It starts when we’re very young. We’re told to color inside the lines, regurgitate facts for tests, and follow a traditional trajectory to get to “what we want to be when we grow up.”
We’re given boundaries. Many are useful and necessary for life. Don’t touch the stove, it’s hot. Don’t gnaw on electrical cords, you could die. Don’t put blueberries in your ears. The last one was a nugget of knowledge that I doled out to my son just this morning. However, some of the things we’re taught can be stifling. We’re taught “the way” to do something or “the way” that things are, and often times we stop there without questioning the why or thinking about alternatives.
These are the thoughts that came to me after I spent some time looking through a store display of blank journals and finding too many that were lined. For the longest time, I sought out the lines. I wanted my words to sit across the page in a neat, orderly fashion. The space of a blank unlined journal was too much. I needed the boundaries of thin blue lines. It made sense.
Funny how the lines I craved now make my face scrunch up like I just smelled the tuna salad that my husband eats for lunch. How could a book with such a beautiful cover be filled with evenly spaced lines, with no room to play or think?
Sometimes we want to be told what to do. We see someone who we consider successful and we want to know exactly what steps they took to get there so we can emulate them. Knowing the steps can be helpful. But that’s just part of the recipe.
It’s so much easier to follow directions – to try to do exactly what she did. It’s harder to take the information that you learn from her story, mix that with your own creative ideas, and move forward on your own undocumented path.
On Monday, September 16th I’m relaunching my creative writing workshop. The structure is going to be a little different and the cost a little lower. Sign up will be open to everyone on Monday, September 9th. Don’t worry, I’ll remind you in a blog post that day. Newsletter subscribers will get a chance to sign up before everyone else and will get a discount on the class.
UPDATE: This class is now a self-paced creativity workbook on Etsy.
Here’s what Anna from Crafting Fingers had to say about her experience with Jump-Start Your Creative Spark.
“Melanie is a star. Her humour and down-to-earth advice makes you feel like you’re working with a good friend. The way I see my writing has changed. F o r e v e r. Her lessons gave me the courage I needed to show more personality in my writing. At first, I noticed the difference in my inbox. My emails were getting quicker, warmer replies. My blog readers started engaging more, and over two months doubled in number. To top it all off, the confidence to share my ideas has launched me into my dream career. The best part? Knowing Melanie follows her own advice.”
There are no quick, easy shortcuts to success. No one’s path will be the same as yours.
The power is in the why. Step back from what you’re doing, take some time to evaluate it, ask yourself why you’re doing it that way (or why you’re doing it at all), then go from there.
Let me help you discover your voice and and teach you how to use it to share stories about what you make or do.
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