Creative Self-Care & Stories In Other Formats

Hi!

This hasn’t been a good writing week for me. I forgot Monday was a civic holiday in France. No, I didn’t skip; let’s just say there were more distractions than usual at home that day. Then, I woke up one morning, barely able to turn my neck. I must have slept funny. (Is this a sign of aging? Sigh.) Otherwise, I’ve been feeling restless, turning around in circles (in my mind, because I can barely turn my head from side to side).

When I’m on the block, I’ve learned this usually means one of two things:

1. Something in my life needs addressing; my unconsciousness is stalling because it wants me to attend to that thing.

I’m not talking about laundry that needs to be folded or whatever chore I’ve been ignoring. I’m talking about emotional housework. You know, the stuff that slowly festered into a thick layer of gunk because you left it unattended for too long, and now it’s blocking your creativity.

While very annoying, I can usually channel this into fuel for my creative work. But only if I am ready to face the problem with openness, honesty, and curiosity. Yet, it’s not always obvious what the issue is in the first place, which can be challenging.

If this is the case, then I jump to the second point below. (Whatever is bothering me will hassle me again later until I address it, so nothing is lost here.)

2. The well is empty. I must replenish it.

Julia Cameron, author of the Artist’s Way, coined the term “filling the well”.

As artists we must learn to be self-nourishing. We must become alert enough to consciously replenish our creative resources as we draw on them-- to restock the trout pond, so to speak. -Julia Cameron

I like Austin Kleon's take on this, framing it as input and output. Basically, no input means no output.

This sounds like the perfect excuse to just read/listen/watch whatever I want. Except, it’s hard not to feel guilty doing these things, especially if I haven’t hit my minimum daily quota or completed my to-do list. Yup, it’s difficult to get over the socially ingrained mindset on productivity and what we consider as productive.

I have to remind myself that doing these things, just like sleeping, exercising, and eating well, contributes to better productivity. (Personally, I have a lot of issues with how we approach productivity in our society. I don’t think it should be an end goal, but a means to better well-being.)

Ultimately, “filling the well” or “paying attention to your input/output” are forms of creative self-care.

Part of my creative self-care (aka filling the well) this week was looking at stories in other formats:

1. My friend Lisa Hosokawa made this wonderful interactive folktale. She reminded me that stories come in many forms, and now I sort of want to write an interactive story too. (PS. Lisa does video game writing. Reach out to her if you’re looking for a talented writer.)
2. This made me think of Kentucky Road Zero, which I never finished and started replaying this week. Interactive story games are like reading a choose-your-own-adventure book via a game console. Thanks to my friend Rob for the recommendation.
3. I became an auntie this week! My nephew arrived early, so I’m rushing to finish a quilted play mat my sister requested. A few years ago, I was blown away by all the creative possibilities quilting could offer when I visited the San Jose Quilts & Textiles Museum. I’m still a novice quilter but find modern quilt making particularly inspiring. It’s hugely influenced by Gee’s Bend quilts, made by descendants of enslaved cotton plantation workers in Alabama.

If you think quilting is only something grandmothers do to pass the time, think again. Quilting is art, political activism, utilitarian, and even zero waste (before zero waste was a thing).

But most importantly, as Thomas Knauer says:

“[..]quilts are first and foremost pieces of cultural expression; they tell stories and speak about the world in which they reside.”

- Thomas Knauer, quilt artist, designer and educator

I love thinking about stories this way. If you’re still not convinced of the power of storytelling through quilts, watch this episode of Craft in America:

Do you have any other types of story formats to suggest? How have you been filling the well lately?

Happy writing, happy creating!

G.G. Law