When Creating is Hard
I recently participated in International Nature Journaling Week. Although I love nature, I’ve never been a nature journaler. Probably because it involves drawing, and drawing is haaaard. (If you imagined me saying this in a whiny voice, you are right.)
As expected, drawing was the most challenging part of the week for me. Just knowing that I was going to have to sketch something made me resist picking up my nature journal.
But I made myself do it each day and it wasn't the worst thing in the world. In fact, here are some of my takeaways, which I think are equally true for fiction writing.
Keep it loose. When we tighten up and try to exert control of every aspect of the process we infuse our creative output with tension. We’re more critical of what we’ve created, and we can’t appreciate the uniqueness of what we’ve made. I tried to focus on keeping my sketching loose and, well, sketchy. By the end of the week I was feeling more confident in my ability and was actually liking most of my sketches!
Set a timer. One evening I was really resisting opening my nature journal, when I suddenly realized the sun was setting and I was running out of daylight! That visual cue got me sketching quickly and helped me let go of perfectionism. What’s an equivalent deadline you could give yourself to help you stop over thinking and just create?
Make the process, not the output, the goal. Give yourself credit for showing up and creating, not for the result. If we continually show up and do something, eventually the results will follow.
The more you do it, the easier it gets. I know, this sounds a lot like “practice makes perfect,” but that’s because the platitude is true. Whether it’s writing, drawing, or anything else we pick up in life, the more time we spend on the activity the better we’ll get at it. After a week of nature journaling, I was dreading the process less and enjoying the sketching more.
The pride I felt at the end was greater than the discomfort I felt in the moment. This is so true for writers, as well! When it’s hard to sit down and write, think of how good it will feel to get to The End. I promise, that pride is worth the discomfort!
Nature journaling was a fun way for me to channel my awareness and noticing skills into a new medium. I’m proud of what I accomplished in just a week’s time, and don’t want to lose the progress I’ve made in my sketching skills.
So, when was the last time you tried a new creative endeavor? Did you feel resistance around it, or was it easy to dive into something new?