What prevents you from creating art, whether that be poetry, prose, painting or playing the piano (or something else that doesn’t start with the letter p)?
In her book, We Need Your Art, Amie McNee identifies procrastination, perfectionism, jealousy, comparison and burnout as some blocks to creating art (and she discusses each of these in detail in the third part of her book, including ways to counter them). I resonate with each of these at different times, and sometimes all at the same time!
For me, I particularly find it challenging to push through a sense of inertia (and often indecision) to actually get started, which is why I usually end my creative prompt posts with the words, “Just begin”. These words are a reminder to myself as much as anyone else.
To that end, my prompts this month are ones that will have me writing most days, even if it’s just for ten minutes, or the three long-hand pages that make up my morning pages, which takes a little longer. All going well, these will lead me deeper into my own work-in-progress.
I hope they will meet you wherever you are, too – whether you are just starting to tap back into your creativity, are working on a life writing project (memoir, biography, family history, essay), short fiction, a novel, poetry, or perhaps some other art form altogether.
Please feel free to use them in whatever way is helpful. Use them as a ten-minute warm up each day. Or choose a few that speak to you (or your character). You might even select three or four words and combine into a single piece of art. There are no rules, other than to open up space for your own creativity.
1. Today, I am thinking about …
2. Things I keep thinking about …
3. As I stroll, I notice …
4. dog
6. goodbye
7. fire
8. tea or coffee
9. the road not taken
10. a sliding doors moment
11. a fascinating fact
12. the natural world
13. iron
14. walk
16. curl
17. unfurling
18. bookshelf
19. a favourite book from childhood
20. ekphrastic – write a response to a piece of art work
21. patchwork
23. genes
24. jeans
25. ripples
26. everyday injuries (this comes from the title of an essay in Fiona Wright’s collection The World Was Whole).
27. butterfly
29. belonging
30. community
31. What I really want to say is …
Over to You
Which prompts speak to you? Which one will you explore first?
Please use these in whatever way helps you carve out a little time for your creativity.
Just begin.
