The Creative Return – Looking Forwards
September is the time of year for getting back to things (work, school, the routine of our daily lives) after the summer break. The French call this time of year La Rentrée – the return – and it affects everyone, not just workers and students. I like to think of this time of year as the Creative Return – where we can harness this feeling of beginning, to look forward to the rest of the year and prepare, to be ready to meet whatever opportunities or challenges we may come to.
This month, on the blog, I’ll be taking the theme of the Creative Return to focus on 4 elements: Values, the Big Picture, Reflection and Looking Forwards, with the aim of helping you remind yourself of your Why, to feel inspired about your work, to reflect on past successes and to set a course ahead. I’ll be asking you questions that get to the heart of each element and offering places you can gain additional inspiration or chances for reflection. Last week we looked at the Reflection, this week we’ll finish by Looking Forwards:
Happy birthday little blog!
This week my blog turns 1 year old. For the last 52 weeks I have posted something that I have written and sent it out into the strange, empty-feeling void of the internet where, I hope, some people have found it. I have managed to do this every single week (except for the time I had unbelievably bad food poisoning and so gave myself a pass) and that in itself is a massive achievement for me.
I am someone who is motivated most easily by external things – mostly doing things for others and feeling responsible to them. I am challenged when it comes to doing things where I have to be internally motivated, things for myself. This blog, although it has some outward facing elements, at its heart is a selfish endeavour. I write for me. I write because I need to – it helps me sort out things in my head – and because I want to. I want to get better at it, I want to write things that connect with people, I want to share things I find out. In that respect, because it is mainly for me, I’m not sure I expected that I would stick with it. I honestly thought it would end up like many of those other failed one-a-day-sketches/photographs/journal writing type exercises that I have started over the years. That I am still here, a year later, making the time to write each week and get it out, is something I feel rather proud of.
The ‘no plan’ plan and why it might be the best way to achieve your creative goals
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a planner. I have always got a million lists on the go, I am always thinking ‘what’s next?’ and daydreaming about things that are yet to happen. On a micro scale I have a tendency to fret over tiny details and have even been known to plan out my day to the nearest quarter of an hour. I love sitting down and planning my week, my month or even the next three months…
But, I am not a planner on a macro scale. I have never had ‘a plan’ about what I’m doing or where I’m going beyond the next year. I have always just followed my nose into interesting situations and my passions into new adventures.
Setting up your Writing Routine
Effective communication about your practice comes from really understanding what I call ‘the why behind the work’. It’s all about self-awareness and self-questioning. If you know why you make, then it’s easier to explain how. But how often do you really give yourself time to consider these things? Chances are you make time when you really have to: when there is an application to fill out, or a gallery or show needs some text about your work. And in that situation, do you really spend much time asking yourself why you do it, or do you find yourself writing the same sentences, explaining things in familiar ways, or the easiest of all – sending out something you wrote a while ago?
Building a writing routine
I’m a big believer that writing should be part of a maker’s practice, alongside the making and the hundred other tasks that need to be done to run a creative business. I see words as another raw material, ready to be transformed into something special. But, as with any raw material, things don’t spontaneously transform; […]