**The Tormented Artist** Do you love writing? Do you believe that writing loves you in return? She spends way too much time talking about the Tormented Artist archetype in our society. I personally would rather focus on the alternative.
What might your NaNo look like if you choose to believe that writing loves you back? If you reject the notion that one must suffer for their art, how do you think about your relationship to creativity?
**Choose what to trust** "Love. Love over suffering, always."
She points out the flawed thinking in the tormented artist; that somehow creativity would come to you only to make you suffer if the end goal is to be made manifest. And, so might it behealthier and more productive to embrace the idea that you are (my words here) co-creators/co-conspirators together with your creativity. That you could work together towards the same ends. And for that she suggests, stubborn gladness.
"My ultimate choice then, is to always approach my work from a place of stubborn gladness."
"I choose to trust that inspiration is always nearby..."
Write a short list of what you choose to trust about your creative process.
**Martyr vs Trickster** On page 222 she gives an amusing gammet of the different thinking- too much for me to want to retype. But here's the easiest question of the day:
Do you want to be a martyr or a trickster?
**Passion vs Curiosity** Passion is wonderful- it can be loud and tantalizing, it can be inspiring and motivating, it can fuel you to commit to NaNo and blast off for the first week or 10K or...
But then, a vast majority of people run out of steam. SUre the passion for the idea was strong and the beginning was fun to write... but then the ideas begin to dry up, the writing becomes work. You have to come up with more ideas. You have to figure out the beats, the motivations, the plot!
People shouldn't be running on passion alone, Elizabeth would argue, that one should show up to the page anyway. When passion has flagged, that is when curiosity comes in.
"Is there anything you're interested in?" This is her question from curiosity. Get curious. In terms of your writing, when you are feeling stuck, what might happen if you ask yourself this question?
Other ideas she talks about: * Accept that failures will happen. * You are more than your ego. *Scavenger hunts. * Saying Yes to wonder. * Do something else. * Move on. Keep moving forward, Stay busy. * Combinatory play. Yay EInstein! * Paint stars.
**Fierce Trust** The final act of creative trust is to put your work out there. There is no guarantee of success for any of us. Will you put your work out there anyway?
**Fierce trust asks you to stand strong within this truth: "You are worthy, dear one, regardless of the outcome."
Fierce trust asks you to dare to be the COurt Lobster. Be the lobster.
**Divinity and Big Magic** Divinity means different things to different people. You might see it as spiritual, another it may be religious, to another it may simply be sublime.
When we write we can choose to enter the realm of big magic or perhaps we are creating big magic.
After reading this book on creativity, (or following along with our discussions), what's your greatest wish for your NaNo this year? How do you want to feel as you write? What are you choosing to trust? What are you taking away from this group?
Do you love writing?
Do you believe that writing loves you in return?
She spends way too much time talking about the Tormented Artist archetype in our society. I personally would rather focus on the alternative.
What might your NaNo look like if you choose to believe that writing loves you back? If you reject the notion that one must suffer for their art, how do you think about your relationship to creativity?
**Choose what to trust**
"Love.
Love over suffering, always."
She points out the flawed thinking in the tormented artist; that somehow creativity would come to you only to make you suffer if the end goal is to be made manifest. And, so might it behealthier and more productive to embrace the idea that you are (my words here) co-creators/co-conspirators together with your creativity. That you could work together towards the same ends. And for that she suggests, stubborn gladness.
"My ultimate choice then, is to always approach my work from a place of stubborn gladness."
"I choose to trust that inspiration is always nearby..."
Write a short list of what you choose to trust about your creative process.
**Martyr vs Trickster**
On page 222 she gives an amusing gammet of the different thinking- too much for me to want to retype. But here's the easiest question of the day:
Do you want to be a martyr or a trickster?
**Passion vs Curiosity**
Passion is wonderful- it can be loud and tantalizing, it can be inspiring and motivating, it can fuel you to commit to NaNo and blast off for the first week or 10K or...
But then, a vast majority of people run out of steam. SUre the passion for the idea was strong and the beginning was fun to write... but then the ideas begin to dry up, the writing becomes work. You have to come up with more ideas. You have to figure out the beats, the motivations, the plot!
People shouldn't be running on passion alone, Elizabeth would argue, that one should show up to the page anyway. When passion has flagged, that is when curiosity comes in.
"Is there anything you're interested in?"
This is her question from curiosity. Get curious. In terms of your writing, when you are feeling stuck, what might happen if you ask yourself this question?
Other ideas she talks about:
* Accept that failures will happen.
* You are more than your ego.
*Scavenger hunts.
* Saying Yes to wonder.
* Do something else.
* Move on. Keep moving forward, Stay busy.
* Combinatory play. Yay EInstein!
* Paint stars.
**Fierce Trust**
The final act of creative trust is to put your work out there. There is no guarantee of success for any of us.
Will you put your work out there anyway?
**Fierce trust asks you to stand strong within this truth: "You are worthy, dear one, regardless of the outcome."
Fierce trust asks you to dare to be the COurt Lobster. Be the lobster.
**Divinity and Big Magic**
Divinity means different things to different people. You might see it as spiritual, another it may be religious, to another it may simply be sublime.
When we write we can choose to enter the realm of big magic or perhaps we are creating big magic.
After reading this book on creativity, (or following along with our discussions), what's your greatest wish for your NaNo this year? How do you want to feel as you write? What are you choosing to trust? What are you taking away from this group?