Intend to create. Hold in your heart and in your belly the intention to write. Grow creative through powerful intention.

You could go your entire life wishing that you had followed your passion. Unfortunately, as children we were made to believe that if we wished hard enough our dreams would come true, but what Disney forgot to mention is that we cannot simply wish to be a writer without ever intending to sit and start writing.

Wishing to write and intending to write are not the same thing. Wishing implies an unachievable goal that can only be acquired through some miraculous circumstance. Writing should not be unachievable. Consider intention as a mindset, the purpose being that you prepare yourself to write. The drive to write is something that cannot be found from an external source. No one else can create for you, and no one can force you to write.

Writers must recognize that we will never manage the act of writing if we never intend to begin.

We must convince ourselves in the moment of writing that it is something we want to accomplish. Both beginning and experienced writers must be able to find their intention to write. Not every project will come easily. Intention can help us be creative because it gives us the motivation to, at least, sit down and start.

Intention needs to be powerful; weak intention is nothing more than powerful wishing.

The desire to create has to be powerful enough to move you. The intention we are referring to here is not like the kind you find in yourself during your New Year’s resolution planning. It is a desire so great it feels like your heart and belly are on fire. I will even go so far as to call it a need rather than a want to write. Even when you are not quite sure what you want to write about in the moment, having the deep-seated need to create can help you find your creativity.

Powerful intention is something you have to find within yourself. Since it won’t always be there in a moment’s notice, create a routine or ritual that helps you find it more quickly so that you can show up to your work and begin creating.

Think of intention as a plan to write. While creativity can often be spontaneous, you can’t always count on it to be there when you need it. You can’t wish to suddenly become creative. If that were the case, no writer would ever experience . . . uhm, I won’t say the devilish term, but you know what I mean.  However, intention can be a good way to overcome it.

Sometimes, as writers, we have this habit of getting caught up in our own minds, when we cannot seem to find our creative spirit. Powerful intention can be the exact tool we need to break through our own mental obstacles.

It may not always succeed, but part of being a writer is understanding that failing to be creative one day doesn’t mean giving up on all the rest.

With permission from Dr. Eric Maisel, his ebook The 97 Best Creativity Tips Ever! (2011) was the inspiration for this post.

Bonnie Snow was an intern with Around the Writer’s Table, working toward a graduate certificate in publishing and editing while in her senior year at Florida State University. She is inspired by the editing field’s penchant for helping others see their dreams realized. It’s important to Bonnie that the art of editing come, not only from refining writers’ works, but also in understanding the vision that authors wish to impress upon others and fully supporting them in their fulfillment of their purpose and passion.