There are moments in the year when the world feels suspended between breaths. The air sharpens, the light softens, and something inside us stirs, as if our hearts remember an older rhythm we’ve forgotten how to name. These are the thresholds.
The space between summer’s last warmth and winter’s first frost. Between dusk and night, endings and beginnings, what was and what’s about to be. And for those of us who create—who write, paint, garden, bake, dream—these in-between times can feel strangely sacred. Because thresholds are where transformation happens.
When the veil between worlds feels thin, we become more aware of our own inner borders, those places where we, too, are shifting. Our ideas soften. Our stories deepen. Inspiration seeps in quietly, like fog rolling across a field. It’s not loud or dramatic. It’s subtle and tender. A whisper instead of a shout.
The Magic of Writing Between Seasons
Creativity during these liminal times asks for something different from us. It doesn’t want speed or certainty. It wants presence. Awareness. A willingness to sit in the not-yet. In spring, we rush forward. In summer, we overflow. In winter, we rest. But autumn—the season of thresholds—invites us to listen. To observe. To write in the pauses instead of the peaks.
Maybe that’s why so many stories begin this time of year. The light changes, and suddenly, we see the world—and ourselves—more clearly. The ordinary becomes mysterious. The familiar, a little haunted. When we write during these moments, our work carries that sense of transition. A transition that holds the ache of endings, the hope of beginnings, the beauty of things that don’t last.
How to Create in the In-Between
Writing within thresholds isn’t about word counts or perfect outlines. It’s about tending your creative spirit while the world changes around you. Here are a few ways to honor the magic of the in-between:
- Write at dawn or dusk. Let your creative rhythms mirror the day’s own transitions.
- Light a candle before you begin. A small ritual reminds your spirit this time—and this story—matter.
- Take a walk at the edge of change. Notice how the air smells, how the trees shift, how the sky fades. Bring that into your writing and maybe your journaling.
- Let your stories reflect impermanence. Endings, transformations, and shadows are all part of what makes love, loss, and beauty feel real.
- Trust the stillness. When inspiration seems quiet, it’s often just taking shape beneath the surface.
Living as a Creative Between Worlds
When we write within the thresholds, we remind ourselves that creativity isn’t separate from life. Creativity is entwined with it. Just as the world changes, so do we. And every time we cross one of these invisible borders, we leave a version of ourselves behind and carry something new forward.
So if you feel the world shifting beneath your feet right now, don’t fight it. Sit with it. Write from it. Let your creativity belong to this moment in between. To the place where the veil is thin, and your imagination has room to breathe. Because the truth is we’re all threshold dwellers, learning how to make art from the spaces between.
