Shifting to Craft (Non-Fiction, Writing)

MOAB, Utah - 2019.

Before the outbreak of COVID-19, I was working on many different projects. We were covering the Portland International Film Festival right in the middle of the outbreak; I was working on three different writing projects in various stages of submission; and was trying to build some background ideas for sound art pieces, which was a newer interest. Productivity was high and the projects were exciting. It started to feel like things were getting done.

I tend to be a high producer - meaning I work on a lot of projects and get a lot of stuff done. This does not mean it is all quality. A lot of it isn’t. But with writing and new skills, it takes me a lot of practice and error to get something decent. But as long as things are moving, things are good.

But then everything stopped and, in Portland at least, we were faced with a weird limbo. Because Portland didn’t have a big initial spike, the roll out of governmental regulations and information was slow to hit everyone. At my day job, for example, masks were not required until July, which seems criminally late now. Most people shifted to working from home, but a lot of us were left to keep the job going at the facility.

Work got busy, but creativity took a big hit. I kept creative projects for evenings and weekends, so by Monday I would feel like I did something worthwhile. It felt good to have things on the calendar.

For the first few months, I didn’t know how to get back to being productive outside of my day job. I worked longer hours and on weekends, because there were things to do - accomplishments. Tasks to cross off a list.

But over and over again, it came back to: What do I do if I can’t create anymore?

In 2020, my main focus has been learning how to write fiction: submitting stories to magazines, looking for publication, building a portfolio so when the next submission period comes around, I will be ready. Some real progress was being made, but most of all I felt creative. I felt like I was able to sit down and bust out words. Night after night, sometimes.

But suddenly I could barely read fiction, let alone try to write it.

Fran Meneses, who is a Vlogger and illustrator I’ve been enjoying lately, said in one of her videos: “Creativity is like a plant, you have to water it.” In talking about the COVID-19 lockdown, she and her husband have been going through The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron to try to simulate the watering of their creative plants. They used to go to galleries and talk with other artists, but now they can’t, so they’ve turned to craft.

25th Anniversary Edition of “The Artists Way” by Julia Cameron

In late June, I started listening to The Story Grid Podcast, trying to find more information on story structure and The Hero’s Journey. Story Grid is an intensely analytical look at story structure, but the way it’s presented in The Story Grid Podcast is fascinating and funny. Shawn Coyne, the creator of Story Grid, took a new writer, co-host Tim Grahl, from idea to outline to first draft to editing (and ultimately to published work), through a series of episodes that dives deep into story craft and theory. It broke me open and I dove in. I ordered the book The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know and treated it like the proper textbook it is. I worked through it. I chose my masterwork to study. I took a week off from my day job to read more and go deeper.

“The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know” by Shawn Coyne

And creativity came back. I started to water the plant, and it slowly grew. I gave myself this blog space to write more and be on a schedule - to give myself permission to share. I started writing fiction again and, after some reworking and rewriting, submitted a radio play to a publication.

The anxiety about all of our current issues didn’t go away. I still worry about a lot of things. But I knew, if I didn’t take the time, I’d be even more unhappy later. So my advice to you if you aren’t feeling creative is: Get into the craft of your chosen art form. Do some learning and give yourself the space to not produce. Dive deep. Learn something you’ve been putting off because you were busy. Work the creative muscle until it starts to work itself again.

It is very likely we will be in lockdown for a long time. If you’re not feeling creative right now, that’s alright. I believe in you.

Let me know in the comments if you’d like to hear from other creators about how they’ve been getting back to their art. I’d love to do an interview series.