How To Get There

You sit down and you face a blank page and you ask yourself, “What story shall I tell today?” On this day an idea comes quickly, and so you start writing, though you don’t really know where the story’s going. You’re writing to find out where it’s going, and with every scene, every sentence, with every single word you learn more about that story and its destination than you knew when you started it. You write with the goal that however long it takes you to finish, by the end you will have a sense of surprise and discovery, maybe even wondering, “How did I get here?”

It’s a familiar question, because if you’re like me you sometimes look at your life and wonder, “How did I get here?” Not all of it, but some of it, parts of it anyway, the parts you don’t like but are in your life just the same – the job, the relationship, the obligation, the car you drive or the house you live in. You didn’t create that, did you? Why would you create a thing you didn’t want? Yet there it is, in your life the same as all the things you do want.

I have met people who believe they aren’t creative. They’ll say as much, confessing, “Oh, I’m not one of those creative people.” I know they mean artists or entrepreneurs, but the truth is that of course they’re creative. Not only is every single person on earth creative, is creating something with every thought and action, but every single moment is creative. It never stops. It doesn’t stop even when I want it to stop. If I’m alive, if I’m breathing and thinking, I’m creating.

All those moments like all those words lead me somewhere. When I write, I care about each word, and it’s the caring more than what we call craft that leads me somewhere that is as pleasing as it is surprising. It seems impossible, I know, to care about every moment as we care about every word, but it’s not. When I’ve written an ending that satisfies me, it’s specifics are surprising, but it’s feeling is not. It’s the feeling that led me, the feeling I chose, the feeling I desired, the feeling that is the only thing I’ve ever truly cared about.

If you like the ideas and perspectives expressed here, feel free to contact me about individual coaching and group workshops.

Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write With Confidence.
You can find William at: williamkenower.com