Learning to Listen to Your Creative Voice

By Caroline Donahue — THE BOOK DOCTOR

Writing projects often begin as murmurs. An idea tugging at your sleeve, hoping you’ll listen to what it has to say.

All the novel ideas that have come to me have arrived quietly, most often in the middle of doing something else. On a walking tour, or reading a newspaper article on a Sunday morning, or in bed with a book late at night.

We expect new ideas to come in with a marching band and confetti. We want the clarity and confidence that accompanies the opening of a stadium, or the roar of the crowd watching the World Cup.

Students and clients are always asking me how they know they have a good idea — one that’s worth writing a whole book about. They want to know that the idea is viable in advance. They measure its worth by the intensity with which it presents itself.

In my experience, it doesn’t happen this way. Things that roar at you are often the least trustworthy sources for input.

The critic roars.

“How dare you think you can write about this?”

We hope for the roar of an applauding crowd when our book finally comes out. I’ve learned that the pull of the roar is something we must disengage from.