A few days ago I experienced another of my ‘creative downloads’ when a whole series of ideas relating to my ‘emerging vision’ project arrived at 3 to 5 minute intervals over the course of a couple of hours.
There was the usual feeling of insistence to write the ideas down which, as I’m sure many writers know, is typical in this kind of situation.
The trigger on this occasion was the first appearance of my vision ‘in the world’ which came in the form of visuals for the logo design turning up in my inbox (a bit of a clue here!).
Seeing the first stage of this vision coming to fruition was incredibly exciting and felt like crossing a major threshold.
What had previously been only in my imagination and hidden from the view of others, was now becoming visible.
It reminded me of an iceberg which is a powerful metaphor for the whole creative process and an image I often share with the writers I work with.
The 90% which lies below the surface of the water represents the first sparks of inspiration, the vision, and all of the preparation which goes into any creative writing project.
The 10% which rises above the surface is only visible because of the other 90%, and in creative writing terms, corresponds to the words meeting the page.
Sometimes writers feel disappointed with themselves if they are not writing as much as they think they ‘should’.
On occasions, this presents a good opportunity to raise the bar on making sure that writing is high enough up the priority list to happen regularly.
However, writers often forget that the development of ideas, reflections, gathering of material, and other related activites all count towards those words being there on the page for others to read.
This is the 90% beneath the surface supporting the 10% which is there for all to see.
As far as the development of my ‘emerging vision’ project is concerned, now that the first signs are appearing in the world, the rest is likely to follow quite quickly.
So I will also share with you now that the first visuals of the new website related to my project are taking shape beautifully too.
There are many details which have yet to fall into place but we are well and truly on the way now, and that feels fantastic!
Perhaps this is an opportunity for you to review where you are with your current writing project in terms of what is going on ‘beneath the surface’ in relation to the words which have met the page so far?
I’d love to hear about your creative visions showing up in the world, and how you work with the 90% that is hidden when it comes to developing your writing ideas, so do please share your comments below.
Tags: creative, creative process, imagination, vision, writer, Writing
Hi Julia this is brilliant. I love the way you talk about ‘downloads’ for that is exactly how my writing has come to me, often not even knowing where it is going. I was just telling a friend of mine, a former journalist that it still amazes me the ideas and inspiration that I get, maybe while out walking or just before sleep or after being out with spiritual friends – the paragraph is just there waiting to be typed up and slave to it that I am I write it down. Just doing this ‘obeying the creative muse’ brings me so much joy and gives me a feeling like I am surrendering to a higher plan, one that is mysterious like a loving guiding mother. The fact that both now and over the years I have allowed myself without compromise to flow with this creative force feeds me on levels that nothing else could – I’m fulfilling my life’s purpose I guess you could say and this, to me, is the 90% of the iceberg that you are speaking about. Many thanks Sofia
Hi Sofia
Thank you for your lovely response and it’s always good to know that others have similar creative experiences to our own. Flowing with the creative force without compromise is a very powerful way to write – and to live. It echoes my own experience as does the fulfilling of my life’s purpose … wonderful!
Julia