We might not know the color to paint our literary nursery yet, but we know we want a baby—er, I mean a new story.
But forcing it can sometimes throw up blocks. I’m not trying to conjure up images of newly married couples with parental dreams getting a bit too desperate in their lovemaking, but I guess I just did. “Honey, take your pants off!” “But I just…we just—” The militant spouse fires a finger at the bedroom. “Let’s go!”
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We have to find the sweet spot of being open to a new story without demanding one. In other words, we need to set the mood: light a few candles and throw on Van Morrison. (Okay, I’ll leave the baby-making analogy behind, but it was fun while it lasted.)
For me, it starts with a simple message that I send out into the world. I’ll literally say out loud, “I’m ready for a new idea.” I don’t need to get into my own spirituality, but you can send that prayer out to whomever you like, be it your God(s) or simply your subconscious. However you like to do it, it’s important that you open that door.
Then I start to fill my creative cup. First and foremost: reading. When I’m under deadline, I don’t get to read like I want to, so there’s catch-up to do. We all know Stephen King said in his memoir, On Writing, that the best writers are the best readers. I take down fiction and non-fiction books like a man in a hotdog eating contest. For the record though, I still stick to my one-hundred-page rule: if I am not enthralled in a big way by page one hundred, I move on. Life’s way too short.
While I’m reading, I study what’s working and what’s not. If I don’t finish a book, I think about why. If I tear through it, I analyze the heck out of it. Why was I so captivated by the character(s)? Why did I care? What kept me up at night? How did the author weave their story so effectively? Or how could they have done better?
All this applies to television and movies too. I absorb as many stories as I can, seeing what kicks my skirt up. I recently watched the A24 film Past Lives on Amazon, and I was reminded how powerful a love story can be and how I can’t imagine writing a book that didn’t have love in it. The first season of Dexter: Resurrection dazzled me with its tightness of plotting, how it never lets up.
I just finished Friends and Neighbors on Apple yesterday (no spoilers), and it was mostly wonderful, but I felt a few episodes dragged, and a couple of other points niggled at me: the chemistry between two characters and the final clue that exposed the truth. Maybe by studying what they’re doing, I can avoid the same pitfalls.
Ultimately, though, I’m looking to be reminded why I fell in love with creating in the first place. I want the fire to burn high. I want to find a book or show that sizzles my insides and reminds me of the power of art, a creation that makes me desperate to get back into the driver’s seat and slap some words onto the page.
I also read tons of magazines and news articles. Apple News, which is a news aggregator, is the best for spitting up all kinds of interesting bits that rattle my imagination. I might come across an article about a man who opened up a camp in the wilderness for blind children, another about a chef who put an Asian twist on cacio e pepe, or another about a man fresh off a heart transplant who’s having strange dreams. I’m basically downloading new data into my brain, in hopes that it might organically find a way into a future story.
Another trick: I’ll scribble out what I’m interested in lately. Last week, I wrote:
new kid on the block, missed connections, multiple love stories, dramedy, finding home, washed-up artists, imperfect humans, island life, underdogs, dysfunction in all forms
Because I’m not under deadline, I have more time for family and friends. I feel bad, because I’m secretly paying attention with writer’s ears and eyes. Most have already made it into my books, whether they know it or not, but there’s always more gold to mine. Writers should come with a disclaimer: to befriend me is to expose yourself to the inevitability of winding up in a forthcoming novel. Some like it, and some DON’T, but that’s a story for another time.
Most importantly, I carve out time to empty my mind and find stillness. As a songwriter on Peaks Island reminded me yesterday, the universe is conspiring together to give us creative fuel. All the energy surrounding us wants to connect with us, to create with us, to give us melodies, story ideas, images, anything we seek. It’s collectively speaking to us; all we have to do turn off our monkey minds and stick up our antennas. Tom Waits said about songwriting, “be real quiet if you wanna catch the big ones.”
Long walks, bike rides, or strumming a guitar are often the way I set my brain into a theta state, that dream-like place where the subconscious mind comes to play. Or I have a bench near my house that faces the ocean; it’s become a portal for me. All I have to do is take a seat, set my eyes over the water, breathe in the salty Maine air, and listen to the waves crash against the rocks. God does the rest.
Above all, we must keep it fun and come from a place of deep respect and gratitude. What a pleasure it is to break bread with the source and create something out of nothing.
Those of us who write for a living might hear the terrifying knock of fear at your door. What if nothing comes? What if I’m out of words? What if no one will be interested in my new idea? What if no one buys it? Oh, no, I might have to find a new profession. Med school? Car mechanic?
Guess what…a new idea always comes. The creative fuel is infinite. There will ALWAYS and FOREVER be new melodies, new ideas, new ways to spin a tale.
Tell your fear to zip its trap and then seize onto faith, because life’s too short to be afraid. Instead, have some flipping fun in this space of not knowing what’s next, because I’m not sure there’s a better part of the creative journey than when your antennas are up and you’re waiting for a divine whisper into your ear. How lucky we are to have so much at our finger tips that wants to be captured.
All we have to do is plug in, friends.
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