24. Resolving to stay curious

Regardless of how you feel about the whole “new year, new you” vibe, January is the ultimate case study of goal-setting in the wider cultural zeitgeist. Maybe you’ve tried the often-hyped approach of choosing a word to act as a mantra or touchstone to guide you over the course of the year.

Tools like a word of the year can be powerful reminders of the ways you want to feel and act along the path toward your ideals – but only if they also help you stay curious about that path, and about your actual life, as it exists right now.

And for storytellers, the art of asking good questions is maybe the most important gift we give ourselves and others, even more than the art of pretty words.

Tune in for some support and solidarity to nurture your creative potential in the months ahead (regardless of how all those goals turn out).

Writing praxis tips

If you’re curious about formulating a few guiding questions of your own, I’ve put together some prompts to help you dig into it, both for specific projects and for your creative practice as a whole.

Remember, you can go about this from either direction – practice first, or projects first! The prompts for projects are more concrete, and the prompts for creative practice are a bit more abstract. By approaching your guiding questions from multiple angles, you can unlock things that might surprise you

Guiding questions for projects

Start by jotting down the things you’re most excited about exploring as you write this project. Think specifics, like “What’s up with this character’s mom?” or “How can these two metaphors/images play off each other?” or “When will those two people meet, and what will happen when they do?” Aim for about 8-10 questions.
Next, take a look at your list of questions and pull out the ones that feel most exciting – and the ones that feel the most interesting-but-intimidating. Narrow this list down to 3-5 questions.
What do these questions have in common? What larger themes or ideals are reflected in these questions about specific elements of your project? The idea here is to identify the core motivations that are driving your curiosity about this particular story.

For example, let’s say you’re working on a story featuring characters from a lot of different backgrounds who’ve ended up living in the same place. And let’s say 2 of the questions on your shortlist are about how the interpersonal dynamics of this community might evolve (or devolve).

One possible guiding question driving that curiosity might be: “How can we build functioning communities with people we wouldn’t have chosen to co-exist with on a daily basis?”

(Attentive listeners might notice that this is the guiding question for one of my own projects that I mentioned in the episode.)

Guiding questions for creative practice

These prompts are less concrete than the ones I just listed for specific projects; settle in with them for a journaling or freewriting session, or let them percolate for a few days.

What experiences do you access through your writing practice that are difficult to explore in other ways?
Are there aspects of your life that are easier because of your creative practice? What about aspects that are harder, but in a rewarding way?
What creative ideas and experiences have you been most excited about (and/or intimidated by) in your past, and what did they tell you about your core ideals?
What questions are emerging from your responses to these prompts? And of these questions, which 1-3 feel the most urgent or necessary to explore?

Episode references

On Being podcast: “Foundations for Being Alive Now,” Krista Tippett

Hannah Louise Poston

Episode 10, “Freedom with form (Or, story structure for optimists)”