Creativity Goes Wild » Writing Ideas

Making Meaning of Your Life through Writing

suzanne — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:54:57 +0000

A creative writing class may be one of the last places you can go where your life still matters - Richard Hugo

Poet Richard Hugo, who started the creative writing program at the University of Montana and taught there for 30 years, thought that writing allowed you to more readily make sense of your life and see the value of it. He saw the practice of writing as “a slow cumulative way of accepting your life as valid, of accepting yourself over a lifetime, of realizing that your life is important. And it is. It’s all you’ve got. All you ever had for sure.”

I find that whether I’m writing essays or poems or reflecting in the pages of my journal that I gain increased clarity about who I am, what I value and how I see the world. I tap a deeper thread of meaning in my life that helps me makes sense of everything I have ever done and everything that has ever happened. It helps me put things in perspective and opens me up to new insights.

You don’t have to “be a writer” to benefit. The practice of stream of consciousness writing where you just let the words flow uncensored gives you access to an expanded way to knowing and deeper wisdom. It gives you access to the powerhouse of your subconscious/unconscious (that 93 percent of our mind we are not usually aware of.) It’s a great way to get answers to the questions our heart and soul want to ask like What do I need to know right now?or What is trying to emerge in my life right now? Just play with it and see what happens.

Letting Yourself Be Surprised by Your Writing

suzanne — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:00:58 +0000

No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. – Robert Frost

One of the great pleasures of writing is that you learn things about yourself and the way you think that you might not otherwise uncover. Former U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner, Ted Kooser has a real gift for pulling together really unexpected images and ideas in his poems. His poems are complex and elegant while still being very accessible. Here’s one of his poems that certainly surprised me and probably surprised him as well.

Etude by Ted Kooser

I have been watching a Great Blue Heron
fish in the cattails, easing ahead
with the stealth of a lover composing at letter,
the hungry words looping and blue
as they coil and uncoil, as they kiss and sting.

Let’s say that he holds down an everyday job
in an office. His blue suit blends in.
Long days swim beneath the glass top
of his desk, each one alike. On the lip
of each morning, a bubble trembles.

No one has seen him there, writing a letter
to a woman he loves. His pencil is poised
in the air like the beak of a bird.
He would spear the whole world if he could,
toss it and swallow it whole.

WRITING EXERCISE: Using the poem above as inspiration pick as your writing prompt a scene you see out the window or an event you witnessed or an experience you had during the day. Just start writing about it and see where it leads you. Often we don’t know why a story is really calling to us to write it until we are well into the process. The best writing comes from a willingness to be surprised.

Writing or Creating in the Middle of Things

suzanne — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 22:39:23 +0000

I had the privilege of taking a workshop from noted American poet William Stafford not long before he died. Stafford wrote a poem a day for most of his adult life. He would rise at four in the morning, make his tea and toast, then sit on the sofa in the living room and write a poem. By the time his wife and children were up he felt as if he had done his day’s work. He would then go off to his job of teaching writing to at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. He would give his students the assignment to write a poem a day. When they began to whine and moan that that was too difficult, he would respond “lower your standards”. By lowering his standards he was awarded the National Book Award; appointed U.S. Poet Laureate and Poet Laureate of Oregon; received a Guggenheim Fellowship; and was a beloved teacher and workshop leader. He kept a daily journal for 50 years, and composed nearly 22,000 poems, of which roughly 3,000 were published. Of his work he once said in an interview: “I keep following this sort of hidden river of my life, you know, whatever the topic or impulse which comes, I follow it along trustingly. And I don’t have any sense of its coming to a kind of crescendo, or of its petering out either. It is just going steadily along.”

In order to show up for our creativity or the work of our life I think it helps to lower our standards on what we can accomplish on a daily basis while still keeping our focus on what we ultimately desire or want to achieve. Develop the practice of showing up everyday and taking some action, however small, toward your goal. If you are a writer be happy that you have drafted a poem or a page. You can start by showing up for 15 minutes rather than thinking you have to find two hours of free time before you begin. If you are moving toward a new career or expanding your work be happy that you have made one phone call to connect with someone you might be able to help you. By taking one small step a day you can cover a lot of ground and it has the added advantage of allowing you to sneak in under the radar of the part of you that is resistant to change. Carve moments out of your day for doing what brings you heart and meaning or gives you a sense of momentum. I carry copies of the poems or essays I am working on revising with me wherever I go and pull them out while I’m waiting to have my car’s oil changed or early for an appointment. By learning to do our creative work in the middle of things we infuse our daily life with the meaning and satisfaction that comes from nourishing our soul.

Writing for Wisdom & Clarity

suzanne — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 15:40:23 +0000

Talking to paper is talking to the divine. It is talking to an ear that will understand even the most difficult things. Paper is infinitely patient. – Burghild Nina Holzer

Each new year’s day feels like a chance to begin anew. This year I think we can all feel the call to live more authentically from our deeper yearnings and desires and bring our gifts into the world. I wanted to offer you a tool for gaining clarity and insights from our heart’s deeper way of knowing that is the surest and fastest way I know. It’s faster than meditating, going for a walk to think things through or talking to a friend. It involves using writing as a hotline to your truest knowing.

I first started keeping a journal in college and have maintained that practice for over thirty five years. Later as I became interested in creative writing I learned a technique called freewiting from a book by Peter Elbow called Writing Without Teacher. It involves writing without thinking for a set amount of time where you let the writing take you where it wants to go. This differs from journaling in that it involves an act of surrender and letting go of needing to figure it out with your conscious mind. In allowing words to flow onto paper as they emerge from your inner being in a spontaneous and heartfelt way you access a profound clarity and wisdom.

All you do is simply force yourself to write without stopping for ten minutes. If you get stuck you keep writing “Keep the pen moving” until you break free. To tap your inner knowing you can address your Higher Self or the source of the highest wisdom you can access with a question like “what do I need to know right now?” or “what is my deepest heart’s desire” and then just let the pen take over. If you are really fast on the keyboard you can try it on the computer. When you are finished read it over as if it is a letter you have gotten in the mail. Pretend someone other than you wrote it. Be open and curious. You may also want to put it away for a couple of days and read it again. This allows you to be much more objective. Be persistent. It can take a while to develop the ability and connection.

The Value of Writing Practice

suzanne — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:58:03 +0000

The act of showing up to writing as a daily practice has enrich my life in countless ways. As Annie Lamott says in the introduction to her book bird by bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, “Writing has so much to give, so much to reach so many surprises. That thing you have to force yourself to do – the actual act of writing – turns out to be the best part.” I agree completely. Through my writing practice I understand more about how I think and how I see of the world; I more readily see the value and meaning of my life as I gain deeper insight to the stories and ideas that are important to me; and I strengthen my ability to tap the inspiration, intuition and imagination of the creative spirit not only in my writing but the rest of my life. This awareness and approach has allowed me to fall in love with the process which after three decades remains fresh and in my willingness to play with the process I have been able to finely hone the craft of writing as well.

Writing & Brain Wave States

suzanne — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 22:05:02 +0000

I’ve been reading an interesting book, titled Writing Down Your Soul: How to Activate and Listen to the Extraordinary Voice Within by Janet Conner. It focuses on how writing can help you access your inner wisdom and deeper ways of knowing. Anyone who establishes a writing practice, whether for creative expression or self discovery, begins to realize they can tap expanded ways of knowing and gain insights beyond the reach of their everyday state of awareness. I found the ideas and wisdom found in the book are very much applicable to creative writing.

In the book the author interviewed creativity consultants Michelle and Robert Colt who have studied what goes on in the brain when we write. They first describe the four types of brain waves, “Beta, the fastest is associated with stress, work and concentration.” Most of us spend the bulk of our waking time here. Alpha waves are a bit slower and are “associated with creativity, calmness, and insight.” This is the brain state of “being in the zone” where your work feels effortless. Theta waves are the next slowest. We experience this state when we first wake up or have an ah..ha moment where you have a really creative idea or the solution to a problem pops into your mind. People who meditate slip into theta quickly and remain there through the period of meditation.. Delta waves, that we experience in deep sleep are the slowest.

When we write we start out in beta, but very quickly move into alpha and eventually theta. The Colts explain that , “any moment of intense creativity is a theta burst. And when you engage in deep dialogue with divine mind, you are having mystical theta bursts” In the state of mystical theta bursts you are surprised by what comes out of your pen (or keyboard). I remember when I had my first experience of this state. I stopped writing to look around the room to see where the words were coming from because they didn’t feel like they were coming from me. It sounds strange but it actually feels delightful and it’s really were the best writing comes from.

I was really excited to read about the brain states because it explained what I have been teaching intuitively for years. I tell my students to never wait for inspiration before sitting down to write because if you do you will likely be waiting a long time. I explain that you often have to write a half a page or a page where not much is happening, where you will feel sluggish and resistant before you start to feel a sense of the creative flow. I now realize that you are actually writing your way out of beta down into the brain states that give you access to the more creative states. It’s why establishing writing as a habit or practice is so important because you never really feel like writing until you slip into the more creative brain states and the best way to get there is to sit down and start writing.

The information about brain states also explains why we have hard time coming up with creative solutions to life’s and the world’s problems when we are in our everyday (beta) mind. This reminds me of what Einstein meant when he said, Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them. Reading about the brain states makes me aware of how important it is when I am faced with a problem to slow down and calm down knowing this will help me tap the more expanded brain states and allow creative solutions and new ideas to surface.

Why I Write

suzanne — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:42:20 +0000

Years ago I took a workshop from William Kittredge who taught creative writing at the University of Montana for thirty years. He said when he first started out teaching he was concerned with providing his students with information and techniques for writing. As time progressed he found that the most important thing he could do for his students was to help them answer the question of why they wanted to write.

I often use this assignment with my students: Do a ten minute freewrite starting with the prompt Why I write. . . Try it, let your mind run, this can help you tap the energy behind the desire to write.

Writing from Raspberries

suzanne — Sat, 22 May 2010 14:58:12 +0000

Earlier I explained you could start with the word kumquats and if you let it, the writing would take you where it really wants to go. Below is a poem of mine that came from starting with the word raspberries and having no idea what I was going to write. This is the final draft of a poem that ended up being about my father.

Raspberries

Sweetness tinged tart, rising
from root stock my father planted
in the fog haunted garden,

hands plunged into black earth
gritty beneath fingernails, on his knees
seeking the salvation nurturing
seeds can bring a burdened soul.

Vines dripped red berries
sprinkled on vanilla ice cream
in the dark kitchen, on the long nights
when dreams would not let him sleep.

The War in the Pacific, an ambush
in a Philippine jungle, flickering
through his mind for fifty years.

This luscious flavor now on my tongue
pulling out thoughts of him,
tossed in the bowl of memories

heavy in my hands
now that he has been released
to the earth, he so carefully tended.

-Suzanne Murray

WRITING EXERCISE TO PLAY WITH: Use different fruit for your writing prompt: oranges, lemon, watermelon, figs, blackberries, . . .or whatever one pops into your head. Have fun.

Writing from Kumquats

suzanne — Mon, 03 May 2010 19:38:39 +0000

Recently in my morning writing class I was explaining if you get your mind out of the way to allow what wants to be written from the place of your deeper wisdom and knowing, (aka the intelligence of your heart) then what truly wants to be written will flow out. I exclaimed, “You could write about kumquats and you will end up in the story that wants to be told. So I then gave the class the assignment to write from the word kumquats. This seemed to stall out the rational mind allowing it more easily to surrender to the creative flow and everyone wrote from a deeper and more imaginative place

Writing Exercise: Start a ten minute freewrite with the word kumquats. Remember to really let go and let the writing lead.

Tips for Helping You Show Up to Your Writing

suzanne — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:45:44 +0000

In writing, habit seems to be a much stronger force than either willpower or inspiration. Consequently, there must be some little quality of fierceness until the habit pattern of a certain number of words is established. There is not possibility. . .of saying, I’ll do it if I feel like it. – John Steinbeck

Woody Allen said that ninety five percent of life is showing up. This is especially true when it comes to our writing. If you have a hard time showing up as consistently as you would like, give yourself permission to return to picking up the thread of your work just a little bit at a time. Lower your standards on what you think you should be able to accomplish. Be willing to forgive yourself for all the times you have failed to show up to your work. Honor that there will likely always be a part of you who wants to write and a part of you that is resistant to the letting go that is required to really engage the creative mind. This can be very liberating. Writing is not unlike training to run a marathon. You start out running a few blocks and you work your way up each day to the full twenty six miles. In your writing this can translate into doing “freewriting” or stream of consciousness writing for ten minutes a day for a month then building up to showing up for longer periods of time where you also play with the art of revision and work on finishing a piece. In working with my students and coaching clients I focus in part on learning to fall in love with the process and to find joy in simply showing up to the creative work. Then the writing becomes it’s own reward, free of the expectations of what we think it needs to be and we learn to allow what wants to be born out of our creative spirit.

Author Ray Bradbury keeps a file of opening lines and titles of stories yet to be written. Try this. Make a list of all the stories within you that really want to be told. Then pick one and write on the theme for at least ten minutes a day for a week (or better yet for a month) and see how that feels. Have it be okay that some of what you write may feel uninspired. It all counts as practice that helps you to develop the habit to showing up to your work and evolve your own writing voice and style. The more you show up the more likely you are to hit the zone where your creativity really starts to flow and magic happens.