Sometimes you’ve got to let something go to get to the good stuff

Fosterverse Weekly #29

Nov 19, 2024

Cross-post from CoAuthored

Hi there! I know, I know, it's been awhile since you've heard from me. Most weeks, I've been writing this short weekly newsletter for Foster, the writing collective I'm involved with. In this latest one, I provide a peek into what's been going on with my creative writing life lately. I hope it resonates and helps you in some way. I'll be back in your inbox with an original piece (or two) in the coming weeks. Until then, I hope you're having a lovely Fall. Lyle -

Lyle McKeany

Hey Writers!

When I started writing my newsletter over four years ago, I published an original piece nearly every week for the better part of the first three years. You’d think with that many words flowing out of me I’d have a well of writing ideas behind it that was overflowing too.

But ideas are fleeting. Unless you capture them somewhere, they tend to leave almost as quickly as they come. This is why I always say that the best notetaking device you can use is whatever’s closest to you when inspiration strikes.

There’s another problem with ideas, though: they become stale. And to complicate matters, it’s as if they have those confusing “best if used by” dates stamped on them in invisible ink. You never know exactly when they’ll go from feeling like crispy tortilla chips straight out of a freshly opened bag to feeling like tough triangles that taste like cardboard.

Most of my pieces tend to start with a title idea. Something pops in my head randomly, and I jot it down somewhere.

Lately, those writing ideas have struggled to gain enough inertia to make it to full-fledged published pieces. I’ve found myself forcing the issue and trying to massage and twist the material to work with the title ideas I liked. Eventually, it starts to feel more like a chore to—attempt to—write about them. And so I let them go for the time being. Maybe they’re meant for some other writer to grapple with in their own unique way instead. Ideas have a way of doing that.

As Rick Rubin wrote in his book (which I highly recommend for anyone doing creative work) The Creative Act:

“If you have an idea you’re excited about and you don’t bring it to life, it’s not uncommon for the idea to find its voice through another maker. This isn’t because the other artist stole your idea, but because the idea’s time has come.”

I trust that my best work will emerge if I keep showing up to the page. Because it always has in the past.

How do you manage your flow of ideas?