Posts tagged Creativity
Writing through Chaos
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“Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat!” And I thought my life was already complicated. How can we keep our writing schedule through the chaos that’s coming our way this holiday season?
First, we need to understand the meaning of the word “chaos.” On Dictionary.com, I found the following three meanings:
- A state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order.
- Any confused, disorderly mass.
- The infinity of space or formless matter supposed to have preceded the existence of the ordered universe.
Next, we need to figure out how to deal with it. Our options are:
- Function in spite of the chaos, which I think I’ve been doing fairly well. I compose articles in my head while driving, and I’ve been on the road a lot lately. Once I get a chance to sit down and key it in, the words just flow. When I can, I make a few notes in the small journal I carry with me.
- Establish order in place of the chaos. My boss once introduced me as “Ms. Organization.” For things to get disorganized on my watch, the situation must be pretty bad. That’s why the very thought of chaos is negative to me. Looking at the second meaning of “chaos,” I realize that chaos is not all bad. It creates opportunity. Consider the chaos (void) before creation. God saw that His world was “formless and empty.” From that emptiness (chaos), God created all life, the entire natural order, as we know it today. We are made in God’s image; therefore, we have the ability to bring order out of chaos, to create something from nothing.
From now until it is time to “cook the goose,” let’s not let the chaos overpower us. Let’s be open to new ideas and opportunities that the chaos might bring.
Readers, how to you keep writing through the chaos in your life? Share your ideas by commenting on this post.
More Information:
Chaos Theory in Writing by Meredith Allen Conner
Book Review: Creativity and Divine Surprise
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Subtitle: Finding the Place of Your Resurrection. Author: Karla M. Kincannon. Published by Upper Room Books, 2005.
Author Kincannon makes the most of her roles as artist and United Methodist minister in this wonderful “tour” of the creative process. Written for artists, the principles apply equally to writers. The chapters are organized to take you from the beginning of the creative process all the way to the end, giving instruction and encouragement all along the way.
Because the Amazon listing does not have the “look inside” feature, I’ll share the table of contents with you. Chapters are: Invitation, Encounter, Preparation, Frustration, Incubation, Illumination, and Elaboration. Organized as a study book, each chapter begins with an inspirational quote and ends with an exercise. If you are a writer instead of an artist, you can do the exercises with a journal, pen, colored markers, and some type of art paper. I confess that I read the book, but I have yet to do the exercises.
At times I felt that Kincannon was talking directly to me. She identified all the things that keep me from being creative. She addresses the feelings of inadequacy and even incompetence that all artists feel now and then. Her discussion of perfectionism hit home for me. She pointed out that perfectionists “need a reaction from others to form their identity.” She said each new inspiration we receive is a gift from God, an invitation to a “new life of creativity in partnership with God.” The creative process is a reflection of life itself—birth, struggle, death, rebirth.
Being an artist/writer is not easy—but you knew that. Get this book and study through it, letting the lessons help you organize your thoughts. Soak up the encouragement that each pages offers. It’s well worth the time and effort.
Check it out on Amazon: Creativity and Divine Surprise: Finding the Place of Your Resurrection
Post script: Check out my Store page where you’ll find my work for sale as well as Donna Goodrich’s A Step in the Write Direction for sale.
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