As you may know, I’ve spent the past two years relearning what keeps my creative mind running at its prime. It’s been slow going, with lots of observation and questions that lead to more questions, but it hasn’t been without its benefits.
While I worked a job that left me with no energy or passion to write, I devolved into a black-and-white way of viewing my writing. Either I was writing, or I wasn’t. And as soon as I had time and energy again, I reasoned, it would be like I’d never stopped. But to my dismay, this was not what I discovered.
So today, I’d like to introduce the 3D metaphor that has proven much more useful in keeping my writing going and my creative juices flowing.
I’ve come to picture my mind as a garden. I usually have multiple stories and projects at various states of completion growing at once. I used to think that meant that I lacked discipline, but now I find that as long as I’m making progress, it simply means I’ll have fruit for all seasons.
This also means that my creative brain requires tending. My writing career and its supporting habits have all become a great experiment as I try to find the best way to be my most productive without burning myself out or sacrificing quality. No, STEM-field family members, I don’t know exactly how fast I can write. But I’m learning how to improve the conditions, and that’s a start.
Here are the components I’ve discovered so far.
Healthy soil
At the end of my tenure at my most draining job, my mind was absolutely tapped. Any energy, passion, creativity, or problem-solving had gone toward work, leaving me so drained that all I did when I got home was lie on the couch until bedtime, neglecting my apartment, relationships, and hobbies. (That’s not entirely true. Sometimes I was too stressed to sleep until I maxed out in the gym, so during busy season, I did that.)
After blowing up my life a couple of years ago, it took some time to get back the essential ingredients that my mind garden was missing. I couldn’t have even told you what those were when I first found myself with way too much free time on my hands. But after I had spent several months mostly resting (not intentionally—I fought hard to create something, but I simply couldn’t make anything stick), those rich nutrients began to seep back in.
My ideal soil is composed of being well-rested, in decent health, welcoming new experiences, and allowing myself to occasionally get bored.
Let’s unpack those.
You can’t pour out of an empty cup, as they say. So I had to get out of my soul-sucking, brow-beating job in order to replenish.
I need to embrace experiences where I don’t have total control. That’s where the story fodder is.
And I needed boredom. Yes, boredom. In this metaphor, I picture boredom as an empty field. The soil is healthy and rich, and there is room for something to grow. If your life is too full and your brain overstimulated, you’ll never have a chance for your own ideas to take root.
Good borders or fences
Boundaries, my dude.
If you treat your writing time like an option or a treat you can enjoy “once everything gets done,” here’s a pro tip: that time will never come. You have to choose it. Prioritize it. Steal it if you have to. Then block it off and guard it like the treasure that it is.
Clear your schedule and shut your door, even if it’s only for an hour.
A long-term mindset
None of the gardeners I know with beautiful harvests spend their time yelling at their plants to grow faster. They improve the environment, and then they wait. This is hard, but once you figure out how much work a writing dream will require, you’ll find that the time passes faster than you thought.
Observe the seasons
You don’t plant in the winter. You don’t harvest in the spring. (“You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind…” Sorry.)
It has taken years of careful observation to learn what my mind garden needs in each season. They don’t come nicely labeled or globally observed like the physical seasons do, unfortunately. The best thing has been having friends close to me who can serve as a mirror and point out the obvious.
“I feel like writing something new!”
“So do that.”
“I can’t seem to write anything this week!”
“Yeah, ‘cause you’re exhausted. Go take a nap with the cats.”
Keeping my journal open next to whatever project I’m working on has helped me get quicker at recognizing my internal state. I start every writing session by jotting down what’s been happening that day and what’s on my mind, and usually the truth will emerge. I can talk through my ideas and why I do or don’t think today is a good time to pursue them, and I can spot my own faulty thinking.
Regular tending
This is the one that drives us nuts as writers. The ever-present “You should be writing!” meme.
But I would argue that you can lower the bar and find more success. Just show up. Step into your garden and have a nice long look around. Eventually, you’ll find something that needs doing. And that thing will usually lead to the next thing.
It’s much lower pressure than thinking you have to have a plan in mind before you set out, I find.
Creepy-crawlies
Those little niggling doubts? They can be good for your work, just like some bugs are icky but good for the soil.
I try to listen to the doubts enough to have a good look at them, then treat them as a question to be answered rather than a back-breaking criticism. All of them lead to the same question in the end: “What does it need?”
Pro tip: If you listen to these effectively while you’re writing, you may not have to hear as many from your editor later.
Weed identification
Don’t pull it until you know what it is! Some of my best ideas started out as a distraction from what I was trying to work on.
Even if you can’t start a new project in the middle of the last, you can at least jot it down and save it for later. Like, I don’t know, bulbs. Store them for now, plant them later.
Organic material
Surround yourself with the stuff that inspires you.
The songs that get your wheels turning.
The podcasts that make you want to write.
The books about subjects that interest you.
Whatever it is, make sure to keep your mind garden well supplied with material that will contribute to its growth.
Pollination
I sometimes get worried that if I read more, I will run across the book I’m trying to write. I don’t think that’s a realistic fear when I look at it in the light. Nobody thinks exactly like anybody else.
But every story you read can teach you something, whether a to-do or a to-not-do. Sometimes, a single spark from someone else’s fire will be enough to light yours. It’s like pollination. You didn’t steal a whole flower. You took a tiny particle from someone else’s garden and then put in the work to make it grow into something new. It’s totally legit.
Grow what you like to eat
Why would you plant spinach if it was your least favorite vegetable?
Accordingly, I’m of the opinion that a writer’s enjoyment of their project is the secret sauce that makes it even more delectable. If you write what you love, it will flow more easily. If you write to the market, usually you’ll find that your work drags. Notice what you love, and what grows well in your garden, and then double down on it.
Shield new growth
It’s okay to welcome visitors to your garden, as long as you show them where not to step.
I’ve found that if I try to tell someone about an idea too soon, I lose confidence and have to shelve it for a long time. It needs a chance to take root before it’s strong enough to stand up to others’ scrutiny and criticism.
Keep your mind in the garden, not the farmers market
It’s just too far in the future. While you’re writing, that needs to be the focus. The season for harvesting and selling will come in its time, but it can be a distraction when what’s needed is time and sunlight.
Turn around
You might be surprised to see who is monitoring your growth, hoping for a taste. Even with the few Patrons I have, I’m always floored that someone likes what I write enough to pay me for it, even if it’s only a few bucks a month.
As you can see, this is a lot to juggle. I can’t say I’m perfect at any of them, but I would say I’m improving in many of them. And that’s what matters. Two blueberries this season, a whole bunch next season…those are the results I’m working toward.
No, it’s not currently enough to fund my life by itself. But this is where it starts. The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit, as they say. I’m just trying to build a routine that increasingly produces writing I’m proud of, and to cultivate the connections that allow me to make money. One day, I hope, this garden will produce in such a way that I can build a little cottage and stay.
One day.
