Creativity Needs Time

OK, here I go again with the writer’s perfect gift. It is, this year, every year, forever and always, simply time. I wrote about it a couple of years ago, and I still cannot stress enough how absolutely true it is. But last time I suggested we ask for time from others. This time, I’m talking about giving it to ourselves.

I found this terrific little video that demonstrates this message more perfectly than I can:

Creativity requires time to muddle, time to mull, time to take root, time to grow, time to bloom. As much as we all want the satisfaction of results, those results can only be realized to their fullest with playful exploration and patience. A deadline might pressure us to complete the task. But the result might well be shoddy, a rough sketch (as in the video). Let go of the deadline to usher in the nurturing, creative mind-space that will bring forth our best work.

This season, and always, give your work the gift of time. To write. To play. And yes, eventually, to finish.

About Judith

Judith Lindbergh's latest novel, Pasture of Heaven, is about a nomad woman warrior on the Central Asian steppes in the 5th century BCE. (And there really were!) Her first novel, The Thrall's Tale, is a literary historical novel about three women in the first Viking Age settlement in 10th century Greenland. The Thrall's Tale was a Booksense Pick and a Borders Original Voices selection. Judith is also the founder and director of The Writers Circle, a creative writing program offering workshops for children and adults.

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