I’m sometimes asked, “Where do you get your writing inspo these days?”
And my honest reply is:
“I reach down and peel off the story stuck to my shoe.” It’s a little Dickensian, maybe. And not the complete answer, of course.
(The longer answer is: I’ve committed to treating my social media like a workshop — a place where I practice and shape my body of work in public so it gets easier and easier to make.
Rhythm Leads to Flow
Have you noticed how the vibe has shifted in the last 12 months or so?
Good eye, good eye. And that’s why.)
But it’s still surprising to have it feel like ease again.
Like my head’s always rattling with things to tell you and eventually a story falls out, silent as tissue paper. I step on it accidentally, and might walk a little ways until I start to notice the rustling sound.
I reach down and gently pull it free. It might be half-formed or just a few lines, but it’s there and it’s been waiting, and it wants to be told. Now please.
I recommitted to my writing, and my content in general, as a practice last year. I needed to share new ideas and stories and things I’ve learned, sure.
But mostly I wanted to get into a rhythm where things flowed again.
Creativity is an Endurance Sport – Keep Moving!
Creating is like that. It’s an endurance sport. The more you do it, the easier it gets, and the further you can go. But if you stop, you’ll have rust to shake off when you return.
I’ve always said social media has its own rhythm and cadence (same language, different accents for each platform), but this wasn’t just about feeding the algo.
This was, for me, a reconnection to my teenage self who could write and write, stories falling out of my head for hours — GOOD stories, with words I never judged so fiercely that my urge to share iced over. (Which it sometimes has in my adult life.)
I had to relearn the habit of creation without over-preparation, to learn how to nurture multiple ideas at once until one falls out, light and ripe and ready for you.
It should be irrelevant of course! There IS a strategy at play (mostly one where I read your mind, spookily).
But that’s it. Maybe less of a HOW, more of a WHO.
Because I’m here again, at last. And there’s a story stuck to my shoe.
Write on,
H
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
