Use Frameworks
Finding your way with reliable maps.
I know my way around town.
Yet I use maps because they help me focus on the driving and the journey without having to plot the directions for every single journey. It’s the same for your creative journey.
I have a framework for writing this newsletter.
I pick a topic from my preset list of topics about being an artist.
I scribble in my notebook about the topic like a rapstar
I create a small illustration on that theme.
I create a thumbnail for the newsletter
I write an atomic essay on Typeshare
I Share the atomic essay (the little card thing) on Bluesky, Threads, LinkedIn, X and substack
I open up yesterday’s post and select ‘Duplicate Draft’, a trick I learned from
Then I fill up the sections. I introduce the atomic essay with a story or an analogy, then I expand on the essay and the prompt.
It sounds like a lot, but it’s a lot less if I had to figure out what to do every day. And I have templates for the illustrations and thumbnails.
TEN MINUTE ARTIST PROMPT
Draw a flowchart for your process
Your turn, how do you make your art? Write out the process, look at it like a map.
Consider steps you can consolidate or cut out altogether but also consider scenic routes you would like to explore.
Share your map in notes and tag Ten Minute Artist: Daily Creative Joy
What are some areas in life that you have down to a process..
Frameworks are not just useful for art making, they are key to the rest of life! Share your favourite frameworks in the comment section below and if you found this prompt valuable, why not pass it along to an artist friend, peer, or student who might appreciate these insights too?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
If you would like to support my work you can:
buy my books, get a subscription to this newsletter, shop at my moms stationery shop, or try Typeshare for free : I use Typeshare like as a Cabin in the Woods, a quite place to write short pieces that I can schedule across social media like Threads, X, LinkedIn and Bluesky. Try it for free with my link
PS: if you’re a paid subscriber you’re already enrolled, otherwise, I would love to invite your enrolment into this month’s Ten Minute Artist: 5-Day Creative Challenge , This month’s theme is ‘Raising Standards’