Roots and Branches

Join me for Bloom, starting November 2nd (scroll down for the discount codes! Please use them!)

I adore doing private calls with writers because they always spark important conversations about topics I see floating around in our larger collective consciousness: One big one I’ve been seeing is how we move between ideation and decision and action when beginning new projects.

It’s almost as though we’re all collectively in the ether, getting our arms around our hopes and dreams, but seeking a way to put our feet under us.

I’ve been especially seeing this push and pull between ideation and action with people who have a bunch of ideas floating around at the same time. But what if, instead of a push and pull, we saw it as a dance?

In this dance, we aren’t trying to force outcomes or suffocate (or create) anything before it has a chance to fully become itself: We are committed to showing up, getting curious, and seeing what emerges.

Most importantly, action is not granted more importance than ideas. Both have their place. Both are vital. But when we rush one or the other we deprive our best work of oxygen.

In this particular call, we came up with a dance that would work for this particular person. Rather than insisting you follow its steps exactly, I encourage you to use it as a jumping off point. What dance steps might you add to make this your own?

Step One: Our first step is to draw connections: Start by looking at all the ideas. Write them down in a list. Draw a map. Start to draw lines or write out ways in which these things overlap.

These overlaps can be thematic (similar topics, methodologies, etc.) but there is another critical element too…

Step Two: Once you have a clear sense of what each idea is (or what it is thus far), think about the role each would play in your life. Do they serve you in the same way? Do they fulfill your goals in the same way?

In my client’s example, certain projects would make sense for continuing their existing research trajectory after tenure, but a couple off-topic projects would help them expand into new methodologies and dive into subjects that bring them deep joy.

Step Three: Now that you know what each project is and what role it might potentially play in your life (and how it can nourish you in the process), now you have multiple avenues from which to approach the decision of what creative project to engage with first.

This step is simply a gut-level reaction: What project excites you most?

If you want, switch this one with step 2 (start with the gut-level statement then map things out), journal about it, etc. You might also find that the two steps blend together into one.

I like to list out not just which things I’m excited about but why they excite me. Then, do another gut-level response and ask yourself ‘what kind of excitement do I most want to feel right now?’

Are you craving high-energy, deadline-driven adrenaline? Slow, no-expectations meanders through archival resources to see what comes up? Etc.

Following your excitement results in magical things, and as my client noted, strategy is good (we do a lot of that too), but excitement is what keeps us connected to a big project long-term.

Once you have a map of your projects and your feelings about your work, you might find your path ahead feels very clear.

But you might also find it’s an opportunity to explore. If the path forward isn’t clear, why not devote a little time to getting to know each idea? You can continue to articulate and find clarity by doing so, but this also gives each project enough breathing room and attention to show what they want to be, without suffocating ideas by demanding you choose something prematurely.

And, by devoting some time to each project (it doesn’t even have to be a lot, just enough to get your arms around what they want to become), it lets you clearly articulate each one, so if and when you do set some aside to focus on a single project, you have a clear idea of what they were when you come back to them.

When I think about a creative practice, these iterative, exploratory stages are just as important as the goal-driven steps we take to bring a project into its final form. It’s why I emphasize practice over product, because when we build a strong foundation and a strong practice, the product that emerges is stronger and comes through more easily.

Join me for Bloom, starting November 2nd (scroll down for the discount codes! Please use them!)

Next month, I’ll be working with writers and other creatives from all experience levels and backgrounds (and genres) to build our creative practices from the ground up.

Consistent. Enjoyable. Work you want to turn towards in a calm, generative space that you build for your creativity to exist inside of.

I made this workshop because it was what I needed over a decade ago when I started writing, and it’s my way to distill all the learning from that time into something that can help you practice in a way that’s different from the exhausting, burnout-inducing work tactics you learned in grad school or the workplace.

Practice can feel generative. Restful. Supportive. A place where creative flow and focus happens without being forced and without being strapped purely to outcomes or external motivation. It can be internally driven. Curious. Adaptive and flexible. And your creative practice can be uniquely you.

This November, you’ll be in a space where you’ll enjoy:

*Weekly calls focused on really practical skills to apply to your creative practice immediately, so you can build what you need and how you need it, whether or not you have time to go through the whole resource library

*A resource library to help you go deep into building out goals, routines, rituals, and more between our live calls

*A Slack channel for support, questions, and community

*Free access to everything from my popular Writing Playground workshop (a $295 value), so you can add in a generative creative writing element if you wish (or, just apply our practice-focused work to your current projects) plus additional prompts from Food Writing from the Sensual Body and Curious Mind.

You also get discounts on working with me in the future, if you need additional 1:1 support.

Join Bloom for 40% off with the code MANIFEST

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