Creativity and Letting Go
I Don’t Talk About That Song. Monthly Newsletter [June 2025]
Lift one finger if:
you struggle to express yourself more freely in writing or art?
you wish you could write or draw like a kid again?
you want to fill a page or canvas without judgment?
you froze up before starting a new project?
you kept reworking the same sentence or line to death?
I’ve felt ALL those things.
This month’s prompts are meant to help you take back—or more intentionally practice—that youthful freedom. Working more freely also means accepting a certain amount of uncertainty. Creative uncertainty can be a mixed emotional bag. Sometimes, it can be stressful (like Squibler a.k.a. the most dangerous app) or frustrating because your drawing doesn’t look like anything you imagined. But other times it can be so dang freeing…when you write or draw without overthinking.
So whether you want to loosen the grip of perfectionism, self-judgement, or procrastination, we’ll practice letting it something go.
Quick Prompts
In the spirit of letting go, we’ll be creating some free-flowing art and writing.1
Sketching Blind
Set up your paper behind a barrier (like the book below), then without lifting your pen from the page draw a tulip.2 Trying making a few sketches to see which one you like best.
Non-Stop Writing
Set a three-minute timer and write anything that comes to mind. The only rules are: don’t stop, and set the font color to white.3 When the timer goes off, decide whether to change the font color to read what you wrote—or if you’re willing to let go completely—delete all of it.
Melissa’s Examples
My Notes
Here are two of my favorite blind sketches. The first sketch suggests tulips (if you know what you’re looking for) and the second sketch looks more recognizable, so much so that I decided to add color.4
I wound up keeping my invisible writing free-write. It’s amazing how many thoughts bounce around when you sit and focus for three minutes. I enjoyed writing that way!
Creativity Boosts
Take your creations to the next level with these creativity boosting prompts.
Art Boost
Boost your line sketch with color. Add complexity by overlapping different types of flowers. And if you want more natural inspiration, check out reference photos. (Or look at the flowers around your neighborhood like I did.)
Writing Boost
During a nonstop writing session, try constructing words and phrases that connect, like a solo game of word association. Using white font makes it even harder (and more surprising) to keep track of linked ideas.
Inspirational Resources
The Most Dangerous Writing App: Try it if you want to kickstart your adrenaline. Words disappear if they aren’t written down fast enough.5
Blind Contour Self-Portrait by Sketchbook Skool: Fun tips to experiment with for a self-portrait.
Behind the Scenes News
From time to time, I’ll create posts to dive deep into the creative process or showcase my own creative work. This month, I wrote two special edition posts exploring different aspects of creativity.
June Special Edition Posts:
In other behind-the-scenes news, I had the chance to be interviewed by Professor Mel Rosenberg, author and podcast host of the New Book Network (NBN) Children’s Literature Channel.
Thank You for Reading
If you found this post helpful, share my welcome newsletter. Feel free to email questions, work inspired by my prompts, or topics for future posts.
Let’s be fearlessly creative together,
Mel Mwai
About Melissa Mwai
For more about my books, critique services, or school visit offerings, check out my website.
This post from
inspired me to think about traveling light, temporary art, and being willing to let something beautiful go. The author uses a chalk marker to doodle patterns on leaves. Then return the leaves to the wild for people to discover. If you’re going to try this, use a washable and non-toxic chalk marker.Use my drawing tutorial if you need to practice sketching a tulip first.
Tip: To reduce the distractions of red squiggly lines marking incorrect phrases, turn the spellchecker off. If you prefer writing by hand, use a pen with invisible ink.
Important but invisible step: I drew more blind sketches than what’s shown. Many were unrecognizable tulips and looked like a toddler’s scribbles.
I found using the app way too stressful to write. Knowing my words disappeared after 3 or 4 seconds sent my nervous system into overdrive. The urgency felt too real and wasn’t enjoyable for me.