Kindling the Creative Spark In June
Reflections from Beth Kempton, Susan Tweit and more PLUS an invitation to join me online
In our writing lives, we’re often pushing up against the idea of a “spark.”
But what does it feel like? Where does a creative spark land when we think about working with our intuition? How can we know when a spark has shown up? And what do we do when that spark needs a little kindling?
When I find myself wrestling with an inner spark conundrum, I do one of two things: I step into the natural world or I turn to people who are a bit further down the road in writing or publishing than I am.
Today’s essay is looking at how five writers related to creative sparks in their interviews in our Cave of the Heart series.
And it’s an invitation to join me at the Content Spark Summit later this month (June 27!) for my conversation with
: “From Gut to Great: An Editor’s Advice on Writing With Instinct.”Here’s a little preview of our conversation
The Content Spark Summit is free to join on the event day, but you’ll need to register for the event here. 1
What other writers have to say about creative sparks
Beth Kempton
What I have come to see over the years though, is that I have often been carrying the essence of the idea before I recognise it as an “idea” – as if I know before I know. My notebooks are full of evidence of this. When I was writing The Way of the Fearless Writer, I had cause to go back through more than 120 of my journals stretching back to my teens, and I found references to the terms wabi sabi and kokoro from entries several years before I realised those were the titles of books I would one day write.
Once I have acknowledged an idea, and sensed a deep pull towards it, I make notes of all the connections and related signs I notice, which come thick and fast once I start looking. I often see certain motifs everywhere.
Read more of
’s interview here.Michelle Spencer
“... I try to follow the little pinpricks of curiosity, little flickers like the sun glinting on something shiny in the grass. Nothing is ever wasted, whether it becomes a published piece or not.
Sometimes it’s a flicker of frustration, when it's almost a mild revulsion, a feeling of “Does anybody even want to think about that?” Earlier in my life I was scared off by that mild revulsion, but now it's almost a green flag. Oooh! You don't want to think about that? How interesting? Tell me more... I follow those carefully, gentle with myself.”
Read more of
’s interview here.Ramona Grigg
I love the idea of a creative spark. I’m lucky enough to feel it now and then, and I cherish it when it happens. So I guess I’d have to assume that every writer who sees our craft as some sort of artistry must feel it, too. We have lusty imaginations; we tend to have addictive personalities—why else would we keep this lovable, hateful writing thing going?—and we need outlets. Something has to happen in order to satisfy our needs, and that “spark” has to happen often enough for us to want to keep striving for it. We need a lift, a boost, a “hit,” and it comes when we write something so good it causes our wobbly egos to feel shivers of delight. We absolutely have to have that in order to sustain this way of life. Something good has to happen often enough to feed us and get us through yet another bout of anxiety.
Read more from
’s interview here.Susan Tweit
I literally hear [the idea, the spark] in my head. And sometimes I will just “free write” by talking into the voice memos app on my phone to capture the idea, and then later listen and transcribe it to the (virtual) page. Ideas usually go right into my daily journal, which I open first thing after yoga and my 2.5-mile walk every morning. It’s my place to just write about what’s happening in my life—vent, whine, or celebrate, or just note the full moon, which wildflowers are blooming or birds I see or hear. My journal is my personal writing, not something I would ever share, but it’s important as part of my creative incubation process.
Read more from
’s interview here.River Selby
“I think what’s so special to me about writing is that anything can be an experience or object of wonder and awe as long as the writer is bringing their whole self to the idea or “creative spark.” Being confident in one’s unique way of seeing things goes a long way, I think, no matter the subject or idea. And we all have the ability, in my opinion, to create new worlds or ideas of worlds, if we can release our ideas of what is possible or impossible.”
Read more from
’s interview here.How’s your creative spark right now?
What unique rituals or habits do you have for capturing and developing new ideas?
How do you balance the instinctive and analytical aspects of your writing process?
This is also my first time to speak at an online learning event — as an autistic person, this kind of visibility means a lot to me. I’ll be sharing later this month about my experience of being invited, wrestling with self doubt, advocating for myself and how I prepared for an interview that will be included with so many esteemed voices,
and among them, on Substack. See the lineup of fellow speakers here.
Looking forward to it all Amanda!!
I was feeling a deep and intense lull in my creative spark. More doubt than anything at risk of sparking 🫠 but, as it always does, that faded and now the spark feels present. My experience is a lot of what’s been reflected here-following natural rhythms (sometimes it’s simply hormonal for me), listening when the spark arrives and trusting it will come back when it’s ready.