Subtle Maneuvers

Subtle Maneuvers

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Subtle Maneuvers
Subtle Maneuvers
Lean into ritual

Lean into ritual

Worm School, week five

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Mason Currey
Jul 01, 2024
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Subtle Maneuvers
Subtle Maneuvers
Lean into ritual
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Welcome back to Worm School! This summer, I’m making a plan for finally finishing my overdue book project—and the advice I’m giving myself / the habits I’m adopting in my writing cave should, I hope, prove useful for anyone trying to make progress on an ambitious creative project.

If you’re just catching up on the series, the previous lessons are: Think smaller, Forgive yourself, Find some accountability, and Follow your energy.

OK, on to today’s lesson:


Week Five: Lean Into Ritual

Amanda Donohoe in the 1988 cult film The Lair of the White Worm (streaming here!)

Last week’s lesson was all about finding energy in your creative life—a worthy goal for sure. But I also want to acknowledge that some projects are just inescapably energy-demanding: They require sustained attention and sustained labor, and may only feel energizing in brief moments.

When that’s the case, I always wonder: How can you make the experience feel a little less effortful and/or how can you learn to tolerate the discomfort a little longer?

One answer to both questions is to lean into ritual. In a creative practice, ritual can be a way of:

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