When learning to pay attention to our instincts, we are learning to trust ourselves, to trust how much we already know is enough to see us through. If we don’t know something, it’s about learning to trust ourselves that we can learn anything we need to. It’s trusting the form of our creativity. It’s trusting our unique writing processes. It’s trusting the muse.
We hear a lot about the gut. Usually, it’s when we’re discussing our microbiome and physical health, and while I could talk fermented foods and digestion all day, that’s not the kind of gut we’re focusing on here.
You might call it intuition. Or wisdom. Gut reaction, or gut instinct.
It’s that feeling of knowing when something is right or wrong, if you’re on the right path, making the right moves, looking at the right angles.
Our creative guts tell us that we’re working on the right (or wrong) thing, and making the right (or wrong) creative choices that will serve us in the most valuable ways.
Some years ago, I gave up on a difficult novel project I’d already done a tremendous amount of work on. It felt great in the moment to let it go, and I rationalized it to myself for days. But in those days I also wept a lot and fought with my family. I was always irritable. When I realized that the anger and discomfort I was feeling was a gut response to giving up on the book, I got back to work and that feeling evaporated. That project was A Maze of Murder, book one in the seven book Witch Against Wicked series. My most successful book to date.
Our guts tell us everything we need to know, and what’s more, our gut knows it before our brains do.
How do you know if your gut is trying to tell you something?
Is something not sitting right in your life right now?
Does something feel off? About a writing project specifically, or just a general malaise?
Are you deliberating on something
Unsure on which direction to take a project, be that in the actual story itself or the wider market sense
Do a gut check.
Take some time to sit with yourself. A journal works well for this, even if it’s just a one-off journalling session.
What are the thoughts running around in your head? Are you always trying to rationalize something? Are you pushing in one direction over another because it’s what you’re “supposed” to do rather than what you want to do?
Do a gut check.
Are you looking for external advice? Where are you looking for information?
Often when we seek advice on something, we’re asking for people to tell us what we already know. This is happening more and more since we’ve been getting information and advice from Internet sources.
We develop loyalty to sources that already match our worldviews, that reinforce what we already believe to be true. Maybe that’s because we’ve already got our own answers. We just need more practice in listening to ourselves, or more faith in ourselves, a trust that we already know what’s best for us and our work.
When learning to pay attention to our instincts, we are learning to trust ourselves, to trust how much we already know is enough to see us through. If we don’t know something, it’s about learning to trust ourselves that we can learn anything we need to. It’s trusting the form of our creativity. It’s trusting our unique writing processes. It’s trusting the muse.
What’s your gut telling you now?
