Writerly Play Kit: 004
Creative Thinking: Tap Into the Heart of Your Work
WP Kit: 004
Tap Into the Heart of Your Work
I used to stress out when editors said, “I’m looking for a manuscript with a strong voice.” It felt like they were actually saying, “I’m looking for a writer who’s cool, who has a great personality, who I’d invite to sit at my table for lunch.” Unfortunately, the echo of my middle school self shows up at the most unhelpful times!
The truth is, voice is about personality. It’s about braving the terrifying–and meaningful–experience of putting our hearts on the page. As long as we’re focused on being cool, about becoming who an editor or a reader might want us to be, we’re prickly, self-conscious, and inauthentic. What’s worse, our emotional armor is tricky and so familiar that we may not even realize our guard is up. It takes focused attention to tap into the heart of our work, and to stay connected. Fortunately, with this creative skill, as in all of them, we can bypass our defenses by approaching sideways, with a playful spirit.
In this Writerly Play Kit, we’ll explore questions, activities, and resources to take us deeper into the landscape of our own hearts, where we will discover our richest creative material.
Featured articles
CREATIVE LIFE
GRIT, EMPATHY and Vision
II woke up in the middle of the night before our most recent Inklings Book launch with these three words bouncing around my mind – grit, empathy, and vision. Sometimes the answer to a question I’ve been wrestling shows up this way. The question? Why is creative writing important, in a world filled with opportunities and responsibilities? The answer:
Creative writing is one of the best ways I know to build grit, empathy, and vision.
BOOK FLIGHT
JOURNEY TO YOUR WRITER’S HEART
The journey to find our artist’s heart is not a one-time ordeal. It’s a life journey, one that is traveled in multiple parts. The three titles I’ve chosen for this flight have served as companions to me on that journey, urging me on toward courage, and lighting my way in the dark. I highly recommend each individually. I also encourage you: consider reading the three as a flight, allowing their ideas and insights to illuminate one another.
“My purpose is to create a mirror for the reader to see themselves, to create a light for people to see themselves in the characters, pictures, and stories. So they resonate.”
-Kadir Nelson
Activities: the Heart of your project
Freewrite Your Heart
FOR INVENTORS
Move your hand across the page speedily to bypass your critic and discover your heart.
Frame Your Heart in Three
FOR SPECIAL AGENTS
Choose three adjectives that focus your attention on the core of this project, and its importance to you.
Zoom In On the Heart
FOR ARCHITECTS
Answer three key questions to focus your attention on the core of this project, and its importance to you.
Share Your Heart with a Loved One
FOR COLLABORATORS
Choose a confidant and write a letter about your project. What is most important to you about creating this artwork?
The Writerly Play Attic
To find the heart of our work is a core skill used in the Writerly Play Attic.
We visit this mental space when we need interior time to reflect, focus, and tap into our emotionally resonant, genuine voices.
Wondering what Writerly Play is all about?
Writerly Play is designed to help you make the most of your creative potential. Each Writerly Play Kit is designed to help you stretch your thinking skills and develop practical strategies perfectly fit for you.
Want a shortcut? If you don’t have time to read today, but want a quick win, try this quick quiz to identify your creative strengths and weaknesses:
Once you know what works best for you, you need a perfect-for-you plan. Writerly Play functions more like a map rather than a cookie-cutter recipe. First, you’ll locate yourself on the map. Then, with a clear understanding of where you are, you can make informed choices about your next best steps.
