“We’re going on a cruise on Windermere,” said Bethany. “Anybody else want to come?”
I watched several of my writing group friends frown and look at each other. This was the first full day of our group’s annual retreat and, for some of them, it was their first writing retreat.
“I thought we were supposed to spend the entire weekend writing,” said Tracy, one of the new retreaters. She shut her laptop and grabbed her coat.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Topping up the creative well is just as important, if not more,” I explained. “After all, with no inspiration, where do we get our ideas?”
“Sounds like a procrastinator’s dream to me!” Tracy winked as she left with the others for the morning two-hour boat trip.
When it comes to the business of writing, it’s important to remember that we are not machines. We cannot churn out sparkling prose, or poetry, incessantly. We need a break. It may seem a strange concept to contemplate, but an important part of the business of writing is taking time out not to write.
Empty Reservoir
Julia Cameron wrote about topping up the creative well in her book, The Artists’ Way. She calls it an ‘inner well’, an ‘artistic reservoir’, or a ‘well-stocked trout pond’, which we draw upon for inspiration and ideas. It lubricates the creative process and enables us to produce our writing projects.
When it is full, we are brimming with ideas and can’t wait to get started with our writing. A depleted well leaves us unmotivated, lacking ideas, and uninspired to write. Our productivity plummets.
‘Any extended period or piece of work draws heavily on our artistic well,’ she explains in an early chapter. ‘Overtapping the well, like overfishing the pond, leaves us with diminished resources.’
It doesn’t matter whether that extended period occurs through the completion of a big writing project, such as a novel, or stage play, or from a period of consecutive smaller projects, like a series of articles or short stories. Ultimately, if we don’t look after ourselves, there will come a point when the inspirational reservoir runs dry.
When this happens, the only solution is to take a break. Stop writing. This could be for several days, weeks, or even months. The more depleted our creative reserves, the longer it will take to replenish them.
I like to think of these ‘reserve top-ups’ as rewards for completing a writing project. They’re necessary rewards because failing to take them could cripple our writing business.
So, if we’re not writing when we’re topping up our creative well, what are we doing instead?
Creative Consumption
We’re doing something different. Ideally, it’s something different that is still creative. But instead of being creatively productive, aim to be creatively consuming.
If finances and circumstances allow, take yourself away for a few days for those bigger writing breaks. Physically separating ourselves from our writing desks encourages us to relax.
Our brains are always in search of something new (it’s why social media can be so captivating). Taking ourselves away from our usual environment is more stimulating and fascinating. We’re more likely to have new experiences.
That doesn’t mean we have to book ourselves on every tourist trip or heritage tour to bombard our brain with fresh sights, sounds, smells, flavours, and cultures. Spending a day lounging by the pool, soaking up the sun, has benefits.
Giving ourselves permission to be creative consumers means we can binge-watch that TV series, or treat ourselves to reading an entire book in one day. Making a dent in that To Be Read pile can go a long way to refilling our mind with our own ideas.
Part of topping up that creative well means giving our brains the time to think. In his book, Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport explains how our brains cannot think when they’re being distracted by social media and our digital devices. Leaving our devices in a hotel room while we lie by the pool gives our brains the distraction-free breathing space they need.
Some of the best thinking happens when we daydream. If topping up the creative well means a period of not writing, then you can give yourself permission to daydream.
Ideas happen when our brains have the freedom to ask questions. What would happen if …
Artist Dates
Going away for several days may be a great way to top up the creative well after an extensive project, but isn’t it better to top it up regularly, rather than running it dry? Or perhaps a project is so large we can only reach the end of it if we top it up enough to keep us going a bit longer.
Julia Cameron’s solution is to engage in regular Artist Dates. In the same way you mark on the calendar when you’re meeting a friend for a date, the Artist Date goal is similar. Make a date with yourself (and with a friend, if you like) to do some creative consumption. Ideally, it only requires a couple of hours every week. Yes, weekly. If that seems a lot of time to find, Julia explains that, ‘You cannot afford not to find time for artist dates.’
Artist Dates are an investment in our writing business. Go to the cinema, visit the local museum, art gallery, or exhibition. Book a ticket for the theatre. Attend a literary talk or festival. I often trick myself into thinking of an Artist Date as working time if there’s a literary connection. After all, listening to how one author writes might help make me a better writer.
Undertaking a non-goal-orientated activity (i.e., not writing) helps reduce stress and improves mindfulness. This helps protect us from burnout, which is what happens when our reservoir is completely empty.
Creative Choices
Sometimes, ironically, instead of consuming other people’s creativity, it’s possible to top up your own creative well, by being creative in other formats other than writing. It’s as if drawing upon another creative reservoir helps transfer water to our creative writing reservoir.
I enjoy landscape photography, so I often take myself off for a day to indulge in some picture creation. For me, the act of slowing down, identifying a viewpoint, framing and composing the shot, and then taking several images from different angles, helps satisfy that creative need, while also replenishing the writing reservoir.
I’ll often come up with several article ideas while out photographing.
Perhaps you enjoy painting, knitting, creating music, gardening, cooking, or crafting. Indulging in these activities will help you boost your overall creativity, especially if you make it a regular habit.
Daily Drip-feed
Even if we can manage a weekly date with ourselves, there are still benefits to be had by taking small, daily steps to topping up our creative well.
Going for a walk can do wonders for our creativity. Charles Dickens walked every day, as did William Wordsworth. Dickens wrote in The Uncommercial Traveller that he had two types of walking. One, which was ‘to a definite goal at a round pace’, while the other was ‘objectless, loitering, and purely vagabond.’ It was this second walking style that was Dickens’ creative thinking time.
Neuroscientists refer to this vagabond state as transient hypofrontality. Essentially, our brain concentrates its limited resources on coordinating our limbs so we don’t fall over. This means there are limited resources available for the rest of the brain, reducing the thinking power available to the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our stresses and anxieties play out when overthinking.
With reduced resources, our pre-frontal cortex can only cope with one or two ideas at a time. Ironically, this allows us to better focus on them. Hence, with fewer distractions, we can often solve our creative problems. And if we don’t have any writing conundrums to solve, walking provides excellent daydreaming opportunities.
Cal Newport recommends walking because of the solitude. This gives us thinking time. Going for a walk takes us away from our computer, with all of its emails and social media distractions. Even better if we can leave our smartphone at home while we go for a walk. Surely we can leave a phone behind for half an hour?
As Newport says in Digital Minimalism, ‘Simply put, humans are not wired to be constantly wired.’
Try it as an experiment. Leave the phone behind and allow your brain to wander as freely as your feet.
Back at my writing retreat, I was just getting my lunch when the Windermere cruisers returned.
“That was brilliant,” said Tracy, switching on the kettle. “It’s such a beautiful way to see the surrounding fells and mountains. It got us talking about viewpoint and perspective, and I suddenly realised why a scene I’ve been struggling with isn’t working. I’m writing it from the wrong character’s viewpoint.”
She made her coffee and dashed off to grab her laptop.
I’d classify Tracy’s morning out as an Artist Date. I could see how that period of enforced not writing had benefitted her creativity. She wrote two thousand words that afternoon.
As for me, having edited another two chapters of my novel, I took myself off for my daily walk, to enjoy the different surroundings. I always get something extra out of my retreats. And while I was walking, I had an idea for an article. You’re reading it now.
It doesn’t matter what our writing business is to us, whether we do it for pleasure or profit, it’s important to look after our creativity. After all, without it, we cannot write.
For all writers, taking time out to top up our creativity is as essential as breathing.
Business Directory – Reservoir Refilling Roadmap
- Fix regular, weekly, Artist Dates on your calendar and stick to them. Plan activities for the month ahead.
- Schedule daily time to daydream. Use mindfulness techniques to help quieten your mind, or journal your thoughts.
- Reward yourself with a trip away somewhere when you complete a large writing project. Think of it as investing in yourself and preparation for your next writing adventure.
© Simon Whaley