Writing Rituals and Creative Evolution
Building Creative Habits One Coffee at a Time
The consensus is to write daily to improve your writing, but I struggled with this until last week. I don’t know why I found it so difficult before; it’s liberating. Fortunately, I’m well on my way to being a complete convert to daily writing and loving it.
A subtly themed newsletter this week, generally centered around writing and its associated ideation process. You can always comment, which would be greatly appreciated. If nothing else, the connection alone is all I need.
3 Things Revisited
I look forward to getting up in the morning, grabbing a cup or two of coffee, and then scribbling a few thoughts (a few of which are the 3 Things extolled by Kevin Tumlinson). I’ve been following this advice for almost three weeks now, nearly every day. I missed one or two days, but I’m getting into a routine as time passes.
That is me all over: routines. Unless something worms its way into my routine, I’ll forget about it. I’m a creature of habit, an organizational slave. I plan everything in my life, which causes some friction between me and my wife; she is exactly the opposite. Where I like to have everything in its place in the house, she drops things when she’s done, no matter where. It drives me crazy, or at least it used to (ok, still does), but I love her, so I’m constantly learning to adapt.
I’m sure I suffer from a mild form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but I wasn’t like this at all growing up. I put it down to my 14-year stint in the military, mainly from the first 3 years of apprentice training. There were regular inspections, where the slightest infraction would be picked up and punished. A person learns to be slightly OCD in that environment, I think.
Mediocre
When I started writing my weekly newsletter (under a different publication name) at the start of 2023, I initially only posted on Medium. Happily, within a week or three, I became aware of Substack and have been happily writing here ever since.
On the Medium front, though, when I started writing there, the prerequisite for joining the Medium Partnership Program was 100 followers. Due to my inconsistent subject matter (and also the standard of my writing), this took a good few months, but I got there. I immediately applied for the program and was accepted. The very same week, Medium moved the goalposts, severely impacting the earnings of established writers.
Not to be deterred, I continued posting. Since I had no significant earnings, I thought I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
But I’m not bothered by the lack of Medium earnings; after all, the same posts are free on Substack. But what has been niggling me is the standard of the posts on Medium. Extremely click-baity, not to put too fine a point on it, the majority of the posts, in my feed anyway, are complete clap-trap and not worth my time to open. Yes, there are a few (very few) exceptions, but they are nowhere near enough to keep me loyal to the platform.
Comparing the Medium Experience with the far superior reader experience here on Substack. I couldn’t come up with a witty comparison expression, so I asked ChatGPT for suggestions. Here are a few gems:
Reading on Substack is like enjoying a handcrafted espresso, while Medium feels like sipping watered-down office coffee.
Substack is a fireside chat; Medium is a megaphone in a mall.
Substack treats readers like guests; Medium treats them like data points.
I can’t decide if the first or second is my favorite. I think the second. Comment if you have any experience or opinions; we all could do with a laugh.
Needless to say, I’m all in on Substack. Medium, meh, mediocre. I’ll think about it more before deciding what to do about the account.
Your Creative Edge
Finally, I settled on a format for my new publication, Your Creative Edge. It won’t be long before it’s tweaked. The first issue and the second will be free. Thereafter, I think, maybe every third or fourth issue will be open to all. The rest will be limited to paid subscribers.
The entire premise revolves around using various AI tools to help me write, edit, and publish my first book. Ethically, of course, I don’t see the point otherwise. But it won’t be limited to the first book; I have plenty of other projects in mind, including around 30 thousand words already written for my passion project.
I’ve written about this before, but to recap. I was finally ready to pick up fiction writing after a five-year hiatus. In the intervening time, I realized I had so much to learn about the craft of fiction writing. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin my project, so instead, I decided to learn (hone?) the craft on an entirely new project.
After my dribble epiphany (see below), I had an idea on how to potentially generate engagement and, hopefully, a few paid subscribers. Why don’t I extract selected passages that can be adapted to a drabble and publish these too? They can be a bonus at the end of the regular posts. What do you think?
Anyway, check out the first article and see what you think. All feedback is welcome, obviously:
Drabbling
The paraphrased definition of a Drabble, according to Wikipedia, is:
A drabble is a short work of fiction of precisely one hundred words. The purpose of the drabble is brevity, testing the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in a confined space.
I’ll leave you to judge if it’s ‘interesting and meaningful’. The idea came to me out of the blue, just as I was waking up from a short power nap. Not wanting to lose it, I dictated the story and edited the transcription, which took only 20 minutes. The word count was 84 words for the first draft. Another 20-minute editing session brought it up to the required 100 words.
I’m pleased with how it turned out. Looking forward to the next one; it’s great fun.
The Predator by Sean Reynolds
The Predator stalked its Prey.
Savoring the delicious consummation to come.
Backing into the corner, watching the enemy slink closer.
Detached. It smelled the fear and exalted.
The hunt had been long; the end was near.
Mouth almost dry, forming the desperate spit.
Closer, creeping ever closer, the moment near at hand.
Release. A spray across the eyes.
Surprised, angry, then respectful.
Defiance in the face of doom.
Collapsing, unable to move, seeing its nemesis approach.
Confidently, sharp teeth sank into soft underbelly.
Excruciating agony, breathing labored.
Heart slowing, until it too expired.
The Predator, immersed in bloody warmth, fed.
Final Thoughts
Another mixed bag this week, covering everything from daily writing habits to my experiments with drabbles. I've realized that embracing routines, while sometimes restrictive, can free up our creative energy. Who knew a simple morning coffee and writing ritual could make such a difference?
The journey from writing when inspiration strikes to developing a more disciplined approach hasn't been easy. But then, nothing worthwhile is. I’m learning that creativity doesn’t always need perfect conditions; sometimes, it just needs a quiet moment, a cup of coffee, and the willingness to show up.
I’m finding my rhythm between launching Your Creative Edge, experimenting with drabbles, and maintaining this newsletter. Not forgetting writing the first book of, hopefully, many.
It's not perfect, I'm sure it'll keep evolving, but that's part of the fun. The organizational slave in me is learning to coexist with the creative spirit, and somehow, it's working out.
Thank you to those of you who’ve stuck with me. Your presence, whether silent or through comments, makes this whole adventure worthwhile. Here's to more coffee-fueled writing sessions and whatever creative discoveries they might bring.
As always, I'd love to hear about it in the comments. After all, the best conversations often start over a cup of coffee and a shared story.