Novelist Notions: Writing, Creativity, and Personal Growth

Exploring the delicate balance between inspiration and focus in different settings At its core, writing is an intimate act, a symbiosis of body and mind most often undertaken in the most intimate and private of settings. This setting, wherever it may be, is one of the most overlooked aspects of the creative process. Whether it’s at a coffee shop, in an office chair at your desk, or in your favorite chair with your laptop across your lap, the location in which creation takes place plays a crucial role. Whether it’s the hustle and bustle of a busy cafe, an outdoor retreat, the traditional office setup, or even a cozy armchair with your laptop—my current setup—each choice of writing location can offer its own set of unique advantages, disadvantages, and quirks. In today’s installment, I will explore the dichotomy between the different environments and offer my thoughts and advice for choosing your ideal setup. The Cafe Buzz: Creativity Among Chaos Cliche as it may sound to some, there is ...

How to Embrace Restless Hours Without Losing Your Creative Spark I nsomnia in some form has plagued me for years. I’ve never been a consistent sleeper. I always thought of it as a necessary evil. Little did I know it would afford me extra opportunities to create, albeit at the expense of sleep. Despite the concerns associated with it, there is a strange beauty in lying awake in the waning hours of the night. As a writer, I’ve viewed these sleepless nights in a couple of different ways. On one hand, these battles with insomnia can be physically draining; if too many come in rapid succession, there can also be some cognitive effects. For writers and creative types, insomnia can often fuel bursts of creativity, but that creativity comes at the cost of much-needed rest. In this article, I will explore the oddly fascinating relationship between insomnia and the writing process and ways to manage fatigue while maintaining creativity. The Correlation Between Insomnia and Creativity Writers an...

How a Pause Can Renew the Creative Spirit Writing, for me and for many others I would wager, is just as much a calling as it is a craft. It lets us express our thoughts and feelings in ways other mediums don’t allow. It also allows us to, providing our introversions don’t get in the way, interact with others who may share our knowledge or passions. But what happens when we, as writers, decide to take a step back, to put down the pen as it were? What could we hope to gain from a temporary separation from the blank pages and blinking cursors? What could we learn from, for the sake of argument, a week away from these things and the inevitable silence that results? I did it, and today I’m going to tell you what I learned. Rediscovering Observation One of my favorite things about stepping away from the writing desk from time to time is being able to just sit back and observe. When we’ve got the blinders on, focused on creating content and sharing it with our readers, we run the risk of lett...