It's the first Wednesday in October, so it's time to celebrate with the Insecure Writer's Support Group. This month's question is: How has your creativity in life evolved since you began writing?
This is an interesting question.
I feel like I've always been a fairly creative person. I've always written and told stories whether I was writing plays, short fiction or novels. And when I wasn't writing, my hobbies were acting and jewelry-making and cooking.
Even my jobs have been fairly creative in their own ways. I was a chef for a number of years, then started working in cinemas where I worked my way to the place where I programed the films that would screen at any given time. I curated festivals and special events. At one theater I ran an art gallery space in the foyer and hired out the theater spaces to theatre groups and live music acts around the film schedules.
My current job also has its creative aspects, but more importantly, allows me to use my creativity to solve problems and interpret information in new, and often surprising ways.
As a mother, these are also useful skills, especially with one teenager and one soon-to-be-teenager. I find I need to be creative in finding ways to engage with these people who are growing up in a world very different to the one I grew up in.
But mostly I need to be creative to keep myself sane. In a world that is increasingly noisy and chaotic, sometimes it takes spinning a story to make sense of it. I channel my emotional responses to the crap flying around me into my stories and it keeps me at least somewhat on the level.
Oh... and I still cook. Sometimes I even still enjoy it.
How has your creativity evolved since you began writing?
I agree with needing to be creative to keep myself sane. I would like to have more creative outlets to help with that, but sadly, I can't cook, act, draw, or do anything creative really, except for write. :)
ReplyDeleteI may be good at creating stories but man, am I not able to think creatively otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI need to learn to love cooking. Raising four boys, I cooked so often, there was not much fun left to it. But you're so right about creative outlets helping to maintain sanity. I always say that writing is cheaper than therapy, even if the pay isn't all that good.
ReplyDeleteI've always been creative in one way or another.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a creative and interesting life and career you've had. You are so right though, creative outlets do help keep us sane.
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ReplyDeleteFrom chef to running a theater - that's a variety.
ReplyDeleteIf you can communicate with your teens, you're doing good.
I've been writing all my life in one form or another, so it's kind of hard to say where the evolution took place other than in terms of sophistication.
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