This is it.
The plunge in the Antarctic Ocean. The skyscraper bungee jump. The skydive from the exosphere.
Well, maybe it’s not quite that scary, but it feels it.
This is day 1 of sharing my writing process. And I’m already overthinking it. Classic.
The story begins
So, I recently got kicked out out of my apartment, and while begrudgingly packing my things, I bagged up 31 sketch books and 22 notebooks, which I have accumulated from the past 2 years living in Vietnam.
These sketch books are a beautiful mess of lines, shapes, words and memories.
90% is shit.
But that leaves me with 10%. 10% pure gold. Au in its finest form. Atomic number 79.
The only problem is that no matter how good or bad my creative work is – no one will ever see it – it’s hidden. Encrypted in bookchain technology.
So how can I solve the problem? Well I first figure out the problem.
So What’s the Problem?
My problem is that I love to write, but nobody sees my writing. Nobody sees because it stays stashed in plastic bags and cardboard boxes, lined with thick layers of dust.
I want to share my thoughts with the world, but how?
Well, I could start a blog. I could start documenting my weird thoughts and ideas on the internet, instead of in a book. Maybe that will work.
Yeah, that’ll work.
I feel like there’s value in what I write. It’s not perfect, but that’s actually a good thing.
My goal is not to be perfect. My goal is to share my creative process, in the hopes that it inspires you to share yours. Warts and all.
Creativity is innate in all humans. We’ve all got unique talents and abilities. We have the ability to create babies for God’s sake. So don’t tell me you’re not creative. Find something you love, then do it.
In spirit of that, this is the start of me doing something I love. Writing.
Except I’m doing it on a laptop screen instead of with a pencil and paper.
It’s time I sign up to the modern world.
Time to Subscribe
In an effort to exit my caveman era and enter the technological age, I’ve decided to write a digital diary. I’m officially subscribing to the modern world.
The inspiration to do so hit me this morning, while I was reading my Kindle in bed.
I discovered a book called ‘Share your Work’ by Austin Kleon.
And the clue is in the title.
Austin teaches us to share our creativity with others, no matter how scrappy or unfinished it is.
I love this idea, because most of my stuff is scrappy and unfinished.
3 things I’ve learned
A thing I’ve learned – the process is more important than the result. Just start.
Another thing I’ve learned – don’t think too much, just do.
One more thing I’ve learned – if you love something enough, then someone else will love it too. Just share
Mistakes are good
Austin has reminded me to adopt the mind of a beginner, an amateur – a noob.
It’s great to experiment and try new things, like being the scientist of your own life. Hypothesise, test, analyse.
Ask ourselves: What worked? What didn’t? What went wrong? What went right?
When we adopt a curious mindset instead of a self-defeating mindset, we improve rapidly.
Mistakes are good, they help us know what not to do again.
Successes are good too, they help us know what to do more of.
Think of a baby learning to walk. It’s not thinking:
“oh I suck, I’ll never be good at walking, my legs are fat and ugly and weak”
No. It’s just falling and getting up.
Falling and getting up. Getting up and falling. Simple.
It might be giggling or crying, but either way it won’t stop trying.
When we become adults, we become fearful. We stop experimenting and trying new things for fear of failure. We become settled into familiar thoughts, behaviours and routines. And this familiarity causes us to stagnate, like puddle water.
So this is me breaking out of the familiar, and doing something that’s not so familiar. Because I refuse to stagnate.
And hey, it’s not been that bad
In between sweating coffee, pulling out my hair and banging my head on the keyboard, I’ve actually quite enjoyed writing this.
I hope it brought you a giggle or a slice of inspiration to start documenting your own creative process too.
So tell me, how do you like to be creative? What does your process look like? I’m curious. Let me know.
Today
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