Awe-cerpts Continued... The Rules of Creative Liberation

By Jill Badonsky

In a continuing, yet non-linear, sharing of Awe-manac excerpts that did not make it into the book because it was getting too darn big, the next two columns are Rules of Creative Liberation. See if any energize your body… use your intuition for Pete's sake. (Who's Pete?)

Aha-phrodisiac Rules

These are rules to further liberate creative expression:

1. There are no rules except the ones you make as you go along. Make them fun rules. Fun begets commitment.


2. Practice staying in creative motion. Motion begets motion. Practice begets skill. Hesitation begets disillusionment, succumbing to distractions begets frustration and dying with your music still inside of you. Begetting begets saying dramatic things like "dying with your music still inside of you," put the drama on the page or into your art.


3. Practice thinking new thoughts that serve you better than ruthless self-criticism 15 seconds at a time. Expecting that new thoughts take hold 100% of the time after you learn them is a set up for backsliding.


4. Just keep creating because in the flow you will surprise yourself with an inventiveness you didn't realize was there when you were not DOING anything except maybe reading books about writing or creativity. Just put yourself IN THE PROCESS, for the sake of everyone who knows you including — you.


5. Ignore your inner critic, thank it for sharing then send it letter of eviction. The inner critic can be reinstated further down the process when editing and elimination are needed. When I am writing a book I edit out mistakes as I go along, otherwise I feel like I'm dragging some toilet paper on my shoe after coming out of the ladies room. When I do Awe-manac prompts I leave the toilet paper on the shoe and add some gum and a pink sticky note… just keep plowing through with no attention to what the good or the bad, that way you will forge into new places and new brands of toilet paper. Allow yourself to be imperfect.


6. Do not control, judge or negatively snort at yourself while writing or creating.


7. Thinking is not really recommended either.


8. Easier said, so if you find you are judging and thinking too much, be defiant and keep going. Defiance is a creativity begetter. (See # 2 and 5)


9. Read again and again and again (and again) as needed.

Next: Rules of Creative Liberation ~ Part II »

Copyright © Jill Badonsky, 2009. All rights reserved.

Jill Badonsky is a creativity coaching pioneer, inspirational humorist, artist, and founder of Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching™. Her latest book is The Muse is IN: An Owner’s Manual to Your Creativity. More »

Updated 12/18/13