Conversations with Calliope- The Creative Heart

(Cellar Window)

You cannot find your soul with your mind, you must use your heart.~Gary Zukav

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What are you thinking about today?
JOE: I'm thinking about thinking and its limitations. I ran across the above quote by Gary Zukav and realized the limitation of thinking in the creative process.
CALLIOPE: Please elaborate.
JOE: I'd be glad to. Sometimes when I am ready to write I rack my mind for ideas and thoughts. Sometimes nothing emerges.
CALLIOPE: Then what do you do?
JOE: Turn off my mind and seek experiences, one of which will often inspire me to write something.
CALLIOPE: How well does that work?
JOE: I'm happy with it. I often find better topics through unexpected experiences than I do by trying to force my mind to think about something.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like serendipity.
JOE: It certainly does. Even the word serendipity conveys a sense of peaceful play.
CALLIOPE: So you enjoy wandering?
JOE: I do. I like the feeling of meandering with no particular goal and no pressure.
CALLIOPE: More people should try it.
JOE: I agree. Talk with you on Monday.

Conversations with Calliope

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are how this morning?
JOE: Excited.
CALLIOPE: How so?
JOE: As you know I have been wrestling with creativity, my value, and other related anxieties.
CALLIOPE: I heard. Have you reached any conclusions?
JOE: I have decided to follow Guy Finley's advice and stop worrying about what I am missing and focus more on what I do have to offer as I am right now.
CALLIOPE: You said as much yesterday. How did you spend the rest of the day?
JOE: I finished my painting of the Block Island Lighthouse and was quite pleased with my ability to remain patient, completing it over the course of a week or so. I also spent some time yesterday looking up sites where teens posted to get a better sense of how they write and how I could write to appeal to them.
CALLIOPE: Any great discoveries?
JOE: Not yesterday. I found quite a few sites and noted them for future reference. I think they will be helpful in regaining my "teen voice."
CALLIOPE: Is that what made you excited?
JOE: No. I still had many of the questions which have been in my mind about how to obtain teen writing for my book and how to get permission to use it without alienating teens. This morning as
I reviewed some of what I had discovered, I realized that there was already a wealth of teen writing available on the Internet. All I have to do is to distill what would be useful for my book and obtain teens' permission to use their writing.
CALLIOPE: It sounds like there is still quite a bit of work to do but now it seems more possible.
JOE: Exactly. I am looking forward to the challenge and adventure. Talk with you tomorrow.
(Charlotte Beach- Rochester, NY)

Serendipity

Recently I asked for feedback from some other writers about my novel manuscript. In the past, I felt I had to either accept or reject criticisms and suggestions. I have recently learned that I don't have to take everything at face value. Sometimes a comment with send my thinking on a tangent and I will realize something I could change which is only hinted at by the comment. It was a reminder to me that my thinking does not always move in a linear direction. Sometimes it can be prompted to move off in a way I never expected. What an interesting journey!

(Mayan road- Cozumel)