Writerly Play Kit 011 – Your Summertime Scavenger Hunt
Writerly Play Kit: 011
Your Summertime Scavenger Hunt
WP Kit 011
Your SUmmertime Scavenger HUnt
What does filling up the creative well look like for you?
I find myself window shopping, wandering the aisles of our neighborhood used book store, or poking through bins of antique whatnots. I used to feel a little embarrassed about this exploration, because it seemed like it must be a waste of time. Often, I’d have a question in mind, something along the lines of:
I wonder how I might make my entryway more welcoming?
or
What’s the next step for me in learning to draw?
I’d follow the question through the maze of shelves filled with storied objects and find an interesting wire basket that would perfectly hold mail and keys. Or, I might spot a book with a cover image that reminded me–I have that blue glass vase and those interesting feathers. Maybe I could make a feather arrangement instead of a floral one.
Sometimes, I do buy a small item, but more often I leave with my head full of ideas rather than my hands full of objects. Many times the ideas I leave with solve problems unrelated to the initial question I followed into the store in the first place.
It struck me that these quests are like the scavenger hunts of my childhood–when I’m on the hunt, I feel like I’ve stepped into Nancy Drew’s shoes, or become an expert puzzle and problem-solver like Sherlock Holmes.
I’ve been re-reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron this summer, and thinking a lot about what play might look like for me. Julia Cameron calls them “artist dates,” and encourages us to not be stingy about the games we allow our artist to play. We don’t have to be productive with every single creative moment we have to spend. In fact, when we let ourselves explore, experiment, wander … good things happen.
In that spirit, I thought it would be fun to invite you into a summertime scavenger hunt over the next month. I’m proposing that you look for five specific items, and my hope is that while you’re on the hunt, you’ll also stumble across the very thing you need next, even though you and I may not currently know exactly what that is just yet. I hope this challenge is a lot of fun for you and also leads you to interesting places.
Each Writerly Play Kit is designed to fuel creative momentum. In this issue, we’re leaning into summertime energy and inviting our inner artist out to play. Don’t forget: Beyond this WP Kit, you can tap into weekly Writerly Play with the Creative Lift Podcast.
YOUR SUMMERTIME SCAVENGER HUNT
Instructions: Seek out each of these items wherever you choose. Remember, the hunt is an opportunity to stumble across the unexpected, so take your time, and widen your circle past the spaces you usually explore. Consider hunting among your own shelves, at local small businesses, at the library, or even at the homes of your family or friends (with their permission of course)! Once you find your item, snap a few photos to document the find or even to post in your space. Absolutely love what you find? If you choose, bring the item itself into your space as inspiration!
ITEM #1
A VISUAL FEAST
At the library or a bookstore, look for a book that is a visual feast. What kinds of images fuel you? A travel guide? A vibrant cookbook? A celebration of antique license plates?
ITEM #2
A childhood toy
Either in your own boxes, or out in the world, seek out a toy that reminds you of childhood play. Did you play with art materials, blocks, dolls, a Light Brite or Etch-a-Sketch?
ITEM #3
A PERSONAL ARTIFACT
Wherever you keep memories, look for a photo or document that shows an early example of you being vibrantly YOU. Maybe you can find a craft, an early piece of writing, or a photo of you sock-skating on your newly-polished wood floors.
ITEM #4
A SIGNATURE ITEM
Imagine you’re a costume designer. What item of clothing or accessory might be a perfect signature item for your creative self? Maybe a coat, a pair of shoes, or a literary scarf?
ITEM #5
AN INVITATION TO YOUR IMAGINATION
Imagine you’re a set designer. What object—or set of objects—might set the stage for a cozy, sensory-rich corner where you could curl up and imagine? Think about your five senses–especially sound and smell, since those are particularly evocative.
Remember, the goal in this scavenger hunt goes beyond finding this set of items. The items themselves will likely unlock curiosity and potential. However, I’m also hoping that your hunt will cause you to stumble across what Julia Cameron calls serendipity. What might you be looking for right now that you don’t even know you need to find? I can’t wait to see where your hunt leads you.
Don’t forget: I love to hear your stories. You can reply to me at any time to share what you discovered, which is such a treat for me. I love to celebrate you and your successes. You inspire me and lead me into serendipitous discoveries of my own, too!
JOIN ME FOR CREATIVE LIFT!
How can leveling up feel like a story? That’s the experience I’m building with Season One of Creative Lift–a story that features you. It’s your chance to step through a portal into an adventure that is both challenging and also full of the joy of discovery. The podcast will help you see the magical story you’re already living.
One reason that NaNoWriMo, PiBoWriMo, or 30 day Instagram challenges are so successful is that they make internal growth visible. When you take on a challenge to write a novel in a month, for instance, you can track your growth in resilience, problem-solving, and courage to face your fears. You’re measuring words and don’t-break-the-chain days, but even after a day or two of writing it becomes clear that the real goal is overcoming whatever internal challenges were in your way in the first place.
Each day as you show up at the page, you face those same obstacles and you experiment with ways to overcome them. You learn and grow, and you feel that growth happening as your word count rises.
Creative Lift is for writers, but it’s also for any creative thinker who wants to see beyond external goals to the deeper story. How might you tap into play in your life in a way that opens new possibilities for collaboration, innovative problem-solving, and courage?
I’ve been having a blast designing and sharing the podcast, and THANK YOU for sharing your discoveries and successes–such as giving yourselves permission to approach problems using your personal creative style, or finding a way to open a window for breathing room in your creative life. If you haven’t listened in yet, join us! You can find and follow the show at the links below. If you’re enjoying the show, I’d be so grateful if you’d take the time to share with a creative friend or two, and/or leave a review to help other listeners find Creative Lift. Thanks so much in advance!
DON’T MISS OUT!
There’s a special Creative Lift email list that YOU can be on if you’d like access to the episode reflection guides and a weekly reminder when each show arrives.
“Serious art is born from serious play.”
– Julia Cameron
Writerly Play Kit 010 – Level Up Your Creative Process
Writerly Play Kit: 010
Level Up Your Creative Process
WP Kit 010
LEVEL UP YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS
How does growth feel to you?
Vibrant? Energetic? Joyful?
Or maybe growth makes you think of growing pains, hard work, or possibly even past disappointments or failures.
I think the way growth feels to me, at any given moment, has to do with the story I’m living. If I feel stuck in Groundhog Day, the idea of growth can be exhausting. But, if I feel like Nancy Drew on the pursuit of a promising clue, each next step–even a daring one–feels meaningful and full of possibility.
What’s interesting is that the exact same circumstance–a growth opportunity–has the potential to be exhausting or exhilarating. It’s all about how the story feels.
When we make notches to mark children’s growth, there’s little doubt that with time, they’ll level up. However, as adults, our growth becomes more nuanced. How do you measure creative growth, for instance, if not in financial return, awards won, or number of fans and followers?
Often, I have conversations with artists who ask some version of, “Is the hard work worth it?” Many times, they have their eyes on an external goal that looks terribly far away, one that depends not only on their own committed work, but on other people’s decisions and actions. Here’s the truth: There will always be another external goal, no matter what heights we achieve. The story starts to feel meaningful because we tap into the internal character arc, when we notice and celebrate the story scene by scene. We don’t have to wait for anyone’s permission to start feeling our own momentum, to feel the excitement that comes when we’re in pursuit of a promising discovery.
Each Writerly Play Kit is designed to fuel creative momentum. In this issue, we’re focused on the story of your creative growth. How might you more clearly see and tell yourself your growth-story so that you feel the rush of creative winds filling your sails?
JOIN ME FOR CREATIVE LIFT!
How can leveling up feel like a story? That’s the experience I’m building with Season One of Creative Lift–a story that features you. It’s your chance to step through a portal into an adventure that is both challenging and also full of the joy of discovery. The podcast will help you see the magical story you’re already living.
One reason that NaNoWriMo, PiBoWriMo, or 30 day Instagram challenges are so successful is that they make internal growth visible. When you take on a challenge to write a novel in a month, for instance, you can track your growth in resilience, problem-solving, and courage to face your fears. You’re measuring words and don’t-break-the-chain days, but even after a day or two of writing it becomes clear that the real goal is overcoming whatever internal challenges were in your way in the first place.
Each day as you show up at the page, you face those same obstacles and you experiment with ways to overcome them. You learn and grow, and you feel that growth happening as your word count rises.
Creative Lift is for writers, but it’s also for any creative thinker who wants to see beyond external goals to the deeper story. How might you tap into play in your life in a way that opens new possibilities for collaboration, innovative problem-solving, and courage?
I’ve been having a blast designing and sharing the podcast, and THANK YOU for sharing your discoveries and successes–such as giving yourselves permission to approach problems using your personal creative style, or finding a way to open a window for breathing room in your creative life. If you haven’t listened in yet, join us! You can find and follow the show at the links below. If you’re enjoying the show, I’d be so grateful if you’d take the time to share with a creative friend or two, and/or leave a review to help other listeners find Creative Lift. Thanks so much in advance!
DON’T MISS OUT!
There’s a special Creative Lift email list that YOU can be on if you’d like access to the episode reflection guides and a weekly reminder when each show arrives.
follow your curiosity
A BOOK FLIGHT
UNCONFUSE YOUR THINKING
In this book flight, savor three titles that together, help you see your thinking from various angles. How might you approach each thinking task with a fine-tuned mindset that will boost your efficiency and flow?
“No one can give you your subject matter, your creative content; if they could, it would be their creation and not yours. But, there’s a process that generates creativity and you can learn it.”
– Twyla Tharp
peek through an alternate lens
VISIT THE ILLUMINARY
Visualize your thinking by walking through the front door of your creative hideout and exploring the various thinking spaces inside.
If you’ve been a long-time Writerly Play reader, you know that at the heart of the Hero’s Journey story we tell around here about your creative growth lies a space that is yours to explore, personalize, and in which you’re invited to play your way to the page. For years, I called this space “your creative hideout.”
While creating the podcast, an idea sparked for me. Shouldn’t this space have a name? And shouldn’t that name highlight the fact that this space exists to shine light on our thinking process? Thus, the Writerly Play “creative hideout” has finally grown into a name of its own: The Illuminary. You can take a walk through its halls with me when you listen in at the link below.
Play Your Way to the Page
Writerly Play Kit 009 – Courage, Dear Heart
Writerly Play Kit: 009
Courage, Dear Heart
WP Kit 009
Courage, Dear Heart
Well-chosen words can urge our courage onward. Words have the power to remind us we are loved, or that we’re seen and heard. For me, these words from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader echo with love and encouragement.
This month, even though I’m bubbling with excitement about the Creative Lift podcast, I’ve needed a frequent reminder to take heart. Finishing projects can be a challenge, and finishing projects that touch that inner core, the place where our emotions are real and where we can’t simply shrug and be cool … the face is, we care. A lot.
As we celebrate the launch of the podcast, I also want to celebrate what I’ve learned in the process. Finding my way to launching Creative Lift wasn’t about technical details such as microphones or sound quality. The real work was tapping into my voice on a deeper level. Here’s what I learned: Understanding our own voice is often a result of attentive listening to others. When we find others who are similar to us, but just slightly different, we begin to understand: OH! Here is the space I’m meant to fill. Here is the contribution I’m designed to make.
My hope for you is that you continue to find those people who illuminate your way, too, the ones whose voices ring in harmony with yours and help you hear your own work even more fully. As you continue creating and sharing your work, you’re giving the world the gift of your voice, but you’re also giving them the gift of their own voices, heard more fully because you’ve dared to share. May we all continue to take heart, to share courageously, and to cheer one another on as we follow our curiosity onward. What might you create next, dear heart? 💕
Each Writerly Play Kit is designed to fuel creative momentum. In this issue, we’ll consider your you-shaped space. Note the book flight, and especially the Five Whys reflection activity, which is one of my favorite Writerly Play tools yet. I hope you love it, too!
follow your curiosity
A BOOK FLIGHT
FIND YOUR YOU-ShAPED SPACE
In this book flight, savor three titles that together, are a powerful reminder that there’s only one you. By viewing yourself in relation to others, you gain perspective on the unique qualities that make your voice your own..
“The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.”
-Neil Gaiman
peek through an alternate lens
YOU’re invited: Creative Lift
Drumroll, please … Creative Lift, the Writerly Play podcast, is HERE!!
If you’re a writer, an artist, a creative thinker, who takes your work, your practice and your growth seriously enough to dare to play your way to the page, this podcast is for you.
Listen in and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, and if you’d like to dive in fully with the companion reflection guides and weekly email reminder, subscribe to that exclusive list below.
Play Your Way to the Page
Writerly Play Kit 008 – Step Into Your Story
Writerly Play Kit: 008
Step Into Your Story
WP Kit 008
STEP INTO YOUR STORY
Often I’m asked, “What did you gain from grad school?”
My answer: “Grad school gave me words. Now I can wrap them around what I intuitively do. At grad school, I learned to name the invisible.”
At first, I thought I was referencing writing craft. I was grateful to have words to describe nuanced elements of storytelling such as narrative distance. Those words served as mental levers I could nudge up or down, intentionally pursuing specific effects. Naming the invisible allows our brains to “see” what it might otherwise only sense or feel.
Looking back, I realize that grad school helped me to name the invisible in a far deeper way. As I created my critical thesis–a play about the power of play in the creative process–I learned to frame my creative development in the language of story. When I spoke of naming the invisible, I also meant that I had learned to step into my own story in a more intentional way.
Since then, I’ve continued to find myself crashing through uncleared trails, stumbling into mud pits, and every now and then finding my way to a vista where I can see the vast beauty of the creative landscape we’re all traveling. Being intentional about stepping into my story doesn’t give me the power to control the external plot. However, seeing the storyline, and being able to name the plot twists and turns, gives meaning to the ups and downs. My viewpoint also allows me to weigh my decisions with more perspective. I’m not only a main character lost in the depths of my story. I’m also an author, experimenting with choices, considering the bigger picture, before I write the next scene.
Each Writerly Play Kit is designed to fuel creative momentum. In this issue, we’ll look specifically at how Writerly Play works, and how viewing your creative development as a story offers meaning, perspective, and more intentionality to your day-to-day choices.
follow your curiosity
HOW TO SAVOR A BOOK FLIGHT
One way to enjoy a book is to read it cover to cover. With fiction, we may tumble out of the real world and into the realm of story. With nonfiction, our intention may be to squeeze out every drop of insight from the pages. I’m all for deep-dive reading experiences. However, what if we also held space for an ongoing relationship with our books? What if, as with a dessert, wine, or cheese flight, we curated a selection of books? What might we taste, learn, or see by considering a few books in relation to one another?
Most months, I curate a Writerly Play Book Flight. I pull three or four intriguing titles off my shelves, and consider them in relation to one another. Sometimes these books will be your own old friends, and other times they may be new acquaintances. Either way, the goal of a book flight isn’t to fill up your TBR list, but rather to give you an intriguing taste of a range of ideas. I’ll leave you with a thought or question I’ve taken away from the curated selection, and leave it up to you to follow your own curiosity wherever it may lead you, too.
I’ve included a sample book flight below. Also, if you’d like to curate a flight of your own, you may enjoy using this template to document your thoughts.
A BOOK FLIGHT
LIVE YOUR EPIC STORY
In this book flight, savor three titles that invite you to see life’s ups and downs as part of what makes the story memorable and meaningful.
“Through stories we explain how things are, why they are, and our role and purpose. Stories are the building blocks of knowledge and the foundation of memory and learning.”
-Debbie Millman
peek through an alternate lens
STEP INTO YOUR STORY
& play your way THROUGH
Writerly Play allows you to personalize, map, and problem-solve your creative process. The invitation is to step into the story of your creative development and to play your way through. Creativity requires you to venture into uncharted territory. What if, instead of feeling like you were always in the messy middle, you could use story as a map?
