I am currently flexing my creative muscles in three ways – dance, drawing, and writing. I’ve been dancing for almost two decades, so that flavor of creativity is familiar and comfortable. Writing, new as of 2016, and drawing, new this year, are both things I have told myself I don’t know how to do.
I was wrong.
I’ve approached both writing and drawing with “a beginner’s mind” and let myself fumble around to find my footing. The results have been incredibly fulfilling! I’m also learning about my personal limits and what I need from the rest of my life to keep my creative juices flowing.
Writing is a new habit and skill for me and, unlike dancing, is one that seems to deplete me a bit along the way. I wrote on 29 of the 30 days of November, wrote in a genre that was new to me, and embarked on submitting queries for the novel I wrote last year. That was A LOT of writing-focused energy for the month of November and I could feel that a break was necessary.
I forced myself to take two full weeks – fourteen days – off from writing after finishing this year’s Nanowrimo. By the time 12/15 came around I was HUNGRY to get back to the work/play of making stories come out of nowhere.
My weekly pattern is different now – I’m writing Monday – Friday and sharing those story-starts with the world, letting a vote determine which of those five will get extra attention and words on Sundays. Play along with me?