The Fall Season of your Creative Process

I just got back from a weekend writing retreat with Allison my co-author and friend. We are writing a book about how to navigate changes in your life by using the natural seasons of creativity. We stayed at a cottage right on the water and walked through the woods on our breaks. Seeing all the changes happening in the natural world during this season of Fall really moved me. Coming back to the cabin and writing about these seasons made it even more impactful.

Since we are always creating and growing, I love using this metaphor of the seasons to describe the four stages of the creative cycle. I call it the Flow Method of Creativity and it's how I teach you to find flow in more areas of your life and creative work. No matter what you are creating in your art or what you are manifesting in your life, these four stages are at play.

What creative project are you working on at the moment? I am in the Winter season of my creative process because I just wrapped up several projects and I am now resting and finding inspiration for what will come next. If you are at the end of a project, you are in the Fall Season and you are workin' it!  When we are in the Winter and Spring seasons of our process, we may feel guilty because these times don't FEEL as typically 'productive', they are more about rest, inspiration, and play. But if we are in the Fall, we are at our most productive.

We think of Fall as the season of producing and sharing. If you are in this season congratulations! You have nurtured your seed of an idea all the way through Winter, Spring, and Summer. Fall is when you will be reaping the benefits of everything you have so patiently planted and nurtured throughout the creative cycle. Most times, this requires a lot of focus, motivation, and determination in order to reach the end. You may be critiquing and finalizing your work, thinking about how to show it or share it and you may have to make some hard decisions like saying no to things that don't serve you.

This is the time for the big reveal. It takes a lot of courage for artists, including me, to share our artwork, to put it into the world. You may have to take some big leaps of faith to find a place to have a show, send out emails to your potential customers, or share on social media. But this is what you’ve prepared for, you've got this!

One thing to remember is that fall is also a time of celebration. The farmer doesn't usually keep their crop all themselves. They share it with their community. It is a gift. Your art is a gift to your community as well. Remember to take some time to connect with others and celebrate yourself for all of the love and dedication you put into your art. Receive the praise and admiration from others that you so deserve.

What to do in your Creative Fall:
Ask yourself...

• What fears keep you from finishing or sharing your work? Do some inner work and talk to a friend or coach to move through these.

• What steps is your intuition asking you to take in order to share your work? Take a small step toward that goal.

• Be proud of bringing your unique creation into this world! Find a way to have a harvest celebration to reward yourself for all the work you’ve put into your goal.