past (Mozart, Jerome Robbins) hits home the idea that “each of us is hard-wired a certain way.  And that hard-wiring insinuates itself into our work.”  Basically, she is saying that each of us have natural inclinations that become a part of whatever we create.  Perhaps from a writer’s perspective this is your “author voice”. Twyla calls it her Creative DNA.    It’s what comes easy for us. 

She suggests that knowing your own personal DNA through some careful analysis for your work and what your impulses are will help you “see the story you’re trying to tell.”  This knowledge helps you determine 1) why you do the things you do--both productive and self-destructive, 2) where you are strong and where you are weak--which prevents a lot of false starts, and 3) how you see the world and function in it.

To help you get one step closer to understanding your creative DNA, Twyla has provided a questionnaire.  It forces us to "go back to our origins, our earliest memories, our first causes.  We change through life, bue we cannot deny our sources, and this test is one way to recall those roots." 

Knowing who you are, also tells you what you should not be doing, which can save you a lot of heartache and false starts if you catch it early on.

"Take the following questionnaire.  If even one answer tells you something new about yourself, you're one step closer to understanding your creative DNA.  There are no right or wrong answers here.  The exercise is intended for your eyes only, which means no cheating, no answers to impress other people.  It's supposed to be an honest self-appraisal of what matters to you.  Anything less is a distortion. Be instinctive.  Don't dawdle."

Your Creative Autobiography

1)       What is the first creative moment your remember?

2)      Was anyone there to witness or appreciate it?

3)      What is the best idea you’ve ever had?

4)      What make it great in your mind?

5)      What is the dumbest idea?

6)      What made it stupid?

7)      Can you connect the dots that lead you to this idea?

8)      What is your creative ambition?

9)      What are the obstacles to this ambition?

10)   What are the vital steps to achieving this ambition?

11)   How do you begin your day?

12)   What are your habits?  What patterns do you repeat?

13)   Describe your first successful creative act.

14)   Describe your second creative act.

15)   Compare them.

16)   What are your attitudes toward:  money, power, praise, rivals, work, play?

17)   Which artists do you admire most?

18)   Why are they your role models?

19)   What do you and your role models have in common?

20)   Does anyone in your life regularly inspire you?

21)   Who is your muse?

22)   Define muse.

23)   When confronted with superior intelligence or talent, how do you respond?

24)   When faced with stupidity, hostility, intransigence, laziness, or indifference in others, how do you respond?

25)   When faced with impending success or the threat of failure, how do you respond?

26)   When you work, do you love the process or the result?

27)   At what moments do you feel your reach exceeds your grasp?

28)   What is your idea creative activity?

29)   What is your greatest fear?

30)   What is the likelihood of either of the answers to the previous two questions happening?

31)   Which of your answers would you most like to change?

32)   What is your idea of mastery?

33)   What is your greatest dream?

Join us on Wednesday and Friday of this week as we continue the discussion of Creative DNA. 

Twyla Tharp, Anne Lamott, Rituals and a sleeve of Saltines

I'm not gonna lie.  Twyla Tharp has been stressing me out this week. Sometimes I wonder how my Type A personality is going to survive 12 weeks studying this book.  I've been obsessing over the need to create a ritualistic routine in my daily life...its not easy. 

Last night I had the amazing opportunity to attend A Conversation with Anne Lamott (Bird by Bird) at Symphony Space in NYC.  I adore Anne Lamott.  She has a way of being so honest.  She doesn't make excuses for who she is.  All the while, she makes me laugh.  I love that. 

I was ready to sit back, relax and relieve some of my "Twyla stress".

Anne entered the stage.  Her first topic of conversation?  The habit of productivity.  No joke.  She said, "I need consistency, discipline and structure.  I have anxieties but thrive with routine."

OK.  I get it.  Routine works. 

Thanks, Anne.  Or should I call you Twyla?

Back home, standing over the sink eating a sleeve of Saltines (I had to skip dinner to see Anne), I got to thinking.  I felt revived.  I felt encouraged.  I felt energized.  Suddenly I wasn't feeling inadequate in regards to my lack of routine, I felt empowered to find what exactly would work for me in my life at this particular time.

What was different?  Why was a empowered by Anne, but overwhelmed by Twyla?

It was the "cosmic banana peel" as Anne calls it. 

"Remember that whenever the world throws rose petals at you, which thrill and seduce the ego, beware. The cosmic banana peel is suddenly going to appear underfoot to make sure that you don't take it all too seriously."

Anne reminds us that even the accomplished have footfalls.  They stumble.  They mess up.  And its ok. She is so open in sharing her own mistakes and laughing at them.  Apparently this works better for me, as I have a lot of "banana peels" to share.  In fact, sometimes I lie awake in bed at night and imagine the amazing blog post I will create for Elizabeth Stevens Omlor's Banana Peelin' once I am published.

So, covered in Saltine crumbs I imagined Twyla hungover, grouchy, not accomplishing a thing in her studio.  I imagined her staring at the blank space and 2 hours later the space is still blank.  I giggled as I saw phone call after phone call interrupt her moments to create.  Its kinda cruel shadenfreude, but it helps me to imagine these things.

You see, even Twyla doesn't get it right everyday.  Its about showing up.  Its about trying.  And once in awhile there will be a banana peel which will make me land on my tush.  Its ok.

So, I hope you aren't as Type A as me.  I hope Twyla hasn't been haunting you at night telling you you aren't doing enough.  Remember, this is a process, a journey.  Take a deep breath.  Try.  And if you slip...laugh.

Homework from Chapter 2:

1)  Pick up your pencil and a notebook and don't leave home without it.  Always be prepared/

2)  "Quietness without Loneliness"  Sit alone in a room and let your thoughts go wherever they will.  Do this for one minute.  Work up to ten minutes a day of this mindless mental wandering.  Then start paying attention to your thoughts to see if a word or goal materializes.  If it doesn't, extend the exercise to eleven minutes then twelve, then thirteen...until you find the length of time you need.  Note that is this the exact opposite of meditation.

3)  Face your fears and speak to them.

4)  Take a day off from the biggest distraction of your creative self.  Once you try one day, add another, or try the whole weekend or every day after 5pm.  You get the idea.  There are a lot of distractions out there--and you can live without them.  At least for a little while.

Have a wonderful weekend!  Happy Writing!

Join us next Monday as we study Chapter 3:  Your Creative DNA from "Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life" by Twyla Tharp.

"Creative Habit": #2) Rituals for Preparation

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”  Stephen King, On Writing

When I first started my blog and called it “The Write Routine” it was because I wanted to do just that…create a routine in my life that allowed me to practice my art daily.  I was seeking to find a way to allow this creativity to be a part of my everyday life. 

Well, here I am 15 months later and I still do not have a daily routine, or ritual as Twyla Tharp calls it.

The problem is that my “real life” routine keeps changing.  My job duties have changed, my living arrangements changed, my social obligations change, etc.  Yet there is a very deep longing within myself to have a writing routine. 

It’s what I equivocate with “living the life of the writer.”  Sitting down in the same place every day, at the same time and creating.  It’s what makes me wish I could quit my job. 

But what I really need to do is learn how to make room for this ritual in my life AND have my real life, too.  And that is going to take some real soul-searching.

I know many writers get up before the sun to have “their time” before the rest of their world wakes up.  But for some reason, this has been a difficult thing for me.  I like my sleep.  AND, when I am training for a marathon, I have to use that time for running.  Grrrrrr.  But once the rest of the day begins, it slips away and I have not taken that time for my craft that I should have.

In Chapter 2 of “The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life”, Twyla Tharp lays out her “Rituals for Preparation”.  She believes the very thing that worries me: ritual is taking your art seriously.

“Doing the same simple act the same way each morning habitualizes it—makes it repeatable, easy to do.  It reduces the chance that I would skip it or do it differently”.

Now, it’s easy to think of Twyla as a machine that cannot be stopped.  But she does admit to sometimes wanting to skip her daily ritual of climbing out of bed a 5:30am every single morning to hail a cab and head to the gym for a 2 hour workout.  “But the quasi-religious power I attach to this ritual keeps me from rolling over and going back to sleep.”  She takes it seriously.

But simply rolling out of bed, although quite a feat on a cold morning is not enough.

Tharp outlines 4 Preparations for Beginning:

1.       Select the environment that works for you

A lot of habitually creative people have preparation rituals linked to the setting in which they choose to start their day.  By putting themselves into that environment, they begin their creative day.

Whether it’s at a desk with a cup of hot coffee, on a patio under an umbrella, in a studio with music blaring, it is important to find a space that alerts you that it is time to work.

“There is no one idea condition for creativity.  Make it easy on yourself.  Find a working environment where the prospect of wrestling with your muse doesn’t scare you, doesn’t shut you down.  When you enter into them, they impel you to get started.  Its Pavlovian: follow the routine, get a creative payoff.”

The key is to have a place where the magic occurs.  Sure, sometimes we may feel the need to venture out to a park or a museum, but we should always return.

Where do you do your work?

2.       Develop the start-up ritual that impels you forward every day.

Kathryn Erskine, YA author of Quaking and Mockingbird, spoke at the SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC last January and encouraged us to stay focused, to make time for ourselves and our craft. 

She spoke of a candle that she lights at the beginning of her writing session.  For her, this candle was a reminder of her creative spirit.  When it was lit, it was a symbol to start work.  At the end of her writing session she would blow it out.  What a beautiful ritual.

Maybe for you its brewing that cup of tea and then placing on it on the desk.  Maybe its turning on the radio and firing up the computer.  Or simply hitting a certain word count a day.  There is no right or wrong answer, but do you have a ritual that marks your creative time?  Tharp states that it is these rituals that keep us focused on our goals.  “When you enter into them, they impel you to get started.  Its Pavlovian: follow the routine, get a creative payoff.”

3.       Face down your fears.

“No one starts a creative endeavor without a certain amount of fear; the key is to learn how to keep free-floating fears from paralyzing you before you’ve begun.”

Picture Book author Deb Lund recently blogged for PiBoIdMo and called these fears “Miss Midge”.  Miss Midge is the nasty voice that says miserable things to her.  Lund suggests to “name that beast inside you and move on.”

But how to do that?  Tharp recommends writing down your fears and then creating a pep talk to battle each one.

Tharp's top 5 fears are quite common and you might be able to relate:

1)            People will laugh at me

2)            Someone has done it before.

3)            I have nothing to say.

4)            I will upset someone I love.

5)            Once executed, the idea will never be as good as it is in my mind.

So she addresses each fear directly. 

One of my biggest fears is “My writing isn’t good.”  To combat this I remember past critiques where people really liked my work.  I remind myself of the growth I have been able to see in my work over the past year and the improvement that is evident. 

Take your top 5 “Miss Midge” naggings and battle them. Write them down.  Remind yourself.  Do this now, don’t wait til she speaks.  Get your fuel to stop her now.

4.       Put your distractions in their proper place.

In addition to your fears, distractions can be just as destructive. 

What is it that keeps you from working?

For me, it used to be the tv.  I would get sucked into some stupid mindless show and waste time.  However, a few years ago I took Stephen King’s advice to “blow up my tv”.  I have never been more free.

But now the distraction is social media.  My blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc.  Its wonderful to be part of such a vibrant community of writers online, but often I find myself talking about writing more than I actually write.  Therein lies a big problem.

And what does Twyla say about this?  I am sure you can guess it.  You need to rid yourself of the distractions.

 

“Subtracting your dependence on some of the things you take for granted increases your independence.  Its liberating, forcing you to rely on your own ability rather than your customary crutches.”

What are your distractions?  Challenge yourself to do without them for a day, or two or a week. 

I don’t know about you…but I realize that I have A LOT of preparation to do.  But remember, this is a journey.  Where we are today will not be where we are tomorrow.  It’s about growth and learning. 

Do not get overwhelmed with the information listed here, but maybe choose one step that you want to utilize or improve upon in your own practice.  Be kind and gentle to yourself.   Its called practice for a reason.

Stay tuned this week as we continue our preparation with activities on Wed and Fri.

"Creative Habit": #1) I Walk into a White Room

"Creative Habit" is a 12 week series based on "The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life" by Twyla Tharp (Simon & Schuster, 2005).  This book is out of print. 

Picture this:  A blank computer screen.  An empty canvas.  An untouched notebook.

What emotions come up when you think of staring at this white space?

For some it is scary.  Others, paralyzing.  For some, exhilarating.

Twyla Tharp describes this as “the moment before creativity begins.”

But, what makes someone creative? How does someone face the empty page, the empty stage and making something where nothing existed before? It is not just a dilemma for the artist, it is something everyone faces everyday. What will I cook that isn't boring? How can I make that memo persuasive? What sales pitch will increase the order, get me the job, lock in that bonus? These too, are creative acts, and they all share a common need: proper preparation. For Twyla Tharp, creativity is no mystery; it's the product of hard work and preparation, of knowing one's aims and one's subject, of learning from approaches taken in the past. It's a process undertaken every day. It's a habit. “The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life” (Simon & Schuster, 2005) is not merely a look inside the mind of a remarkable woman with remarkable skills, but a programmatic, inspiring, encouraging guide to help each of us achieve our fullest creative potential.

How?

1)       Establish a routine.

2)       Set a daily/weekly goal.

3)       Be disciplined.

“Over time, as the daily routine becomes second nature, discipline morphs into habit, “ states Tharp.

I met Twyla Tharp in 2005 while working on some educational initiatives for her Billy Joel-inspired Broadway musical, Movin’ Out.  Although some read her serious exterior as gruff, I quickly learned that Twyla Tharp was both brilliant and an incredibly hard worker.

She opens her book by describing her own daily routine, starting at 5:30am in a cab on the way to a studio for 2 hours of working out and dancing.  She never deviates from this routine, and it shows in her success.  Tharp is a woman who has gotten where she is, not by sheer talent, but by hard work and determination.

And “The Creative Habit” is a book about that hard work.  Its about building skill.  It’s a book about preparation.  “In order to be creative, you have to know how to prepare to be creative.”  Throughout the book, Tharp gives exercises to make us stretch, get stronger and lasts longer.  It is her belief that this hard work is what pays off…not just being naturally good.

“It takes skill to bring something you’ve imagined into the world.  No one is born with that skill.  It is developed through exercise, through repetition, through a blend of learning and reflection that’s both painstaking and rewarding.  And it takes time.”

Are you ready to put in the hard work? 

Throughout the next 11 weeks, I will be reflecting on and providing exercises from “The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life” each Monday.  If you want to establish a routine, set goals and therefore be disciplined about your work as a writer, please feel free to join me. 

Together we will learn to embrace the empty white space.  Together we can develop the Creative Habit.

 Favorite Quotes from Chapter One:

“The blank space can be humbling. But I’ve faced it my whole professional life. It’s my job. It’s also my calling. Bottom line: Filling this empty space constitutes my identity."

“The routine is as much a part of the creative process as the lightning bolt of inspiration, maybe more.  And this routine is available to everyone.  Creativity is not just for artists.”

“Creativity augmented by routine and habit.”

“Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is a result of good work habits.  That’s it in a nutshell.”

“If art is the bridge between what you see in your mind and what the world sees, then skill is how you build that bridge.”

“Everything is raw material.  Everything is relevant.  Everything is usable.  Everything feeds into my creativity.  But without proper preparation, I cannot see it, retain it, and use it.  Without the time and effort invested in getting ready to create, you can be hit by the thunderbolt and it’ll leave you stunned.”