In a Creative Slump? Here's Help
It happens every September. I wake up one morning and realize I have no personal creativity. No ideas for dinner. No projects I want to tackle. Nothing on the horizon. I haven’t written anything in weeks. I wonder if I’ll ever write again. I’m a little sad that summer’s over and I didn’t do everything I wanted to do. Again. I’m more tired than usual. Work is suddenly, jarringly busy. Back-to-school rituals and routines dictate my days. I want to be and do something original, out-of-the-box, quintessentially me, but I can’t even figure out where to start. The muse hasn’t visited me in who knows when.
Recently I realized this is normal. Natural. Necessary even.
Here’s what Simple Abundance says about the creative slump ⤵
“Whether you’re a professional, poet, parent, or performance artist, one morning you’ll wake up,
begin to prime the well to continue in the re-creation of your authentic life, only to discover that the well has run dry. . .
But when you’re too parched to pray, beyond tears, or too drained to give a damn, it’s time to cease and desist.
Not all our hours are billable. . . continue to prepare the canvas, moisten the clay.
Pretend you’re a creative temp here to fill in until your Authentic Self arrives. . .
Accept the fallow period as graciously as you can and get ready for a quantum leap in creativity or consciousness. . .
In the natural world, droughts depart as suddenly and as mysteriously as they arrive.
This, too, is God.”
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If this happens to you, too, we’re in good company and we don’t have to worry about forcing anything. We can rest, watch, and wait for a while. And while we do, we can take care of ourselves and spend some time getting ready for our muses to return—maybe even make our hearts a little more welcoming for them.
Here are 3 things I do for my muse every September-October⤵
One long solo hiking day (6+ hours in the woods by myself—usually with a good audiobook in my earbuds)
One weekend away from my regular routine (This year I’ll be pitching my new book at the PITCH conference.)
One women’s retreat (This year I’ll be co-hosting a women’s retreat at Yellow House Inn in Bar Harbor and I’m so, so excited that I’m counting down the days.)
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Here are a few extra things I’m doing this year ⤵
Trying to write one line every day—and when I can’t, I paint a line instead
Rolling out my mat for longer yoga sessions (here’s the app I use)
Reviewing the 20+ blog posts I published this summer to see if there’s anything I want to build on when the muse returns
Diving into a new creative community called The Studio to get inspired and challenged by other creative souls
Reading a few creativity-boosting books with my half-homeschooling high schooler who happens to be starting his own big creative writing project this semester ⤵
If you’re in a creativity slump right now, I hope something here helps fill your creativity tank this morning. And if it doesn’t, I hope you know that’s okay, too.
Your creativity will return soon. It might happen slowly, but it will happen. You can count on it.
And if you’re looking for a boost in the form of a women’s retreat this fall, I’d love to have you here with me next month. We have a few spots left and registration ends soon— details here.
💛
Sending you creative vibes galore,
Celeste