excerpted from Story Is a State of Mind: Writing and the Art of Creative Curiosity by Sarah Selecky
Peace
Creative curiosity emerges from a sense of peace and calm. You can practise recognizing and finding this state as part of your writing practice.
Research in psychology and neuroscience has shown us that creativity may be impossible to access when we are anxious. We cannot be both creative and anxious at once. Which means that when you learn how to calm your nervous system, it becomes possible for you to write creatively, generate new ideas, and use your imagination to its full potential.
Anxiety can spike when we anticipate future concerns. Simply not knowing what will happen next can trigger our anxiety. Interestingly, this same state of not knowing is where our most engaging writing often emerges: when you feel surprised by yourself, perhaps laughing out loud as you write an unexpected piece of dialogue.
How do you remain calm when you don’t know what will happen next? The antidote to anxiety is presence: be here now.
That’s easier said than done—anxious thinking is an unconscious behavioural pattern. It’s hard to stop the anxiety cycle once it starts, kind of like the continual desire for the next crunchy hit of sodium that comes with eating salty snacks. Each anxious thought can bring up another anxious thought, until you’re thinking a new anxious thought every few seconds, causing your body to respond with shallow breathing, muscle tension, or nausea.
You can interrupt this unconscious thought pattern by noticing the things your body can see, hear, smell, feel, or taste. In other words, use your writing practice to help you become aware of where you are right now. A list works well: write down fifteen concrete details that are here with you in the present moment.
A deep part of you is always unconsciously aware of the present moment. This part of yourself notices the qualities of things as they are right now and understands sensations of texture, sound, scent, taste, and colour. When you bring this part of yourself into your conscious awareness, you can find peace. Become a witness to your own five senses and watch your anxiety subside.
From a sense of peace, your creative curiosity can emerge. Creative curiosity loves to make something out of nothing. It tracks signals and clues, connects thoughts and ideas, and finds patterns in systems. Its gaze is neutral—it observes without judgment, simply noticing what is, without labelling it as good or bad. It sees the question “What will happen next?” as an adventure full of endless possibility. But before it can start creating, you need to find a sense of peace, even if it’s only briefly. Here’s how.
Practice
This practice helps you interrupt your anxious thought cycle and allows your creative curiosity to emerge. It takes less than five minutes.
Find a space to sit with your writing notebook and pen.
Start by noticing a few sensory details around you. Direct your attention to things your body can see, hear, smell, feel, and taste. Write down:
- five colours you see right now
- four sounds you hear right now
- three textures you can feel with your skin right now
- two smells you can sense right now
- one thing you can taste right now
Once you cycle through all five senses, pause to notice your state. You should already feel more grounded and present. That’s because your body and mind are working together, showing you where you are. You aren’t in the future or in the past. You’re here right now.
Reflect on the change you notice, to help deepen and anchor that sense of calm.
If you’re interested in more writing on writing, check out Story Is a State of Mind, either here on our website, or through your local library or bookstore.
