3 questions to reignite creative spark
On returning to love for stale-feeling projects
If creative projects were people trying to date me, I would be a pretty bad boyfriend. Initially, when I take on a project, I fall for it—hard. It’s all I can think about and talk about. I nurture it, obsess over it, and give it my undivided attention. Then, inevitably, at some unpredictable point, I lose total interest.
This isn’t a huge problem when the project is personal. I return eventually, even years later. When the project has other stuff riding on it—deadlines, other people’s expectations, my own career goals—I don’t have the luxury of slow return, and reigniting my spark for it become essential.
I firmly believe that enhancing your capacity to rediscover passion for your creative endeavors can be transformative and elevating. This week, I’m offering some reflections on how to do just that.
Big love,
Lucy
‘Memos on creative re-ignition
MEMO - “Ask ‘How might I turn this into something that delights me?’”
If lost in the expectations of others (real or imagined) or the drudgery of ‘getting it done’, return to your sense of what would make the work something that would thrill you to encounter. A small dose of daydreaming and visioning can help you reconnect to your zeal for the project.
MEMO - “Ask ‘How might I make process delights me, even if nothing else does?’”
You don’t have to take the same approach to a creative project time and again. What happens if you step off the well-trodden path of your most comfortable approaches and processes? How might you do the work in a playful, or satisfying, or experimental way that re-engages your interest?
MEMO - “How might I learn from (and beat) the best of what’s out there already?”
Brave the wilds (especially if you haven’t in a while) and take a look at the projects of others with similar aims. What sparks envy? What’s smart or weird or cool in what others are doing? How can you bring all this to your own work?
More personal note: I’ve been experimenting with content lately. You might have noticed: extra emails, different visual styles, shifting newsletter and headline formats. I’m trying to dial in something more refined, but I can appreciate if it feels a little chaotic. In some ways, ideas like Midnight Voice Memos always shape shift, but I also think I’m very close to something much more solid. In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you. Are experiment emails welcome? What parts of the format do you like or dislike? What about email length? It’s all fair game.
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