Iterative creation
Making an "MVP" can change everything, and how I applied the idea to creating my book.
“Be realistic. Plan for a miracle.”
— Osho
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One of the things that is the most powerful learning for just about everyone who’s gone through Alchemy Lab (the 3 month program I run with my friend Christie) is the concept of focusing on an “MVP,” aka Minimum Viable Product. The idea comes from the tech and business world, and it a nutshell it is this: what is the absolute least you could create and release to your audience that provides them value?
I often apply this idea to my creative life. Stepping back and distilling an idea to its essence reminds me that I don’t have to do it all at once. I can start with the simple core, share it to get feedback, and experiment and learn from there.
Here are some of the things I love about this creativity MVP approach:
It brings a spirit of lightness to my creative process and releases me from the bonds of perfectionism because it helps me remember I can always change and improve it later. I’m just starting with an MVP to get me going.
It builds momentum because it helps me strike while the idea fire is hot. Stripping away complexity means that when an idea comes, I can take it and run with it in a short amount of time.
It helps me learn because it is shared with other humans, and sharing it means I get feedback and can iterate.
And most importantly, it helps me actually make things, not just think about making things. Creating MVPs allows me to transform ideas from esoteric thoughts in my mind to concrete things in the world, which keeps my whole creative system flowing and healthy, so more ideas come in turn. It’s a virtuous cycle.
I’ve been applying the MVP concept to the book I’ve been working on, and I thought it might be helpful to share how the process has evolved along the way. We usually only get to see things when they’re polished and “finished” but here’s to embracing imperfection and showing the behind-the-scenes unfolding.
I had the initial idea to create a collection of prayers and affirmations during the summer of 2022 while visiting my family in Georgia. My first child was not quite one, and I was emerging from my own womb after being born as a mother. I was slowly beginning to come home to myself.
One afternoon while on my parent’s porch, I gathered some copy paper and a pen and I started making pages, not knowing exactly what they would become. Each one was handwritten and illustrated and wove through themes like getting quiet, letting go, and accepting grace. They were the blessings I needed to hear at the time. As the pages grew, I decided to print and bind them to make it feel “real” and less like a loose collection of papers. That first version, which I called “Alanna’s Book of Common Prayers” was 26 pages. The scans aren’t great quality and it was a learning curve for me to figure out how to take physical paper and turn it into a digital version that could then be bound. I got it printed in September and gave it to a few friends that autumn and for the holidays.
Getting to that first MVP gave me a lot of momentum. It helped me feel like this thing might have legs, even if I still didn’t know exactly what it was or where it was taking me.
Awhile later, I started working on the next iteration, learning from the printing mishaps from the prior one and adding additional formats beyond just blessings and affirmations. I kept many of the pages from the first book, but also added in journaling and reflection prompts to make the book more of an interactive experience. And for the first time in my life, I wrote poems. Those flowed into the book too. It blossomed into 131 pages which I broke into ten chapters, the themes organically emerging based on what I had written and drawn. I had that second version printed in May, and it started to feel more like a “real book” even if I still wasn’t sure what my grand plan was, or why exactly I was creating it.
It’s at that point that I started working with Elizabeth, the amazing book doula and editor I’ve shared about before. She helped me see where to take the book next and how to structure it to give it more backbone and flow. I added more personal essays on each theme and a lot more illustrations, and it grew to be 214 pages that I got bound in October, shortly before my birthday. It was such a sweet birthday gift to myself. Here’s a video of me flipping through it to give you a taste of how it turned out.
That third version became “real” enough that with Elizabeth, my husband, and my friend Liz’s help, I put together a proposal to share with agents and publishers, going way outside my comfort zone. Back when I started the project on my parent’s porch that warm summer day, I never could have imagined what it would grow into. I definitely couldn’t have started out shooting to create a 200 page book or even consider exploring professional publishing because I would have been too intimidated to even begin.
I still don’t know exactly what is in store for this project, but I’m so grateful for the place I’ve brought it to and trust that on the other side of maternity leave with my second child, I’ll be able to pick it up again to usher it toward where it’s meant to be. The whole process was made possible by taking small steps and making it tangible every step the way. With each version I had printed, I got a burst of energy that gave me the momentum I needed to keep going toward the next step. Those next steps were almost always only revealed by taking the ones before; with each printing, I’d organically realize where it was being called next. And out I’d step, trusting the unfolding.
PS: If you’d like a copy of the latest iteration of the book, you can get it here.
Questions for reflection.
For the creative longings in your life, how might you think about this concept of an MVP? How might you iterate on your creations, and let your creative muses guide you along the way?
You could use these as prompts in your journal or reply here in the comments.
What’s something you’ve been longing to create?
What would it look like to distill it down to its simplest essence, knowing that you could always iterate on it later?
What is the simplest version of your idea that you could make to get started?`