Learning to trust in the flow when creating new work
“...when it flows, it truly is like magic...”
In early 2023, I was accepted for a mentorship with FEAST, the Federation of Asian Storytellers. As one of six mentees, that means I was able to receive regular mentoring for a story of my choice. I had a couple of stories in mind including Scottish tale Tam Lin and the epic Inanna, but one I had forgotten I nominated was an early version of Cinderella that I loved. When my mentor reminded me of this, I knew right away this was a story I wanted to tell and to tell well.
Once I had decided on which story I was working on, I started researching early versions and like all researchers, I went deep into academic literature and found so much information that soon I had enough to write a book - so I did! Initially, I was going to make a 10-page eZine, a downloadable file that people could buy from my website, but then the vision of the story just grew and grew and I now find myself with a beautifully-illustrated 36-page book that I made.
You can see my research process and in-depth research here on my Substack (and in the book itself) but I think in some way I knew that this was the path I wanted to take. After all, I love fairy tales, history, research, and puzzles…what better way to bring many of my passions into one place than by researching lost and forgotten fairy tales? Yexian: The Chinese Cinderella is the first of many books that I plan to write in this format for adults, storytellers, fairy tale lovers, and people who love folktales.
I can’t quite believe how quickly it all came together, after all, my performance for FEAST is still a few months away and I’m still busily rehearsing. And now, as my little book baby is launched into the world, I find myself waiting for the next fairy tale to reveal itself to me. I have a few ideas, but I think when the right story comes along, I’ll just know. The thing in storytelling in all formats that I’m starting to learn is that the story will come to me, rather than me chasing the story.
The biggest takeaway for me in all of this has been trusting my own inner flow allowing the writing/creative process the space to exist and then following my curiosities into the things that light me up. So many times I’ve sat down to try and create something and felt blocked, but when it flows, it truly is like magic.
