The 7 Phases of the Creative Process

Last year when I was writing my book, for the first time I noticed that there were definite phases and peaks and troughs in the creative process. (I’ve written a full length book before – back in 2008, but you never seem to notice anything the first time around do you? Or you think it’s ‘just you’?) This time, for me, the phases were really obvious – perhaps I’m just more aware nowadays? And in all projects since last year I’ve noticed them too…and whenever someone else shares where they are (especially if they’re stuck!), I can see the phase they’re in.

So I wanted to share with you my 7 phases of a creative project in case it strikes a chord and helps another creative soul:

The ideas phase

This is when the ideas are tumbling over each other in an effort to get out all at once. You end up with more chapter headings than content…and sometimes those chapter headings make zero sense when you’re looking at them again 2 months later…You’ve just got to ride this phase, enjoy it, and try to ensure your frantic scribblings will make sense later. I usually scribble them on a piece of paper, then transfer them to an ideas doc in my computer and expand them a little, so I’ve got more to work with. Or not – one note I had for the Fall in Love With Life book just said “easy!”…I’ve no idea what I meant by that, so it’s not in the book.

Top tips for this phase: Let your ideas flow. Don’t judge them yet, and note down your ideas with enough detail to recall the full idea in 3 months time when you’re working it into something readable!

The flow phase

Everyone’s favourite phase – when the writing is sooooo easy, and chapter after chapter gets written with joy and ease and you’re in love with your creative project and the process of writing. Make the most of this phase – it’s my absolute favourite phase, and the one I’d stay in all the time if I could. If you can, arrange your calendar so that you can take full advantage of the flow phase – move anything that can be moved so you can just outpour your creative joy.

Top tip for this phase: Make the time to enjoy this phase as much as possible.

The ebb phase

This is a natural response to the flow phase. It doesn’t mean you’re blocked, or that you’ve dried up, or that you’re procrastinating, or that flow will never return. It just means it’s time to step back and take a breath. Give your brain a rest, take care of yourself, do some of the other tasks that have been piling up while you’ve been diving headfirst into your creative project. The ebb will end, so pay attention and notice when they flow returns. I usually find it returns too slowly (to my mind), so I’m trying to rush the ebb. This is like trying to stop the tide going out – pointless, exhausting, and it actually seems to make the ebb last longer.

Top tip for this phase: Roll with the ebb – flow returns more quickly if you embrace the ebb instead of fighting it! Use the ebb time to mull and ponder and potter and meditate and consider and think and take care of your self-care and self-love and chill out. When you do this, you start to look forward to the ebbs!

The writer’s block phase

This phase gets us all at some stage. Whether it lasts for a day or 6 months, it feels awful, and like it will never be over. There are all-sorts of reasons we get blocked: Lack of self-care; brain-fry; fears; not enjoying life; making our project too significant; overdoing it and getting ‘bored’ of the process or project; stress…and many more! It sucks and there are books and blogs and programs dedicated to overcoming writer’s block. But here are my tips, these have (so far) helped me and my clients get unblocked.

Top tips for this phase: 1. Check it’s not actually an ebb or another phase – it’s easy to get mixed up with your phases, but the answers are different for each…so double check it’s not actually something else! 2. Take great care of yourself – check your self-care is high. Low self-care can cause brain fry. 3. Check your joy levels. Are you enjoying life? If not, go have some fun! 4. Go do a different creative activity for a while and let the creative pipe unblock.

The “this is taking forever” phase

This phase comes when you seem to have been writing for a hundred years and ZERO progress is being made. (Or so it feels) Impatient people like myself are prone to succumbing to this phase fairly often! This is a phase that also feels like it lasts forever – again, an impatient nature doesn’t help. This is when you need to keep reminding yourself of how far you’ve come…not just focusing on how far you still have to go. I have a spreadsheet with word count, hours spent and chapters complete…so I can see that even if I feel I’m getting nowhere, I’ve done a lot and come a long way. It can also be a sign that you need a holiday from your project (just a short one).

Top tips for this phase: 1. Create a way to keep track of what you’re doing and how far you’ve already come. 2. Check in with yourself – is it time to take a little break from it for a few days, just til you get your mojo back.

The “this is no good” phase

This is a lovely one where you decide the project is awful, no one will ever read it, no one will like it, you can’t write for toffee and you should stop this nonsense immediately. The main thing to remember here is that this is just a phase, it’s not true, it’ll pass. Keep going. Every creative person has some version of this fear come up at some point (or several points) in the creative process. It’s just part of the joy of creating. As long as you don’t believe the fear thought, it’s not too big a deal.

Top tips for this phase: 1. Get someone you trust who loves your work to remind you how brilliant you are 2. Take a break and have some fun for a few hours/days, then 3. Come back and keep going. Number 3 is the most important. DO NOT SHELVE YOUR PROJECT! Everyone goes through the ‘this is no good’ phase…you just need to keep going through it.

The “it’s finished! No, wait, it’s not. Now it’s finished! No, it’s not. Yes…no…etc” phase

This phase comes when you think you’re done, then you have 3 rounds of editing and testing and changing and messing and endless spell-check (because you left it til last and the book is 60,000 words long…and spell check has an issue with 59,000 of them). At this phase, all you can do is just keep swimming. I have a picture of Dory from Finding Nemo as one of my screensavers, and she reminds me to ‘just keep swimming’. Finishing is hard work! Especially for creative, big idea types. Finishing is finicky and feels bloody endless! It’s not glamorous or fun…it’s just necessary.

Top tips for this phase: Just keep swimming. At some point it will be done and you’ll be onto the next creative journey.

I’ve cycled through all of these phases in different orders at different times, and it’s so much fun to notice that they are phases, they’re normal, it’s not me being utterly nutso – they’re just the phases of my writing process. What phases have you noticed in your creative process? And how do you deal with them? I’d love to hear your tips for each phase.

Disclaimer: You may notice that for many of the phases, I suggest ‘taking a break’ – this really works for me, because I am magnetically drawn back to my latest creative love once I feel better, but please don’t use this as an excuse to shelve your creative project. The idea is always to go away and come back!

Whatever phase are you in right now, remember, it’s just a phase. Your creative process is unique to you, and the more you understand it, the less you will be undermined by the phases that don’t feel so good – they’ll just be a step on the way to getting your creative project finished and out into the world!

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