Nourish Your Writer Soul And Take Care Of Your Inner Creative Well.
Art For Art's Sake: Part 24
Author Note:
Rubina's Bojra will be on a break from 17th to 29th April 2023.
Regular posting will be back on 30th April 2023, Sunday.
Just like you can't go through the day without nourishing your body with food, you can't go about being a writer without nourishing your writer soul with food.
And nourishing your writer soul means taking care of your inner creative well.
When we create, we draw inspiration, motivation, and experiences from inside us, from our inner creative well.
This inner creative well stores the books we have, the movies we have watched, the happy and sad memories of our own lives, the conversations with friends, the interaction with strangers, the smell of our favourite dish when we were a child, the taste of the first sip of coffee we have ever had, the kindness of someone, the smile of another, the hurt of a third one, and the love of someone else.
You may not consciously remember them, but they are all there, floating inside you.
If you keep drawing water from this inner well without replenishing it from time to time, you will deplete yourself and your creativity.
Creating art from an empty inner well is a recipe for frustration, disappointment and burnout. And we don't want that to happen to us. Which is why we should regularly nourish our writing soul.
In filling the well, follow your sense of the mysterious, not your sense of what you should know more about.
- Julia Cameron
But how do we do that? - By following what we love and what makes us curious.
Reading books by your favourite authors, watching your favourite movies, a cup of coffee at your favourite cafe, buying your favourite flowers, indulging in your fascinations, petting that stray dog that loves you, laughing with your favourite person, napping in your favourite spot on the sofa, wearing your favourite dress, trying out that dance class you were always thinking about, visiting happy places of your childhood.
And while you do that, also make sure you don't (knowingly or unknowingly) fill your inner creative well with garbage.
Anything that makes you feel negative emotions shouldn't be dropped in this well - toxic social media, news, toxic people, junk - food, drinks, thoughts, habits, behaviours, and other not-so-helpful things and experiences - should be avoided as much as possible. We want to do our best and keep our inner creative well clean and safe.
Taking care of our inner creative well is necessary if we want to enjoy our writing life.
So if you're feeling down, depleted, burnout, try nourishing your writer soul. Maybe all it needs is a spring cleaning.
More in the Art For Art’s Sake series -
Deliberate Practice Is The Key To Master The Craft Of Writing
Go Low, Slow And Steady. And You’ll Reach Your Writing Milestones Quicker.
If You Are Not Having Fun While Creating, You’re Doing It Wrong
You Already Are A Writer. You Just Have To Identify As One To Yourself.
Breathe Life Into Your Writing Dream. Because If You Don’t, Who Will?
My Dear Writer, You Are Doing Your Best. Stop Beating Yourself Up.
Give Writing The Time On Your Clock And The Loyalty Of Your Heart.
Nourish Your Writer Soul And Take Care Of Your Inner Creative Well.