Where's the Spark? Creativity after a Lull
You, too, can theme your procrastination around spring!
I had a hurry-up-and-wait start to spring. It’s been full of change, new things, and unexpected weather. I’ve spent rainy days curled up on my couch reading books good books, and sunny days taking walks outside just to notice things.
From this vantage point, it feels like things are finally in bloom. And what’s the seed I’m most excited to nurture? My creative spark! I recently released “In Want Of A Wife,” my first TTRPG release since January, and I continue to make slow but steady progress on my novel draft, shoutout to my local and online writing groups. (But let’s not even talk about my knitting, painting, and music projects.)
Despite a laundry list of longer projects I “should” be working on, sometimes I need to just make a little one-page game and release it for fun. IWOAW was an old draft that I picked up, dusted off, completed, and released. Maybe I was feeling inspired by the U.S. release of The Other Bennet Sister…? (No spoilers!)
That Elusive Inspiration
I’m going to keep following the inspiration wherever I can find it, and actually try to take it one step further. Instead of forcing myself to create output for the sake of checking tasks off a list, I’m going to plant imaginary seeds in my little creative garden, give them time, and see how they grow.
What am I planting in my Garden of Creativity?
Angelica for Inspiration - I’m writing down every single thing that inspires me! Half-baked ideas, short phrases, interesting quotes, cool tattoos; if it’s an idea that I think about? I’ll write it down! What am I going to do with it in the future? Frankly, that’s none of my business!
Rainflower for Rebirth - Revisiting old ideas has already served me well, but I think it’s a great way to check in on everything that’s percolating. Sometimes, a project surprises me with how different it feels even though I’m the one who’s changed, grown, or learned something new!
Pink Tulips for Friendship - Spring is a fantastic time to spend with your friends, but collaboration also sparks new perspective! I’m co-writing a game with my friend Jordan from Goosepoop Games. It’s called Pizza Club, it’s about magic & freshman year of college, and it delights me! I’m also co-planning a really cool event with my good pal Brent, playing facilitated solo journaling games in community with others. (More on that soon!) And obviously I’m making regular visits to my FLGS, Side Quest Books & Games!
Heather for Solitude - Sometimes I get so busy with all my activities that I forget to take time for myself. Lately, I’ve been creating calendar holds for evenings that say “DON’T MAKE ANY PLANS.” It helps me remember to keep the night for myself.
Witch Hazel for Magic - A little magic is always useful, and a lot of the games I’m working on right now feature magic of some kind, so it’s mostly for good measure! Here is a sneaky clue about my upcoming solo journaling game:
Spoiler Alert: It is a game about fairies. Hepatica for Confidence - I’m now in my third year as a game designer, and I’m finally talking about my work without qualifying or caveat-ing first. Some people have that level of confidence from the jump, but I’ve kind of talked myself into it and now I can’t stop or I’ll lose my momentum! The real challenge ahead: Talking about my novel-writing aspirations in the same way, despite feeling way more impostor syndrome.
Allium for Patience - Things take time. Creative output takes time. Writing a novel about burnout takes time. Finding the right person who is excited about your game takes time. This is a reminder for me - none of this is a race.
Marigolds for Creativity - It’d be absolutely ridiculous to create this whole metaphorical inspiration garden and not include a flower for creativity.
Grow Your Own Spark
What are you planting in your garden? If you’re feeling stuck, think about an intention you’d like to set for the month ahead, and find a flower to match! If you want to get really cute about it, you could plant that seed for real, or just put a picture of the flower on your desk to remind you: You’ve got this! You’re manifesting!
To be clear: This was absolutely a creative exercise to support my continued work on my projects, and definitely not an excuse to procrastinate by looking up flower meanings.
Recent Happenings
PAX East
In March, I went to PAX East, and had a lot of fun while experiencing a lot of sensory overload. I haven’t been to PAX in years - there were a few really great panels, and I gave out over a hundred copies of my business card game Whelm! I’m proud of myself for going… but I probably won’t get a four-day badge again!
Somercon
In April, I had the great pleasure of sharing some game design knowledge with fourteen new designers at the 2nd annual Somercon, alongside fellow designers Quinn Murphy and Lyme. We talked about micro games, then broke into small groups to take brainstorming into action. Someone from the workshop found me later to tell me that our brainstorm had led to a complete game outline! (I’m still waiting eagerly for her to finish the game and show me.)
Somercon also enabled me to connect with some new local game design pals, and I’m impatiently waiting for them to release all the cool games we talked about at the event.
Some Things I’ve Collected
The Traffic Jam
I love game jams, so here’s a little traffic report on game jams that I’m into right now, cluttering up my brain in the best way possible.
Make 5 TTRPG Jam - I’m a little biased because I’m hosting this one, but this jam encourages you to make five little games and have some unifying thing link them together, be it system, theme, character, format, or something else entirely!
Romantasy TTRPG Jam - A bunch of local game designer pals are working on entries for this, and I’m determined to come up with something too! I’m noodling on a couple of ideas, but nothing has really taken hold yet. I’ll see what the Garden of Creativity does for it and report back!
Local Inspiration - This game jam is about finding inspiration in your own backyard. (Or, your own community.) It’s also going to be a great excuse for me to take a walk.
I heard a rumor (via direct communication from Ryan Lynch himself) that there’s a Perils & Princesses jam coming soon, and that excites me more than I can say. If there’s one thing I love, it’s Perils & Princesses.
Analog Delights
Poetry! Almost every month I go to a local creative writing meet-up and write at least one poem that’s just for me. I’m not going to share them here! Sorry!!
Tiny watercolor paintings! I love to paint, and my favorite canvas size is SMALL. The smaller the better, to be honest. Here’s a favorite not-so-recent one.
Reading! 2025 wasn’t a big reading year for me, but 2026 has really got me hitting the books. Specifically, the audiobooks, every time I clean my house or take a silly little walk for my mental health.
Volunteering! One thing I do to make a difference in my own city is volunteer with a local organization that provides home-cooked meals to folks in need via community partnerships. So this week, I’ll be cooking an entree in coordination with the rest of my team, and dropping it off on my way to work. I recommend you find a way to engage directly in your own community, whether it’s mutual aid, bystander intervention trainings, donating to a food pantry, or looking around to see what else folks need.
Thank you for reading my first newsletter! I can’t say first-ever because I wrote, typed, and hand-mailed many “newsletters” as a child. RIP the home printer.
I’m still figuring out what I want to use this space for, and it may shift between focusing on different types of writing, in addition to sharing what I’ve been up to.
Until next time,
You just read issue #1 of Plots & Blots: Thoughts-In-Progress from Maggie French. You can also browse the full archives of this newsletter.
