Concept to Creation

Let me tell you a little secret about any creative pursuit, it affords the freedom to do as you wish with no rules or constraints other than the ones you chose to impose. It doesn’t get much sweeter than this in terms of placing every single person on an equal footing to excel in what they hold a passion to do. 

It inspires me to know people have influenced us in ways we never realized by simply creating what was within them to emerge. Shakespeare comes to mind as a great example of what it means to be inspiring, and I’m not entirely referencing his plays and poetry per say but the impact they have had on our use of his language. If you google about it you will quickly realize, William invented, it is quoted to be approximately 1700 of the common words used today. He made them up, shared them through his works, and we brought them to life with our adoption. His imagination extended into our vocabulary, how simply marvelous is that?

Prior to writing a new novel, there are a few things I tend to do specifically to remind myself of the message I’m delivering above in regard to embracing creative freedom. It’s a simple process really. I search topics on the internet such as newly discovered species or inventions. In looking at these things I’m present to the reality that we don’t know as much as we think we do. I’II tend to try to watch more sunsets and sunrises, paying particular attention to the variety of colors, the feel of the breeze on my skin. Star gazing at night also assists in supporting my awareness of enormity, galactic mystery, the untapped adventures yet to be had. It gives me the inspiration to allow myself to write whatever it is I want to, simply because I can.

‘Do what feels right.’

There are countless articles out there guiding people on ‘what to do’ when embarking on this journey. My message is simple, do anything you wish in any way you wish but most of all just do it. Start the process of capturing your ideas, story board them to map an outline if this serves you best or don’t. There are no rules, get excited about this fact. There are no rules. If you prefer, just begin writing and see where it takes you, do it. This may become your process or the beginning or something which evolves into your own writing methodology. In order to commence you just need to start.

“Sometimes I wonder if I’m a character being written, or if I’m writing myself.”  ― Marilyn Manson

I’II be the first to tell you when I write it feels as though it exposes me in every way to the world. It may be fiction but its fiction, I have thought of and written so in some measure it is me captured on the pages of the book, the good, the bad and the ugly are there for people to consume. I remember bursting out laughing the first time I saw a quote from Stephen King that referenced people asking him if he had a heart, and his response was, he did. In fact he said he has the heart of a little boy. It’s contained within a jar sitting on his writing desk. It makes me smile, because what he said, tongue in cheek with quick wit still holds to my belief that every writer experiences, those characters we imagined to life contain threads of our truth.

‘A piece of my soul resides within every book I have written’

Make the process fun. If it is a chore than I am suggesting perhaps you are not doing it in a way, which will support you to complete the journey of writing the book. I’m not a fan of writing every day just because I set out to do so. I find I tend to write better when I don’t place too many conditions on when I do write, or how much I produce in any stint. It all balances out in the end so to me these things hold no value. What I do tend to do is find places where I can imagine I would be happy to write. It may be a small garden or a coffee house. There is definitely a connection between writing and traveling for me. I try as often as I can to go somewhere to write my book. It provides me with a lovely mix of travel stimuli and untethered focus because no-one knows where I am. It’s just me, and my computer unleashed in a chosen destination.

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”  ― Douglas Adams

You have to maintain sense of humor when you are embracing or in the midst of creating. I say this because life gets in the way of any good plan, and we just need to be flexible enough to work around whatever appears to be a barrier. If you are hungry for it, nothing will stop you from completing what you have set out to achieve. There will be obstacles, it may not have been the way you imagined or how quickly you wanted it to be achieved. So what? None of this matters providing you don’t adopt excuses to stop all together. I’ve had my fair share of challenges throughout the years, and they have certainly had an influence on my ability to deliver my books in a timely fashion but nothing more. Let me be succinct, I never quit.

How do you get your writing from concept to creation in two easy steps?

  • Start creating
  • Don’t give up. You can stop when you’re done.

Blessings – Truth Devour

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