Still Waters

Settle down with a notebook and pen — yes, the old-fashioned kind that you hold in your hand! — and freewrite in response to any of the prompts below. Gaze deep into the reflection pool of your own hopes, fears, and fantasies about what it means to be a creative writer. You may be surprised at what bubbles up!

Settle into quiet reflection about your identity as a creative thinker and scholar. When do you feel most creative and innovative in your intellectual work? What conditions—physical, mental, emotional—support your most original thinking? How has your creative confidence evolved throughout your academic journey?

Consider the relationship between creativity and expertise in your field. Do you feel that greater knowledge enhances or constrains your creative thinking? How do you balance learning from existing scholarship with maintaining the fresh perspective that enables innovation?

Reflect on what creative contribution means to you personally. Beyond meeting external expectations, what kind of original thinking would feel most meaningful and authentic to your intellectual identity?

Journal about your comfort level with intellectual risk-taking and uncertainty. What fears come up when you consider proposing new ideas or challenging established thinking in your field? Are these fears based on real risks or on assumptions about what's expected or acceptable?

Think about the relationship between authenticity and innovation in your work. What aspects of your unique perspective, background, or way of thinking might contribute to original insights in your field? How might you honor your authentic interests and questions even when they lead you in unexpected directions?

Consider this question: If you knew your ideas would be well-received and taken seriously, what would you be curious enough to explore or bold enough to propose?

Explore your natural creative rhythms and processes. When do your best ideas emerge—during focused work, relaxed moments, conversations, physical activity? How do you currently nurture and capture creative insights, and how might you better support your natural creative process?

Think about the sustainability of creative work over the long term. How do you maintain curiosity and innovative thinking despite the pressures and routines of academic life? What practices, experiences, or relationships best support your creative development?

Reflect on the relationship between creativity and productivity in your work. How do you balance the need to generate original ideas with the pressure to produce completed projects? What would a sustainable creative practice look like for you?

Consider the broader impact you hope your creative contributions will have. Beyond your immediate field, how might your innovative thinking serve larger purposes or communities? What problems do you hope your creative work might help solve or what understanding might it advance?

Think about the kind of intellectual legacy you want to create through your scholarly work. What would it mean to you to be remembered as a creative thinker or innovative contributor to your field? How do you want your work to influence future scholars and thinkers?

Reflect on this question: What creative contribution would you most regret not making if you ran out of time for scholarly work?

We’d love to hear how these writing prompts landed with you and whether they stirred any revelations. Please email us at writespace@helensword.com to share your thoughts.