08 Jan Navigating the creative process: advice for writers.

Do you ever wonder what people mean when they talk about the creative process? Where do creative ideas come from? And why does it sometimes feel so difficult to follow through on those ideas and bring them out into the world?

The first phase of creativity

The creative process has been studied by social scientists and neuroscientists for decades. And there are some things we now know that allow us – if we like – to break the process down, so we can understand it better. Most of us would agree that we’re being ‘creative’ when we are writing, drawing, painting, designing, composing. But we are also being creative when we’re tackling any kind of problem or issue – mathematicians and scientists are just as creative as artists and musicians. So, what’s actually involved in being creative? Is it something we can ‘work on’ or improve? Can we learn to be more creative? I believe we can, if we wish, and demystifying the creative process is a helpful first step.

In an ideal world – where we do not feel afraid or blocked – the creative process of writing usually begins with a free ‘flow’ of ideas. We patiently allow these initial ideas to flow through us in an optimistic and non-judgemental way. We are open-minded during this initial phase. We allow our thinking to be divergent and tangential. We repeatedly ask what if something else is true? We prepare to be surprised. We indulge in activities that allow our minds to wander. Ideally, we avoid stress at this stage, because research shows that stress stalls this free-flowing phase of the creative process. We cultivate playfulness. We stimulate our creativity by engaging in activities that really interest us and by trying something different. We draw / paint an idea if writing it feels tricky. We free-write with no expectation. We go for long walks. We sit in silence staring into space.

Anything goes in this first, expansive phase of the creative process, and this phase may, depending on our project, last for months. This is the magical phase: a glorious, messy mix of ideas, dreams, fantasy, conscious and unconscious thought, emotions, sensory input and memories. This is the raw material of creativity. It’s there within us, and the first stage of the creative process asks us to cultivate an environment that allows it to flow out of us.

At some point we will need to stop thinking so much, and move into the process of doing. For some people, this part of the process is anxiety-inducing. The uncommitted nature of thinking and fantasising with no constraints can feel safe, and moving into ‘following through’ can feel scary. Rarely do ideas emerge fully formed – they come to us in snippets, and we gradually piece them together. But we cannot use this as an excuse to never actually start the making, doing, writing bit. Our ideas do not need to be perfect before we bring them out into the world. No creative idea needs to be complete – everything worked out – before we move to the next phase. In fact, sometimes we need to start doing for the idea to flourish and deepen.

The second phase of creativity

What follows is a more disciplined, refining, judgemental phase. During this phase we rein in the never-ending possibilities and create boundaries. We converge with our idea and dismiss others. We force ourselves to make choices (knowing that we can always come back and change our minds at a later stage, but for now we are going to pin that idea down).

We might start planning or plotting in a more concrete way. We might embark on research. In the first phase of the creative process we were working hard, but to the outside world it probably looked like we weren’t doing much. During the second phase we’re not just working hard, we look like we’re working hard: we turn up at our writing desks – some of us (not me) for a set number of hours or words a day. We test our ideas for plausibility. We consider narrative arc and characterisation. We make progress, and get those words on the page.  

In reality we are back and forth

Writing is rarely so simple that we start with phase one, move on to phase two, and thereby complete our project! How wonderful that would be!

No, in reality, we start with phase one, move on to phase two, and then shift back to phase one when we encounter problems, or feel stuck. This shifting back and forth, expanding and contracting (thank you Jen Gash for this idea) can be hard. Most of us are most comfortable in either phase one (loose, ideas flowing, taking our time, juggling possibilities and committing to none) or phase two (making decisions, routine and discipline, getting the words on the page, watching the word-count rise). We tend naturally towards one or the other, generally speaking. But we must learn to navigate both phases, willingly, if not smoothly! We cannot be successful creatively if we insist on staying in the phase where we are most comfortable. To have good ideas, and to follow them through to completion demands that we traverse between phase one and phase two, back and forth as required.

Learning to recognise each phase for what it is, understanding the merits of each and acknowledging our personal preferences (what we’re comfortable with about each phase) can be so helpful in keeping our ideas and words flowing. When we learn to shift between the thinking and the doing we get better at avoiding writer’s block, and keeping productive.

If you are finding it hard to get started with your writing, or to follow through and finish a story, novel or memoir, and you’re interested in working with a writing coach, then I’d love to hear from you. You’ll find my contact details on the coaching page.