Show notes
Hello and welcome to Mind Express. I’m Craig Tyson Adams, and this is where we delve into the messy, magical process of creativity.In this first episode, I’ll share how I went from scribbling in a spiral notebook to publishing my novel, The Lying Spiral.It’s a story of persistence, detours, and the realization that creativity isn’t about waiting for inspiration. It’s about showing up.Part I: The Early SparkI started writing back in high school. I jot down ideas, bad poetry and stories about whatever popped in my head at the moment. I didn’t pursue it seriously in school. It was simply a way to pass the time while I worked at my father’s gas station.Junior college changed that. A creative writing class really got me going. I discovered that I could basically write on command. I’d often wait a few minutes before class to open my notebook and produce a couple of hundred words describing a vision in my head. I’d go in, get called upon to read it out loud in class, adding to it as I went. The results were surprisingly good.That was when I experienced that I could be a writer. However, I took it for granted. The ideas came so easily.Like a movie playing in my head that I just had to describe. I questioned how I could make a living from it, and I focused on a career that would pay the rent. Years passed and though thoughts of writing lingered, I didn’t pursue them.Part II: The Long Detour and a New BeginningThen one day while I was sitting on a bench, looking at the ocean as the sun was going down, a picture of a hospital filled with vampires popped into my head. It perked me up a little. I thought, “Well, that’s a good idea. Maybe I should write this down.” I got back to the hotel and jotted some ideas onto a pad, next to a phone on a desk.Something else would come to me. I’d pick it back up and start writing a little bit more. The process felt good again.It was during the pandemic when the world slowed down that I wrote everything I had, completing four chapters. It was about a protagonist that has an accident and then is taken to a hospital secretly run by vampires.The story needed someone to investigate, so I wrote another chapter about a detective that would tie into it. It was all a first draft. I sent it to a friend who had published a novel who critiqued it, saying he hated everything except the part about the detective.Trusting his opinion, I kept the detective story and built my novel, The Lying Spiral around it.Part III: The Power of EffortThis experience is the real lesson. It all comes down to putting in the effort. As Gene Simmons of KISS says, inspiration comes out of the work. That’s true. Ideas can magically appear while you’re driving or watching tv, and they will rattle around, but they won’t materialize until you sit down and commit to the work.This applies to any creative process, not just writing.I was fortunate enough to take a class at a media art school. The school’s director taught me a lot. He showed me that inspiration is everywhere.Looking at the person in the car next to you at a traffic light and imagining their story, where they were going, what they were doing, what’s on their mind. This became a practice for me, making mental notes and then writing down stories inspired by these observations . While I was going to school, a friend from class who was casting a melodrama for our hometown encouraged me to audition.I got a role in the community theater play. It was a challenge to create a character from scratch, but through the work, reading lines and developing a personality for the character, I found it incredibly inspiring. It made me realize that active engagement in the process of creation is essential.That play led to another and another. My media school training helped me develop characters and voices, which led to a contract with an acting agency. An agent saw my monologue and said she could find me some work. I showed up for every audition. My job allowed me the flexibility to attend auditions for commercials, and I even landed a couple.Then came a movie audition, which I got. My part was cut out from the final film, and I was only visible bobbing in the background of a TV show that I’d gotten. These were union projects that earned my union points leading to my Screen Actors Guild membership. A dream I’d never thought possible. It truly shows that things can happen when you put in the time and effort.Part IV: Pushing Through the Blank PageWhen the book idea resurfaced, I started writing about the detective not knowing where it would lead, but I had a finished chapter to build upon. Scenes would pop into my head, guiding the narrative.There were times when I’d stare at a blank page, stuck. Raymond Chandler, the detective novelist, offered a solution. If you ever get stuck, just have someone burst through the door with a gun and action ensues. I adopted this forcing action whenever I felt lost, and it usually propelled the story to the next point. This was all on the first draft, about 80,000 words. I sent it to my friend who suggested corrections and told me to write a better opening.I continued refining it until I was happy with the story. It was a process of solving puzzles with many false starts and many breakthroughs. Ultimately, it all comes out in the work. You can achieve more than you think. Ideas would strike at 3:00 AM, during breaks in restaurants or during movies, a line or a word, something that spurred a new idea or direction.It’s about being in a mindset constantly observing and listening for clues that propel your story forward. Make a note of them, but most importantly, complete that first draft. Spill it all out and then you can go back and clean it up. I was a janitor for my own story, making cuts sometimes, realizing that cutting was the best thing to do.Part V: Creativity as TherapyThat’s how I started. You have to keep creating, especially when no one’s looking. The most common fear is staring at the blank page, feeling stuck, but you can overcome it. Push through the difficult points by being creative and finding another creative avenue. Clues are everywhere, and if you’re present and watching, they will reveal themselves.You have to be present in the moment. Don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future. Sit, listen, and work through the moments to move forward. This applies to writing and any creative process.If you are in a pottery class and things aren’t quite right, spin the clay and do your best. As I’ve heard it said, you make a move and everything changes.This is true in writing, in pottery and in life. If you’re stuck in a rut, do something a little different. Make a move and things will change. I enjoy gritty TV shows, movies and writing my detective book allowed me to tap into real emotions, bringing them to the page. Writing is a form of therapy, an art form that helps organize thoughts and focus.Life can be a jumble of emotions. Sights, smells and sounds, but focusing on telling your story can bring clarity. It feels magical, partly because you are present in the moment thinking about the next step, rather than having anxiety about the future. The best way to combat anxiety is to focus on what you’re doing during the present.After listening to this, I encourage you to sit down and write a short story perhaps about your first baseball game, from the perspective of someone who’s never seen one before. Why does this field have pillows on the dirt? What happens when they’ve run into each other? Who puts the lines on the grass and What’s with those yellow poles, or imagine what your dog does while you are at work. Ideas are limitless.We’ll be covering this in a creativity course I’m developing, which will guide you through the entire process. But this podcast is just the beginning, my first one, and we’ll navigate this process together.Hey! You made it to the end. Thanks for that. Check out my novel, The Lying Spiral.and my website. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit craigtysonadams.substack.com
