How to Write Your Creative Manifesto

One of my favorite phrases is that “words are wands” — meaning that what we write down and speak aloud regarding ourselves has the potential to become truth. The more empowering stories we tell, the more we can create our ideal reality.

We can strike this balance when we ask ourselves how we feel and then put those thoughts into action. The best way to do that? Write it down and give yourself a blueprint to work from.

Art movements have long been using manifestos to declare their aesthetic goals and highlight their departures from their predecessors. The manifesto announces itself to the world as a bold step in a new direction. It inspires you to take action rather than sit idly by, waiting for inspiration to strike.

Last year, I wrote out a bunch of things that I truly believe and what I do to uphold those beliefs. I arranged these statements into a “manifesto,” which I wrote in my day planner. This way, I could refer back to my beliefs at any time to ensure that I am acting in alignment with my purpose. Some statements I chose were:

• “I believe in living my most creative and magical life.”
• “I believe in working with passion and purpose to follow my dreams in pursuit of fulfillment.”
• “I believe in continually growing and bettering myself through a sense of curiosity and a desire to learn.”
• “I believe that my self care is firmly linked to my physical and mental health.”
• “I believe in practicing love and kindness.”

I found it useful to write down what I actually believe. This was my personal compass in 2020 and beyond. Any time I wondered if I was headed in the right direction — creatively, professionally, or otherwise — I would review my manifesto.

So how did I do? In 2020, I ran my own creative business full time, created and consistently wrote for a project on Patreon that’s now a book, earned a certificate in content strategy and took a bunch of online courses, finished a draft of the novel I started in 2019, participated in (and won) NaNoWriMo, and restarted my long-abandoned yoga practice (thanks, Yoga With Adriene!). Each of these activities fell into areas I identified in my manifesto, such as creativity, curiosity, hard work, and self care. Further, in a year like 2020, focusing on creativity and self care helped me get through some truly challenging times.

Writing a Creative Manifesto

Want to get clear on your beliefs and declare the mark you want to leave on the world? Try writing your personal or creative manifesto. I see writing a creative manifesto as a radical declaration of your own creative power — whether your creativity is your lifestyle or your livelihood. (Or both!) 

You can approach your own manifesto any way you choose, such as writing “I believe…” as many times as you need and then filling in the blanks is one way to do so. You can also substitute “believe” for what you know, feel, think, do, appreciate, give, practice, etc. Aim the statement at your creativity, or speak more broadly about your views on the world.

To get started, you might take some inspiration from the manifestos of various artistic movements as well. The goals of the art manifesto are first to define or criticize a particular trend or paradigm and then to develop statements that run counter to the old ways. Many of these are available to read online. Therefore, you might begin your manifesto defining what you don’t do or believe, or ideas that you reject. From there, build it back up with more positive statements about your intentions for your creativity.

Play with form. Your manifesto can even be a simple numbered or bulleted list. You can write it as a dialogue or Q&A if it helps you get your thoughts out. André Breton’s Surrealist Manifesto includes poetry made from newspaper cutouts and examples of absurdist humor. In short, anything goes.

A manifesto doesn’t have to be very long. Artist Jeff Koons, whose MasterClass I’m currently watching, had created a short manifesto in the 1980s: “To be forever free in the power, glory, spirituality, and romance liberated in the mainstream, criticality gone.” He describes this as a “rallying cry” for artists to use the tools of art to communicate with people. So if you’re having trouble writing something detailed, think of what one message you want to convey and distill it down to a single sentence.

A “Fill-in-the-Blank” Creative Manifesto

I developed a template to help me organize my thoughts and write about my creative beliefs. Here’s a list to get you started: 

Writing out what you believe and know for sure can clue you in to the wisdom you hold and the world you have created for yourself. So go ahead and put something down on the page. You may surprise yourself with the answers you’ve had inside you all along.

I decided to revisit this exercise for this post and have developed a new manifesto for myself focused on my creativity. Here is mine:

Manifesto for Creative Magic

When you’ve finished your manifesto, write it down or print it out and place it somewhere you’ll see it often — your day planner, the bathroom mirror, your desk, a wall, or wherever you please.

Are you living your most creative life?

Get more tips for embracing your most creative self in my book and zine:

The Creative Arcana is a tarot-inspired book of spells filled with rituals and practical magic to empower your creative practice. By the end of this book, you’ll connect to and fall in love with your own creativity and magic in all new ways. Learn more and get it for any price here.

The Muse Manifesto is a digital magazine for anyone daring to live a creative life. Download all issues of the ‘zine for free here.