How to Eliminate the “Should Be” From Your Creative Process
Make better art when there is no pressure
One thing I have realized after being an artist for some time and graduating with a liberal arts degree, is that my work is shitty when I’m rushing or thinking of the end-result. Ever have this happen to you?
I find myself constantly thinking of what my teachers would like to see from me. Thinking of what the other students are going to produce. Thinking about what will gain the most views, likes, or money.
What sucks is that I spent so much time and money on my degree, but it’s clouded with feelings of competition, self-judgement, failure and rushing to meet due dates.
I wanted to learn to make beautiful things. The negative voice in my head keeps saying “I completed the courses and earned my degree, but what did I really walk away with?”
After many failures post-graduation, I’ve learned that it’s important to be true to yourself and honor your own process, sans the thoughts of “I’m not good enough.” College and life outside of college has deadlines and judgment. But, being open and vulnerable towards my audience has truly made for more organic and genuine art… and this is something I never learned in school.
1. Develop Your Flow
I have a very creative process when it comes to writing. I am also a dancer so merging the two can be an energetic and almost erotic creative flow. I think people would want to make their creative process orgasmic and something that they genuinely look forward to. Thus, the phrases “time flies when you’re having fun” and “it’s not work if you love what you do” can actually be true (despite the hard parts — but once you’re over the hump, it’s easy!). For me, pairing movement with writing is a surreal experience. I want to carve out the moments that matter to me by unleashing them through my muscular exertion, my stretch, and my breath.
I breathe deeply, put on some inspiring music and begin moving. Whatever movement comes out. I stretch and wring out the day. I honor everything my body has to say and completely shut off my brain. I believe that movement can unlock emotions that are stuck in the body and can release trauma.
After organic movement for about an hour, I begin to journal. About anything. Anything at all. A poem that doesn’t make sense. It could be one word that means something to me in that moment. It could be a long string of thoughts. It could be drawings. It could be a graph. It could be anything that comes out.
My objective is to serve my creative flow by noticing what is coming up for me after my movement practice. No judgement, just write what’s inside.
The next day I take my journal and jot it all down into the computer. I begin materializing my thoughts and adding some substance to them. If it truly is jumble then I move onto the next thing that I could potentially see as an article, or something that I believe would help another person with whatever problem they might be having. If I am struggling with something, I guarantee someone else is struggling with it, too.
2. Speak Your Truth — Be Vulnerable to Your Reader
My friend and I were discussing movies the other day. I suggested watching “Pan’s Labyrinth.” We came back the next week and collectively agreed that we didn’t feel an emotional pull towards the story line. We did, however, feel an emotional pull towards “The Joker.” Why? “Pan’s Labyrinth” is about a young girl’s fantasy world amidst 1944 Fascist Spain. “The Joker” highlights mental illness. We felt a pull towards the movie depicting mental illness because, well, we don’t know what 1944 Fascist Spain is like. We resonated more closely to mental illness and what it’s like to be inside a mind that doesn’t make sense.
Tell a story that your readers can connect to. Something real that they can grab onto and resonate with themselves. People enjoy reading stories. We must thank Disney for telling stories that were passed down for centuries. Disney connects emotions with lessons. You can do the same thing with your very own life experiences. What happened? What did you learn? Share it!
It doesn’t matter that there are a billion articles on Medium about the writing process and different suggestions from way more accredited writers than myself. But, nobody has written a story like YOURS.
I also believe that my work is so vulnerable, so open, so true to how I experienced it that it could be the words that help someone else. The vulnerability piece helps make the art move into the integrity of you, of your truth. Our job as writers is to formulate words that articulate our truths as best as possible so that people can connect with us.
Following my vulnerability helps build trust between myself and my audience. My audience should be able to trust me and my story.
3. Pretend Deadlines Don’t Exist
We don’t have a lot of time as writers/creators. I’ve always had deadlines for other people. When am I ever allowed to go at my own pace? When I reach a flow state, or, my creation flow, it’s supposed to feel so compelling to create something magical. Like I can’t do anything else except create.
It’s okay to be messy. It’s a journey to organic openness and making mistakes. Don’t give a fuck about what anyone else thinks and secretly keep in mind that you have all the time in the world to create something awesome.
Don’t be afraid of your own words and certainly don’t let that hinder you to put your voice out into the universe, even if it’s similar to someone else’s.
What Does This Mean for You?
These are only some of the ways I take the pressure and judgement out of my art-making. It’s mine, only mine. Forget about the deadlines. Honor your truth and speak what comes out during the flow.
I hope sharing this with the world helps at least one person gain perspective on their writing practice. It pays to be vulnerable with people because I am speaking my truth.
If just one person resonates with this then I have accomplished something.