Have you ever noticed that like many things in life, creativity often seems to ebb and flow in the hustle and bustle of life? Some days, the creative energy flows and putting the words down on paper—or putting the paint on canvas—can’t happen fast enough. Then other days, the well is dry and all you have to show for a days work is an empty page or canvas.
Publishing is no different.
For everything in life, there is a season … There is a time to write, paint, create music (insert your craft) and a time to slow down—to ponder and let the ideas simmer for awhile. Or, even worse, the times when ideas just stop coming.
As a creator, I dread those days (or weeks or months!) when the well of inspiration simply runs dry. The ideas feel old or lack their once shiny luster of attraction. The words don’t come. Forcing them leads to frustration or even anger.
You know the days. Imposter syndrome takes control and you feel like you will ever write, draw, or compose ever again. You curse, throw your pen or paintbrush across the room and swear you are done with it and start searching for jobs as an accountant. (Stop! Don’t do anything drastic now. Take a deep breath. Pause. Stick with me here.)
But if you’ve survived as a creator for any length of time, you also know that those feelings of self-doubt are temporary. A few days, months, or maybe even years pass and a sparkling new idea tickles our inspiration and our imagination begins to gush. We can’t write, paint, or design fast enough to keep up with the flow. We create until late into the night. we miss sleep, commitments, and any sense of time or place. Go. Go! GO! How could we ever have doubted yourself?
If you’ve survived as a creator for any length of time, you know that those feelings of self-doubt are temporary.
The problem is … you also know that those euphoric rushes of creativity can also be temporary—and, to be honest, they can be quite rare, especially for those of us who create professionally. But creativity still ebbs and flows. On some days, we’re in the moment with our main character, following them step by step into the unknown. And other days, we’re tirelessly editing commas and rewriting sentences because nothing new is standing at the door and we have a deadline to meet.
That’s okay. During a particularly dry period in my creative life, a friend of mine gave me some great advice. On days you can’t write, simply do life. Then you will have material to write about later.
You know, she was right. The experiences I had during the times when I couldn’t write were invaluable when I sat down and started to create. My well was full and that was because I had lived experiences to draw on—I had traveled internationally with my job, seen new cultures, and created relationships that gave me a global perspective that I didn’t previously had. Even though it wasn’t writing, my time away—what I now consider as “creative rest”—actually fueled my creative life.
Lately, I’ve entered into a strange new season—one that I never saw coming. When my first book came out, I struggled with long-COVID, which drained my physical, mental, and creative energy. I did what I could to market the book but constantly felt that it was never enough. As I’m preparing for my second book launch, I find myself in the same situation—but this time as a caregiver for my husband.
On the one hand, my creative well is dry. I struggle to turn my ideas into words. Inspiration feels so far, far away. I’ve been in those seasons before, so that’s nothing new. I know the creativity will return when my personal life and health slow down a bit. I still fight imposter syndrome, but I also recognize this is a temporary season of life.
What’s strange is that it is also a season where my work has become public. With one book out and another on the way, I also signed a contract for a third book. Several times, people have congratulated me and commented that my “writing” is going very well right now.
Really? In my mind, I was struggling through a dry season. But others saw my creative life flourishing—even though everything coming out now had been written years ago—long before I got COVID and my husband’s diagnosis.
In my mind, I was struggling through a dry season, but others saw my creative life flourishing—even though everything come out now has been written years ago.
It’s a strange hybrid between the two worlds that I’m still getting used to. I still can’t write—at the moment. But I’m able to focus on marketing between visits to doctors and family emergencies. Even though I’m not writing, I’m still able to see those creative projects through to completion on the other side of publishing. Will it be enough? I hope so.
So in addition to experiencing seasons of simmering inspiration and creative flows, I’m now adding a season of “creative harvest” to my publishing cycle. It doesn’t leave me much time or energy left to write, but it takes a different form of creativity. And, it’s an important part of the process. The seeds of inspiration were planted and then tended and cared for (writing and editing). Harvesting the result is hard work, too.
For the moment, I’m okay with NOT creating—in the traditional sense. I’m gaining new experiences that will inform those creative juices when the flood gates open again. The cycle continues. It’s all part of the publishing journey.
Happy creating—wherever you are in the process!
CAROLYN BENNETT FRAISER is the author of several educational books for children including MOON TREE (2022), M IS FOR MASON JAR (2025), and FIRE SEEDS (coming in 2028). Connect with her on social media @CarolynBFraiser or visit her website at CarolynBFraiser.com.
ABOUT THE BOOK: Children are an essential part of any homestead. From canning creamed corn and cucumbers to scattering seeds in the soil, explore a fun modern-day homesteading activity for every letter of the alphabet, just for young homesteaders. With alliterative text, M Is for Mason Jar is a mix of nostalgia and modernism. Whether in the country or the city, the time-honored practices of the homestead will encourage kids to be more self-reliant and to be thankful for the bounty of the earth and the work of their hands. Includes one page of backmatter to help kids get involved in homesteading activities.
PRE-ORDER M IS FOR MASON JAR (releasing August 12th) through your local independent bookstore. Or, support my local bookstore, Highland Books (of an autographed copy, write SIGNED COPY in the comment field on your pre-order).
CAROLYN BENNETT FRAISER 