This brought a tear to my eye this week, when my client, Marylu Strange posted this on FB:
Of all the many classes I’ve taken for writing, [Creative Mastery Class] changed my life. I do not say this lightly. Learning our strengths and weaknesses in the creative process caused lightbulbs to flash aha moments faster than paparazzi. Learning to name my values as well as what part of the writing process saps my energy revealed my identity with great affirmation. I review the materials all the time to be reminded I am worthy. Our potential is limitless when we know ourselves. I cannot sing Julia’s praises enough!
Marylu participated in the Creative Mastery Class during the pandemic isolation. And it is easy to think that now, with the world opening back up, there is no more time for navel gazing and home confinement. But look at what Marylu gained… what you could gain in the next 5 weeks.
We are in a strange and wonderful time. We get to go to stores, movies, ballgames and concerts again. We can have vaccinated friends over for a meal, unmasked. But, it will all still unfold slowly. And in the meantime, while you’re feeling jittery excitement to host a dinner party, consider what we gained during the COVID isolation and what we might be able to sustain.
What is coming? How quickly? How does this prolonged uncertainty feel? How do you cope with uncertainty?
We are gleeful as we leave behind…
- Loneliness
- Binge-watching TV
- Comfort Eating
- Zoom dressing
- Not seeing our families
But what parts of the pandemic might we like to protect?
- Writing more
- Big ideas
- Alone-time
If you don’t reconnect and recommit to your work now, as the world opens back up, you might lose it forever.
This week, we’ve been writing from prompts and using the creativity tools we learned in the FREE Write Without the Fight 5-day challenge! It was great to meet so many of you, and connect in a way we all consider “visiting” nowadays, via Zoom.
This week in the FB Group (ask to join if you haven’t already), I’d like to discuss what impact the pandemic has had on our WIP? Uncertainty is in the air, this Summer. It’s time to recommit to your WIP. Be certain of something that is in your control.
How many works do you have stacked in your head, like airplanes on a foggy evening, waiting for permission to land? How often do you think about a long-abandoned project that you wish were part of your life, now? How important does it feel… to get this story, this point of view, this insight into the world? How important is it to spur change, action, and empathy?
But, how to commit? Should you write a promise to yourself in your journal, underline three times, and punctuate it with 5 exclamation points? Should you tell yourself firmly you’re going to start on x date? Should you wait for inspiration?
What is your best way forward? How are YOU most likely to succeed? We each recommit to our work through a different lens, based on our own strengths within the creative thinking process.
- Clarifiers love dreaming it up. Thinking it through. They have problems getting started.
- Ideators love the idea. They come up with it, dive right in, excitedly, and then stall.
- Developers dig the writing, rewriting and editing. They never want to let it go.
- Implementers might rush the process. They consider it done before they get input from readers, editors and more. It’s done, right? Then, they might feel sad and overwhelmed by tepid response.
And most of us are strong in than one thinking style – so we can stall and feel disillusioned at more than one phase. So, how can you commit to this WIP?
It’s not too late to join the Creative Mastery Class – It starts tomorrow. This is your chance to figure out how to commit and spend some real quality time with your WIP.
What is your Work-in-Progress?
Can you imagine yourself finishing, polishing, and PRESENTING a part your work in 5 weeks’ time?
That’s what we accomplish in our Creative Mastery Class. This is not a hurry-up-and-get-it-written class. This is a take a step back, learn about who you are as a creator and creative thinker. Little by little your essential work bubbles back up to you with fresh urgency.
And we write. Every weekday for an hour, for five weeks. So little by little, that piece of writing comes out of you. You find your love again. You feel great.
Okay, we hope to see you in the Creative Mastery Class… It starts Monday May 24th. Feel free to reply to this email and ask a question! We could even hop on the phone this weekend, and still join you into the class before its first meeting. I hope to help you commit to your favorite WIP and get it back up on the boards. As you reenter the world of distraction and action, I hope to help you protect an important gain from our year at home.