The courage of creativity

When the shell of a chambered nautilus is cut away, a nearly perfect spiral is revealed. Found in the tropics, this animal prefers to live in deep waters, beyond the slope of the coral reef. As it grows, it expands its living space, adding chambers.

Nautili have been around for hundreds of millions of years, well before the age of dinosaurs. For this reason, they are also known as living fossils.

When I create I feel like I travel through many chambers of a spiral shell, getting closer to the truth each time, the shell expanding as I grow.

If I had a writing mantra, it would be to write the truth. It’s borrowed from Robert McKee, inspired by an inscription he put in my book years ago when he signed it.

My recent poetry collection The Thing with Feathers was a journey into the centre of my story, a way of exploring different truths.

What does it mean to create with the truth?

I’ve learned that this doesn’t mean I need to bare my soul, sharing things that leave me feeling too open to the world. Through the speaker of a poem I can explore “a” truth. It may be mine or it may be a truth I’ve observed in someone else. This takes courage.

Intuition guides me. I often close my eyes while I’m writing, open to the direction my hands want to take, and let the poem determine its own focus and shape. The same thing happens for me in fiction and playwriting and painting. I close my eyes and listen, allowing my intuition to guide me. It’s about capturing the essence of what is true.

During the revision process I ask: What is this about? What do I want to say with this piece? And then I work back through it to strengthen the themes, clarify the truths, and sculpt the work into a finished product. Sometimes a poem looks very different when I finish, maybe even unrecognizable from the original notes.

Does intuition play a role in your creative process?

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

Pablo Picasso

In this video I explore truth through the lens of writing practice.

Make a list of what courage means to you.

 “Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.”
 Emma Donoghue, Room