Tapping Creativity

Your story is swirling around in your head like a washing machine and while you peer through the window, you wonder how on earth all those random thoughts can fit neatly into a book.  Now that my first load of laundry is complete and the clothes are neatly folded and on the shelves, allow me to share the writing process with you.

Creativity is a gift.  At times, it can be a curse if you don't understand it.  I'm left-handed, like my father.  When he was a kid, his teachers used persuasion techniques to convince him to write right-handed.  Dad was more stubborn than his teachers and refused to submit no matter how strong the punishment.  After all, being left-handed was once considered evil.  From that point on, dad became the black sheep of his family and the teacher's premonitions became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I'm sharing today's message from the perspective of being left-handed in a right-handed world.  Only ten percent of the population is left-handed.  That means the right side of the brain is dominant.  I think this gives me an advantage as a writer because my creative side is more developed than the left side of the brain.  Odds are you are right handed.  Please don't assume you lack creativity because your left brain is dominant.  You are born with two brain hemispheres and its up to you to stretch yourself to become the person you were created to be.

Just because you are born to do laundry doesn't mean you will be good at it the first time you load up the washing machine.  You need to learn about the process and keep the machine in good working order.  You will make errors as you tap your creativity.  Sometimes the clothes will come out the wrong size because you used hot water instead of cold.  Other times, when the laundry is mixed, you get the wrong color at the end of the cycle.

Timing is also important in writing.  I do one load of laundry every morning when I first wake up.  These blog stories are like piano scales, they are the warm ups for the concertos.  When I'm developing a chapter for my books, I have a place where I write down my thoughts for the chapter.  I close my eyes and visualize the different scenarios.  My book is written in three time zones, past, present and future.  This makes doing laundry difficult.  I have to picture the order of each load and sort it out.  My secret weapon is the Bible.  It's also written in 3D.  It has a past history and it's loaded with predictions about the future.  The New Testament is written in real time and shows us actual events as they were happening from four different points of view.

The way I do my laundry is just one way and it may not be the best way for you to do yours.  For me, tapping into to the left side of my brain does not come naturally.  I need to work hard on FOCUS.  A set time each day for the undisciplined mind helps me to get the laundry done.  That may be too rigid for you.  Maybe you need to do your laundry when you feel like doing it rather than organizing a set routine.  My advice for tapping creativity is to first determine what excites you to get out of bed and pursue and then pursue it with every ounce of energy you have.  Do your laundry every day and become an expert.  The world will smile and say, "look at those clothes.  I want to dress like that."

Remember, they never need to see your dirty laundry, only the finished product, the result of tapping your creativity.