Take Care Of Your Inner Creative Well To Enjoy A Thriving Writing Life.

Becoming A Writer

1×

0:00

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -6:48

-6:48

Take Care Of Your Inner Creative Well To Enjoy A Thriving Writing Life.

Episode 22 of Becoming A Writer podcast.

Aug 02, 2024

Transcript

Take This Survey & Help Me Help You.

Hello, my writer friends! Rubina here. For our twenty-second conversation, we are going to talk about taking care of our inner creative well to enjoy a thriving writing life.

Two thoughts came to my attention when I limited my social media consumption.

One, I have so much time!

Two, I didn’t have a life outside of work and social media – either I was stressing myself into work, or I was stressing myself with the avalanche of endless content.

The first thing I did with my time was dive wholeheartedly into my novel. This was the first time in a long while I felt my mind stay quiet and enjoy a writing session. It went as smooth as a hot knife on a block of cold butter. And I realised what an idiot I was for letting social media take over my life.

After weeks of following this routine, I started to feel the lack of something fun in my day. I won’t say that I was having a withdrawal from social media for I did actually love not having to stare at a rectangle box of light for hours. But since I felt something was missing, the habit of scrolling tried to make a comeback. That is when my eyes fell on my cherished possessions – my books and my TV.

I am one of those bookworms who buy books as if they are immortal. I have so many books that I have filled every nook and cranny in my bedroom, and I have no space for more. Yet I keep picking up new books as if rescuing abandoned puppies. I love spending my weekend afternoons curled up with a book. And yet I don’t do it.

The TV has, let’s be honest, lost its charm. The OTT platforms, on the other hand, are a treasure trove. As a child, I used to mark my calendar with which movies were releasing and then wait for them to finish their theatrical run and find their way to the TV; now, I do that with OTT. I have an over-growing list of shows and movies I am super excited to watch. And yet I don’t do it.

Why don’t I read the book I am so eager to read or watch the show I am excited about? Because I don’t have the time – the time I wasted on social media. Because I used up the energy and mental capacity I have on the short-term and easily forgettable form of entertainment instead of indulging in a long-lasting, satisfying form of entertainment.

Now, the time left over after I am done with my writing for the day, I dedicate them to catching up with my books and TV.

Again, two thoughts came to my attention.

One, why was I wasting my time on social media content that didn’t content me? Reading a book or watching a movie was so much more of an enriching experience which lasted for days.

Two, the more I was reading, the more I was writing. The more I watched my favourite movies, the more inspired I became to create great stories.

For you see, when I replaced social media with books and TV, I fed my inner creative well.

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 self with creative food. And nourishing your writer self means taking care of your inner creative well.

When we write, we draw inspiration, motivation, and experiences from our inner creative well. This inner creative well stores the books we have read, 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 we loved as 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.

Suppose you keep drawing water from this creative inner well without replenishing it from time to time. In that case, you will deplete yourself and your creativity. Creating art from an empty inner well is a recipe for frustration, disappointment and burnout.

To make sure we always have our inner creative well thriving, we need to regularly fill it with what we love.

Reading books by your favourite authors, watching your favourite movies, drinking 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 the 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 or depleted 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. They must be avoided as much as possible.

Taking care of our inner creative well is necessary if we want to enjoy our writing life. So if you're feeling down, depleted or burnt out, try nourishing your writer self. Maybe all it needs is a little spring cleaning.

Well, that's it for today. Next time we meet, we'll talk about why we have a hard time moving on to our next writing project and why it is important to do so.

Until then, keep writing, my friend.