You’ve heard the story of Ben Franklin flying a kite with a key attached and then the lightning bolt hits like a sudden strike of creativity. Many new writers expect such inspiration to solve all their creative problems.
I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that you can find ways to harness that spontaneous creativity that does feel like a lightning strike from above. The bad news is that a lightning bolt of creativity will never be enough. In this article, I’ll show you how to harness creativity’s power, much like Franklin used a kite and key to discover electricity.
You’re probably familiar with the feeling of an idea itching beneath your skin, ready to burst forth. And you are waiting for that surge of inspiration that will give you what you need to put it all on paper.
I observed this often during my 15 years teaching college public speaking, where like writing, is a form a creative expression. The primary reason many students never finished their speeches was simply because they couldn’t decide on a topic.
If we wait for creativity to strike, it can hinder action. My students often waited for the perfect idea, assuming clarity would suddenly appear. They’d wait until speech day, left with nothing to present. It’s natural to believe creativity will come out of the blue, but waiting for lightning-like inspiration isn’t practical. By then that initial excitement, the real energy, the excitement of that new creative idea is going to have dissipated, or in the case of my students, the deadline is going to pass.
Let’s break it down. Creativity often strikes like lightning, a spark of inspiration that can feel like magic. But what doesn’t come magically is the process.
Teaching yourself isn’t smooth sailing; it involves learning through mistakes, constant effort, and gradual improvement. Even someone like Van Gogh, a self-taught painter, had to paint over canvases, embrace trial and error, and didn’t create “Starry Night” on his first attempt.
Whether you’re a visual artist or experimenting with arts and crafts, you’ll find that the initial vision is often different from the final result – like the “nailed it” meme. Creativity provides the vision, but mastering the technical aspects, whether in painting, crafts, or writing, requires dedicated effort.
Starting with creativity alone, without structure or process, leaves you with a great idea but no way to share it. In writing, like in other creative pursuits, there are technical elements. Many seek help with coaching or group programs for guidance on structure, story order, and articulating ideas. Translating creativity into shareable content isn’t a lightning bolt; it requires trial and error, often with support and training.
Whether you choose self-teaching or seek help through online resources like YouTube videos, you’ll eventually need answers. Your creative vision is linked to the processes others have used, consciously or not. Now, with these two concepts in mind—lightning bolt creativity and the longer learning process—what’s the next step?
We set parameters. In my speech class, giving an open-ended “Pick a topic” assignment was paralyzing. However, when I provided specific guidelines like “Choose a topic related to something you encounter daily,” ideas flowed. Lightning struck, not from the sky, but from having rules and boundaries.
By limiting what we can do, it’s paradoxical, we open ourselves up to all these ideas that we probably would have looked right past if we hadn’t had to work with them. The reason is having a framework, having boundaries or rules, guidelines in place allows you to feel much, much safer with experimentation, much. That makes sense because one of the places that I find people feel very unsafe is in any kind of an environment where you’re going to get feedback right away, and it might not be kind.
Let’s discuss dog parks. If I arrived at one without a fence with my elderly terrier, I wouldn’t unleash her, fearing she’d run outside the park. I don’t want her to run into traffic. I don’t want to have to worry about that. That fence keeps her safe, and it helps me relax and feel much more comfortable. The same thing happens in your writing. You have to have that fence. Now, that fence can be any number of things. It could be genre, the conventions of that genre, and what people expect from that genre. It could be the rules of an assignment.
Boundaries make you feel safer and fuel creativity, contrary to the belief that rules stifle it. If you’ve lost your creative spark, here’s a counterintuitive solution: embrace a framework. Consider using an outline template or exploring how narratives are traditionally structured in your genre.
Consider an inspirational memoir. Study what others have done, find templates, rules, and marketing guidelines. These resources won’t limit you; they’ll propel your progress.
Next time you feel like you’re missing that creative spark, remember you can create it by giving yourself the right structure. Think of it like bounding around a dog park with a fence – you can play, experiment, and increase your chances of finishing your project.
It may not be beautiful at first, just like you won’t paint water lilies immediately. But through experimentation, trial and error, and support, you’re going to get a little better, and a little better and a little better until you can translate your ideas onto the page. It’s not a lightning strike; it’s about learning the process.
If you’re ready to write that memoir and you’ve been thinking about it long enough, consider whether some guidance and instruction would be helpful. We offer structured support that’s going to help you from start to finish with a safety net that allows you to experiment. Consider enrolling in our upcoming “Marketable Memoir Method” session. It’ll integrate structure and process to feed your creativity.
You’ll receive the support you need, access to experts for your questions, a community to connect with, and the valuable guidelines and frameworks I mentioned earlier to drive your project forward. I hope you’ll reach out if the Marketable Memoir Method is right for you. I would love to have you join us.
Reach out to me, I cannot wait to hear about what you’re working on.
Happy writing!
