Thomas Cox | Hunting the Muse

Stop reaching great ideas by accident. ↓ Start attracting them with a process. Master these 2 cognitive elements of creativity, and you’ll tap into the source of your best ideas. 🧵

Hey writer folks 👋 Long time no speak. I’m now on the Meta app that should not be named (🧵). Same username. New look. Let’s connect again.

@joshczuba I’m guessing you mean on ‘X’? Waiting for Threads to open up in Europe and then I’ll jump on there 😆

And until it’s done, I won’t be consistent on here or on social media generally. My DM’s are still open for a chat, and I will be back—on this or another platform—with stories to tell and learnings to share. Until then, I wish you love, light, and creative energy 🔥

I’m currently hearing the loudest call from fiction: to complete a body of stories. The time spent has been hypnotic, sometimes frustrating, and mostly joyful. It’s teaching me more about writing, idea generation, and the creative challenge than anything else.

In a split decision in 2008, Matthew McConaughey shut down his music label. “I was kind of making C's in everything,” McConaughey admits. “When I got rid of five classes and focused on three, I started making A’s.” During my summer social media hiatus, this stuck with me.

Spanish dried meats and olive oil are life-altering. That is all.

@MJDorian Fantastic point - I think we all long for that: a story that ties things up in a way that feels tangible and satisfying. It's the reason I prefer a mini-series over a TV show that runs about 4 seasons too long. Lost, Walking Dead... I'm looking at you.

@huntingthemuse I don’t know that I universally prefer either of the three, but certainly, what I always long for—whether achieved in happy or sad endings—is resolution. I NEED to know what happened with all the characters, problems, and that subplots were also addressed.

What kind of endings do you prefer when you read fiction?

Some of the most important advice in my life didn’t come from a CEO, a therapist, or a book. It came from my grandma: “All you can do is your best.” If you did your best and won, great! But if you did your best and it wasn't enough... Move on and mount the next challenge.

…a what now?

Part of growth, career or otherwise, is seeing the gifts in others and having the balls to tell them, without ego, what they are.

@pollynowik Will never get over how pretty this is ✨ + that sound is pure happiness.

Good morning beautiful humans! Watching ripples of water in the shallows with light catching the waves or illuminating the sand beneath makes me gasp in awe every time. (I tried to gasp quietly while I filmed this!) Grand Rising 🌅

Hook writing is a skill that drives $1,000,000s in sales. The ultimate cheat sheet to master writing hooks:

@AlexCookThinks Agreed, that's when the madness seeps in 🤪

@huntingthemuse Sounds pretty balanced man, I like that. It's easy to get too introspective for too long!

At 29, I'm happier than I've ever been. It's mostly thanks to 2 super-simple principles: 1. Live below your means. More expensive ≠ More valuable. 2. Detach from the idea of finding "My Purpose". Grasping at the fantasy of a perfect lifestyle steals you away from the present.

I’ve been chilling. Prioritising. (+ letting the dust settle after this platform got renamed to a letter 😅) Finished another short story draft, and have been putting more work into my website. Summer is a slow season - so a perfect time for reflection.

@AlexCookThinks I feel it works almost like seasons. I’ll spend a few weeks journalling about purpose, learning about myself… And then somewhere in that process I’ll end up making plans and adjustments which I take into the day-to-day. Sometimes overthinking, sometimes not 😆

@huntingthemuse For sure man, it's been a constant battle for me. I'm so impatient and struggle to get past the plateaus for skills I want to develop. Letting go of the reins a little helped me, and looking out for a general sense that I'm moving forward. How about you?

@TheCreatorsBP Just so elegant and detailed 🤤 I’ve seen a ton in Spain but I’ve heard Riga and Prague are filled with art nouveau architecture. Gotta make my way there.

@huntingthemuse Art Nouveau is so, so gorgeous

‘Art exists only to communicate a spiritual message.’ The work of Alphonse Mucha is beyond beautiful. Photos taken at Palau Martorell, Barcelona.