Hello,

It is hard to sit down and write. So many things arise within me: Is this a productive use of my time? What about all those other things on my to-do list? Am I being neglectful of my other commitments as I sit here and play with slowness and gentleness in mind?

Then ‘you’ arrive… the audience. Suddenly you’re here while I write and it does make writing harder. Suddenly I have an intention to please, write something good, catchy… my body tenses in response.

And then there’s the question of what to prioritize amongst all of the possible paths available for my creativity. I have a lot of ideas I could nurture and choosing can be a challenge. Or maybe it’s appropriate to put down those old projects for awhile and cease revisiting (revisiting is my word for editing) the same piece over and over again. Even though I do still enjoy that process, maybe I could choose instead to make something entirely new out of who I am now. That feels even scarier and harder.

I’m also thinking about how making space for creativity can feel so hard, because that relationship hasn’t been nurtured.

The other night I had a dream where my creativity and my business were represented by two different relationships.

In the dream, it was obvious to me that regardless of what I told myself, in this season of my life, I have been choosing the relationship I have with my business, and neglecting the relationship I have with my creativity as a result. I could twist and wind around the truth, but this is what was happening. It was a hard thing to acknowledge, but it led me to a series of questions…

What kind of lover is my business?
What kind of lover is my creativity?

Am I happy with this choice?

Well, my business is sometimes needy. It wants all of my attention all of the time, and when I place my attention elsewhere… it can get a little jealous. What are you looking at? Spend time on me! It also occurred to me that I haven’t always been great at listening to the needs of my business, and have often told it what it likes and needs in a forceful way. Maybe nurturing my relationship with my business isn’t about control, but conversation.

When it comes to my relationship to my creativity, oh boy is my creativity patient. But she is also pretty secure. She knows she has a lot to offer me. She knows that when we spend time together, I leave feeling refreshed, focused, enlivened. She has nothing to prove… but she is getting a little bored waiting for me. A little antsy. A little impatient.

I’m not happy with this choice. So I’m listening, acknowledging that many barriers exist within me to making space for creativity: the desire to please, uncertainty about where to direct my energy, the need to use my time wisely, and the challenge (and associated discomfort) of saying no to other demands on my attention.

There's one more barrier: A persistent gnawing sense of being behind.

I decided to write about this fear in my journal this morning. I ended up writing these words: “I’m behind and therefore I am inadequate.” Ugh. What an uncomfortable feeling. I sense this feeling like a jungle of tightly woven vines in my forehead. This fear makes me feel like I need to catch up, get everything done before I can relax, before I can play, before I can sit down to write.

This morning, I sat with this fear… and then tried an exercise that I recently discovered while listening to this podcast with coach Martha Beck:

The exercise involves finding the opposite of your fear. That opposite will highlight a different way you might see the world.

Okay, well the direct opposite to this fear is, ‘I am on time and therefore worthy’… but no… that doesn’t make me feel good either. I wanted something that embodied a completely different world view. Something that, when I read it out loud, caused my shoulders to soften and the jungle in my forehead to loosen into a hammock I could lay back in as I enjoyed this moment. I wanted something that when I read it, made me say to myself, ‘Yes. Yes. And therefore, I will make space for my creativity.’

I ended up writing this:

If this resonates with you, please use it. Write it on a piece of paper and put it next to your desk. Or write one of your own that speaks more directly to your experience and that gives you the permission you need to write.

In sharing all of this I have an offer for you:
If you'd like support creating space for your creativity, I’d love to invite you to the free intro to my 10-week Develop a Writing Ritual program happening this week.

Details: Wednesday, April 16th from 4:00–5:15pm PT. Online. Register here.

During the intro, you’ll be offered space to reflect on why developing a writing ritual is important to you, and then we’ll explore a guided writing practice together where you can dedicate meaningful space to a creative project of your choice.

The program will be starting on Wednesday, April 23rd and is open to 10 participants so that I can be present and receptive to needs of everyone who is participating.

Here's a short summary of the series:

In week 1, we'll start by meeting one another, clarifying the purpose of the group, and you'll set a goal/intention for the program that feels nourishing and possible without unneeded strain or over-working. Our intention is to nourish our relationship to our creativity, not burden it.

In weeks 2-9, you'll be supported to make space to write every week with a guided, group writing practice that includes breath, freewriting (you'll craft your own questions with my support), and 45 minutes of uninterrupted space to dedicate to your creativity. Cameras on or off—your choice.

In week 10, we'll debrief with one another. How did it go? How has your creative project developed? In this final session, you'll write a letter to your future self sharing what you've learned. I'll mail you that letter in December 2025.

Learn more about this program here. Early bird discount available until April 17th.

If you’re curious what else is on the go, here’s what I’m excited about this month…

Imposter Syndrome: Panel Talks

I'm proud to be one of the panelists at this event, discussing imposter syndrome with five different business owners and artists. The host of this panel is Josh Green, who delivered an outstanding TEDx talk on Imposter syndrome last year (it’s really worth a listen).

‘My Inside Voice’ by Lea Chambers
One of my students has published her first book!

Lea Chambers registered for the very first writing workshop I ever taught back in 2020, and then she kept coming back. Again. And again. Each time, I could see her growing as a poet and coming into her own.

When she completed the manuscript for her first book of poetry, I was honoured to be asked to be one of her BETA readers. Now, it is with great pleasure that I share her book with you.

I’ll let Lea speak for herself: “She is stepping into the body / that was always t(here). Hers.”

UPCOMING CLASSES

Develop a Writing Ritual
10-week program

When: Wednesdays, April 23rd – June 25th from 4-5:15pm PDT (10 weeks)
Where: Online, Over Zoom
Cost: $225 CAD + GST (early bird discount available until April 17th).
*10 spots max

Workshop description:

Join the free intro on Wednesday, April 16th at 4pm —> Register

This group is a weekly invitation to: lay on your floor and write poetry, get carried away on the adventure you’re writing about in your novel, dedicate space and attention to your memoir, sit with your journal and reflect on your experience of the world and of yourself, or to engage with whatever form of creativity is aching for expression within you. 

Testimonials

Please note: the quote in the header of this email is from the book ‘The Creative Habit’ by Twyla Tharp.

Questions or comments about anything in this email? Send an email to [email protected] . I’d love to hear from you.

with thanks,
Christine Bissonnette

P.S — Know someone who would enjoy receiving this email? Pass it along! 9 Creative Lives Studio is a small business run just by me (Christine Bissonnette). Your support and referrals make a big difference.