Creativity – Page 19 – Katie L. Carroll

I finished the big revision I had been working on and then made it through the holidays. Now I find myself on this side of the New Year with a need for a creative recharge. This isn’t the first time I’ve been here, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

The creative life can be draining when you’re constantly putting words, thoughts, and ideas out there, so I tend to go through periods where I’m in need of replenishment. I’ve written about the idea of a creative well (see the full post here) here on the Observation Desk before. Here’s a snippet:

The well is where ideas come from.

Some ideas are a tiny trickle dripping from the bucket. Others a deluge as the bottom of the bucket falls out, gushing water over my head.

I’m not the only one with access to the well. An intricate labyrinth of tunnels connects other writers, artist, dreamers, and musicians to the well. But it’s not only for artsy types. Mathematicians calculate numbers and equations there; astrophysicists explore the stars and galaxies; doctors find cures for disease.

The well connects us all.

I mistakenly think I write to make connections, take the thoughts and stories in my head and share them with readers, giving them thoughts and stories of their own. I actually write to explore the connections that already exist through the well.”

I feel like I’ve been putting a lot into the well lately. So it’s time for me sit quietly and soak up all the well has to offer. I’ve been reading a lot (something I didn’t do as much last year), watching TV (sure some programs are more mindless than others, but it does help to fill me up creatively), and paying attention to life and nature.

And thinking…lots and lots of thinking. Part of my writing process is to think about a new project for awhile before I dig into writing it. More than thinking about what I’m working on next, though, I’ve also been pondering my career as an author and where I’m headed next. Part of that depends on other people as I’m currently querying agents with a manuscript, but much of it is internal.

Speaking of querying, this part of being a writer is one of the hardest for me. It’s makes me feel intensely vulnerable, and I really, really, really hate feeling vulnerable. I’m in need of lots of tea and chocolate, and maybe some hugs!

Hopefully soon, I’ll have a better sense of this next book I plan on writing and I’ll be able to immerse myself in it, which helps to desensitize me to the querying process. A new project brings excitement, direction, and hope.

What have you all been up to lately?

As promised here are some nuggets of wisdom from the SCBWI L.A. conference. They are pretty much all writing related, but many of them have universal wisdom as well.

M.T. Anderson:

- Books take us away from home, so we can actually see our home.

- Literature restores a sense of unknown to what we already know.
- Understanding the past is just as much about forging ahead to the future.

Gordon Korman:

- What do you use more as an adult? Your sense of humor or your ability to recognize foreshadowing.

- Kids are more subtle than you think they are. It’s not that stuff is going over their heads; it’s just the stuff we think is important, they don’t care about.
- Kids are not an exotic subspecies. When we are writing for kids, we are writing for ourselves.

E.B. Lewis:

- We spend so much time scratching to get some wealth that we miss out true wealth: our children.

- Sometimes we don’t scratch deep enough to find the true value of our kids. It’s more valuable than gold. We scratch them too deep sometimes and destroy our children.
- As artists, we need to fill ourselves up to flowing and give it all back.

Rachel Vail:

- The trick to being a good listener is to actually listen.

- Spying is key to being a writer. Put on your headphones in a public place, but don’t really listen to music.

- How can two people in same conversation have such different experiences of what happens.
- When I get stuck, I make some tea and force myself to remember.

Gail Carson Levine:

- When you make a list, no idea is stupid.
- The magic and joy of being a writer is learning about yourself in your writing.

Carolyn Mackler:

- By standing out, you put yourself out there for a fall.
- Be proud of what you wish for and stand by it, even if it’s harder than you expected.

Gennifer Choldenko:

- Human beings need stories; we always have and we always will.

- Harness the energy of your dreams.
- Give yourself the right to take risks; you’re not making real risks if you haven’t risked and failed.

Paul Fleischman:

- Research should be like slip; it should be there but never show.

- Laughter gives you a sense of control.
- There’s now way around but through–that’s the writing life.

There’s not much left to say after reading over what these heavy-hitters in the kidlit world had to say, so I’ll leave you with my own ridiculous mid-conference quotation: “I just don’t think I can listen to one more stranger and pretend to care about they’re saying.”