"The pictures seem to me mostly only to prove that the author cannot draw" (J. R. R. Tolkien on submitting some of his drawings for The Hobbit).

As I tried to capture another story recently, I turned on some music and found my colored pencils and paper. Sometimes, using other art forms helps me capture stories with the creative side of my brain.

But before I began to write, I turned the music down, so it wouldn't distract my thoughts. And I kept my sketch pad in front of me to help me focus and keep the flow of creativity going. Then, I picked up my pen and journal to freewrite. And I listened as my thoughts flowed through my pen to the paper.

Storytelling. Paula Morell, who captures the stories of others in her Tales from the South, reminded me of this helpful writing process during a workshop at the Little Rock American Christian Writers Conference recently.

After some inspiring quotes about storytelling, Paula asked us to draw a picture of one of our favorite places. I tried to draw a picture of the Texas Gulf Coast beach. It brought back some great memories of my childhood, teen years, and early marriage.

When Paula asked us to write about a spiritual experience from childhood, I was surprised at what memory surfaced. I didn’t write about the beach at all. In fact, I wrote about a disturbing moment from my childhood—one that I really don’t like to think about at all. But I wrote about it anyway. From experience, I knew that writing often brings healing from painful memories.

Creativity. Paula also reminded us of the need to find a space and place to write. And she talked about one of the important stages of prose—the musical stage. In this part of the creative process, we want to get something down, but not just make something up. During this phase, we listen and take down thoughts as they come. I've discovered that if I use other forms of art before I write—like music or  visual arts—I can tap into my deeper and more creative thoughts.

I first learned this method of writing as student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. And I have used this process as a writing instructor. Thank you, Paula, for another great workshop idea that I plan to share to help others tell their stories.

Writing. As I began to sketch the pastoral scene in front of my home, another writing idea came to my mind—I decided to write about storytelling, Paul Morell, and Tales from the South. It’s odd how my child-like scribbling of the trees in my front yard can pull a story about writing out of my subconscious mind. And like Tolkien, my drawing also proves that I cannot draw.

What is one of your favorite places? Can you think of a spiritual experience from your childhood? 

YouTube/Tales from the South