I need to revise a manuscript. I've gotten feedback from my critique group, taken the editors' comments into consideration and plotted out a few scenes. But I'm not sure I'm ready to jump in yet.
So I started thinking about the creative process and how there are many routes to beginning a project. For example, with cooking, sometimes I'll catch a Foodnetwork show that inspires me to work with a fish I've never had before. I might look through my grandmother's recipes or other cookbooks for some kind of twist before I attempt the challenge.
Or when I'm working on my garden, I'll sit out there for a while and stare at it. Imagine string beans in one bed, peppers in another and tomatoes on the other side. Then I'll brush up on my companion planting to confirm which plants like to grow together before I ever go to the store.
But other times I just jump in. Like when I fixed up my house. I flipped through paint cards at Home Depot and chose colors on the spot. (Thankfully they look fabulous.)
What does your creative process look like?
xoxo,
Suzanne
About Me
- Suzanne Casamento
- Author of Fingerprints, Choosing Tally, and All the Moments in Between. Tweet me @suzannecasamento
EXCELLENT question! I'm not creative, and it's not much of a process; however there is some method to my madness. The wheels are always turning and then - bam! - suddenly I get a good idea like what to plant in that one corner in front of my house or what dessert to bring to that party. It's like an epiphany and suddenly I know what I need to do. I don't think much about it, I just let the thought process happen in the background until it comes to me.
ReplyDeleteIt's COLD in NJ and it's gonna snow/freezing rain tonight. I miss LA!!!!
My creative process is pretty simple. I obsess. I obsess about a scene until it makes me laugh, and then I write it.
ReplyDeleteSad but ultimately true. :)
I think for a long time, turning things over in my brain, looking at them from different angles. And then, usually as I'm about to fall asleep, the idea or solution will come to me and I have to write it down right away.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I jump right in;other times I jot a general plan on paper and go from there.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a process. That's probably why I never finish anything.
ReplyDeleteRead through what I've already written. Take out a word here and there. Scroll up and down in the manuscript. Fidget. Sigh. Give up and take a shower. Get fantastic inspiration in the shower. Write great dialogue in my head. Hurry out of the shower. Have one fleeting piece left of all that creativity. Start writing from there.
ReplyDeleteIdeas percolate for many months. Outlines get developed. Writing ensues. Sharing happens. Tears are shed. Reformulation occurs. More writing happens.
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