Welcome! Creative Rituals is a fun blog of mine featuring creatives and their rituals. Creatives talk about how they start their creative day, as well as give you more insight into their work. It’s a perfect opportunity to demystify the creative experience, and maybe even inspire!
Tade Thompson – Author, Psychiatrist, FRSL, and Artist
Today’s guest creative is British author Dr. Tade Thompson! Dr. Tade (pronounced TAH-day) Thompson is a renowned author of several novels, ranging in genres from science fiction, to fantasy, to crime thrillers. He is also a psychiatrist, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL), and an artist. I’ve spoken to Dr. Thompson many times, and he’s always got something insightful to talk about.
What Do You Do to Start Your Creative Day?
I start my day with a glass of beet juice, then I run for 30 mins.
I start my creative day with one of two things: I either freewrite for three pages or do a masters study in India or Sumi ink.
I tend to write longhand, so three pages of stream-of-consciousness is great. It loosens my mind and the hand muscles that I’ll need for the day’s writing.
I keep writing until I have at least a thousand first-draft words. The method is slightly different when I’m writing a screenplay, and I write three pages a day (although my record of screen pages is 10), usually to an outline.
I tend to separate idea-generation from idea development, which is to say I have hour-long sessions where all I do is think of ideas and write them down. Writing the first draft is what I consider idea development.
I do first draft writing in the morning and revisions in the evening. I don’t revise the day’s writing. I have a schedule. What I’m revising has usually been drafted at least a month before.
Creator Bio
Dr. Tade Thompson is an award-winning writer of novels, short stories, and screenplays. He is best known for ROSEWATER, FAR FROM THE LIGHT OF HEAVEN and THE MURDERS OF MOLLY SOUTHBOURNE. His latest book is JACKDAW (2022). He lives in the UK. He is currently on BlueSky for social media.
Thank you, Tade, for being a guest today!
Write on!
Jendia