Be Creative

The Writing I Love - A List for Inspiration

I just spent some time making a dutch apple pie for the first time. I researched the ingredients, peeled the apples, and had fun involving all my senses. If the recipe comes out great, I’ll write it down in my notebook of “keepers”.

This got me thinking about the type of writing I love to do, but barely do anymore. So I decided to make a list so I can refer back to it when I need a little inspiration.

* Travel Writing

* Food Writing

* First Person Essays

* Writing about Freelance Writing

* Poetry

* Flash Fiction

I spend so much time doing other things these days, I wonder why I just don’t let myself be a writer since it seems to be in my blood? What if I were to just focus on writing these selfish things? What would truly happen?

Yes, I am a writer at heart. I would be much happier and more creative if I remembered that.

I Need to Be Selfish

I used to write for the joy of it. Now my writing is a giant to-do list designed to bring me money. I don’t like this.

So, I started a blog today that is purely selfish. Sort of like this but the two sites have different purposes.

Do what you love and the money will follow? I don’t know. Whatever. Both of these projects have nothing to do with money because I need to do SOMETHING to keep me sane.

I Enjoy What I Do But...

I am a writer, and I love it … for the most part. But in order to make the kind of money I want, I find that I need to do some work that I don’t necessarily enjoy.

I don’t know how I feel about that. I often wonder - if I fill my plate with projects that bring me joy, will I have an easier time meeting my financial goals in the long run?

This is an experiment I would like to do, but I don’t know if I could afford to. 

A Lesson in Clearing

I have a lot of experience writing for the internet because of all the work I’ve done for my clients. After a year and a half or so, I simply got burned out.

So for several months, I kept on saying that I was going to do something about it. Change paths. Find something different. And then I’d panic because of No Money and then take on more work from The Clients. It was an endless cycle.

Finally, I stopped. Cold turkey. This is the first week in a while that I’ve had nothing lined up.

Once I did that, there was a lovely email waiting for me in my inbox. It made me feel pretty happy that I finally listened and stopped trying to be something I’m not. And this new, fun project is something that actually pays more than the work I was doing for the clients.

Getting Inspiration at the Market

I like to visit farm stands and organic food markets. Not only is the food healthy, but being in an environment like that makes me want to cook. Sometimes, a beautiful, ripe strawberry can inspire a great dessert, for example.

Today I purchased some wild, sokeye salmon. The flesh was the color of rubies, and it was shiny with oil. On a whim, I grabbed a cedar plank to cook the salmon on.

For me, shopping at a market like that with fresh seafood, beautiful produce, and international ingredients I’ve never heard of, is a highly creative act. Perhaps if I do more of it, I’ll bust out of this creative dry spell.