March Creative Favourites
The Tiny Things Helping Me Create Better and Feel Better
This week I’m craving some lighthearted fun. Not in a let’s procrastinate and forget everything way, but more of a let’s remember why we’re doing this.
So, instead of another deep dive into creativity and blocks, I’m sharing a list of things supporting my creative life. These often change over time, but there are a few that are a core foundation.
These little favourites are things helping me right now, so if you’ve been looking for something new to try, here’s a few I love.
1) A Tiny Ritual That Gets me to the Writing Desk
If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s to keep things laughably simple because when you do, you don’t have to work as hard to get where you want to be.
And, fighting yourself all the time is exhausting.
So, my laughably simple ritual is starting the day with a morning cuppa and doing my writing before I do anything else. That way I’ve already achieved before I start my day, and it’s not taken a massive change in my routine to fit that in.
I always start my day with a cuppa anyway, so adding writing to this is a small change, which means I will keep doing it.
Sometimes, this looks like a really short 15 minutes with a timer, especially if it’s a busy morning, but the timer takes the pressure off as it fools my brain into believing that a quick 15 minutes won’t cost anything big emotionally, physically or mentally.
And, often this short burst gets me into that flow and I want to continue.
To try this yourself get a timer, your phone is perfect but I really like an old fashioned egg timer, and set 15 minutes. You’ll be surprised what you can achieve in just 15 minutes.
2) One Phrase I’m Saying Before I Create
My first draft is supposed to be terrible. That’s it’s job.
Some days I really need to hear this, particularly when I’m in the middle of that first draft (like I am at the moment) and it feels like it’s just pages and pages of word vomit.
Reminding myself that this is just part of the process and it’s the second draft where the magic and fun begins is so important at this point.
I really hate first drafts and much prefer second drafting where I can build the nuances of plot, subplots and make it come alive.
I need to be reminded that the first draft is meant to be a complete mess otherwise I’ll avoid it. I need to go through this stage to get to the bit I like.
What’s one thing you need to remind yourself of before you create?
3) A Done List I’m Keeping
I’ve been tracking client hours for years but it’s only in the last few years I’ve been tracking hours for everything.
I use Toggl and it gives me such great insight on where I’m spending my time, how long things take and also gives me a record of all the creative work I’ve done and what it cost me in time to get there.
Another great advantage of this method is that it gives me insights into periods of down time when I’ve not been creative. It allows me to see patterns as that creative cycle ebbs and flows.
Alongside this, I use my daily diary (available to subscribers free on my site) to list out tasks for that day. The act of ticking these off as I go allows a fantastic sense of achievement.
Both of these things combined means I get to give that inner critic receipts that yes, I can do it and yes, I am being realistic about timescales. So, when it comes along loud and obnoxious telling me I can’t do it and I’m wrong, I just give it the evidence to make it be quiet again.
4) A Book I’m Enjoying
I’m currently reading Nothing to See Here by Susan Lewis.
The mystery thriller focuses on Cristy, a successful podcast host, who begins a new series around a mysteriously unsolved triple murder and a missing child from 15 years previously.
The three women were Lexie (the wife) Margaret (Lexie’s mother) and Serena (Lexie’s therapist) all brutally murdered. It looked like Lexie’s husband was going to go to trial, but the CPS backed away and the evidence went cold.
Cristy and her team start looking into it and as they drop episodes every week new evidence, emerges new people reach out and new threats appear that unnerve the team, but make them more determined to keep going.
The sub plot is interesting too. Cristy has split from her husband and he has married someone else. Because of a situation with her mother-in-law, it was Cristy who walked away from the marital home. She also walked away from her successful TV career so she didn’t have to see her husband and his mistress every day. The children (both teens) stayed with their father for convenience, despite the fact that it was the father’s affair that broke the marriage.
I’m really enjoying the premise of this and as someone who reads a lot of historical fiction, it’s nice to jump into something modern. I really like Cristy’s character and can relate to her as a wife, mother and someone who has had their world turned upside down in various ways over the years.
I am more than half way through and can’t wait to find out who the actual killer is and how the author is going to construct the ending. So far I’m not certain, which for me is a massive positive in a story.
Since studying literature at university, I’ve been able to spot and break down a story line and guess an ending long before it happens, which is probably why I usually go for multiple protagonists, timelines and complicated plots when I’m reading. But, this one is a single character plot and it’s been very well done.
If you’d like to read it too you can find it here.
5) A Creative Tool That’s Earning its Keep
I love Scrivener. I bought the original version years ago and then upgraded to the new one more recently.
Many people have said they find it too complicated to use, but it’s actually really intuitive when you know the things you want to use it for.
However, it does do so many things that it can feel like a lot to learn, but honestly you don’t need to know everything, you just need to know the things important to what you want to do.
I don’t know all the amazing complicated things it’s capable of, but I also don’t use those features, so it’s no problem. I don’t need to learn things I won’t use.
I use it to map out my books, plot, timelines, research and to draft the actual story. I love that I can drop different sections and pages into different places if I want to move a scene around.
Another way I use it is for mapping out these articles. I use folders for each month and drop in pages for each article. I can then map out what I want to write about each week. This allows me to look at an overview and look at each article in detail with everything in the same place.
I also map out all my programmes, courses, freebies, and workbooks in this way too. Each has its own folder and documents for each section. This allows me to see all the projects in the pipeline, where I’m up to and if I’m on track.
It really is a versatile piece of software that I use every single day. It’s probably the one thing I’d keep if I had to get rid of everything else.
6) A Minimum Viable Day Practice
On those tough days things can seem like a struggle, but I try to keep it simple and allow something small to count.
This can be something as simple as watching a documentary on the period I’m writing about, watching how period dramas handle the small things like costume, setting and, the way people lived and worked on a practical level.
It could be as simple as reading a book to spark that creativity or just doing a creative pursuit.
The point is that on difficult days I’m learning not to try and force a route I’m clearly not ready for, instead I take a step back and ask what I do need and go with that.
I’ve learned that it’s all part of the process and sometimes my brain needs time to percolate a problem rather than be forced forward.
If you’re in this situation try these:
Make: create something tiny that feels insignificant and easy
Tend: care for your work-in-progress in any way it needs (this can even be a bit of research)
Feed: refill the well by doing something fun and inspiring
7) A Small Pleasure to Feed my Creativity
This one would have to be my crochet and knitting.
I tend to do this on an evening or a weekend afternoon in front of some TV drama or other. I find it allows me to completely relax but still gives my brain something to focus on so it doesn’t spiral into panic or just catastropising (which I’m likely to do if left to my own devices).
It allows me to give myself permission to sit and relax, without feeling guilty, because the act of doing means I’m still being productive, still feeling creative and gaining that sense of achievement without having to pull down a lot of creative energy to achieve.
Doing something I’m so familiar with that it becomes almost thoughtless is a great way to fill that creative well for me.
Do you have any creative pursuits that feel natural that you can do just for the pleasure of it?
8) A Prompt for the Week
If you’re craving something but need a little nudge to get started, try this:
Choose one tiny idea
Give it 15 minutes
Stop before it gets hard
Your goal isn’t to finish the thing, it’s to keep your creative energy warm and ready to go. It’s about stoking the fire. So, it needs to be something small that doesn’t take huge energy, just like crochet and knitting is for me.
Drop me a message or leave a comment to let me know what your favourite creative energy booster is.
It could be a book, a tool, a ritual, a tiny pleasure or even a song you love.
I love finding new good creative ideas.
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My Books: historical fiction mysteries