I love being a writer.
Writing allows me to be creative in a way that requires very little in the way of supplies. Sure, I have a laptop with a good internet connection, but I can write with nothing more than pen and paper. Writing is also a solitary endeavor. I don’t have to form a team or coax others into joining in to make it productive. When I feel social, I engage with other writers in workshops or at write-ins. Writing is the best of both worlds for an introvert.
Like many other creative people, I enjoy being creative in more than one way. As a child, I recall my birthday and Christmas wish lists always included craft supplies. My creativity started innocently enough with tissue paper flowers. I suspect that was primarily because tissue paper was cheap but, no matter, I made hundreds upon hundreds of paper flowers.
When I tired of flowers I hit my candle-making phase. I made so many candles that my father insisted I try to sell them door to door (it was a more innocent time). I enjoyed the creating (especially after I learned how to add scent to them) but not so much the marketing.
Jewelry came next and I strung beads for a year or two before my creativity took a back seat to high school (and boys). Once I had my own apartment and my own kitchen, cooking and baking became my new passion.
Many, many, years of experience in the kitchen have taught me that I ENJOY baking but I’m better at cooking. Baking requires more precision; you can’t abuse your leavening agent by throwing whatever sounds good at the moment into the mix. I once considered baking as a profession (or at least a side gig) but I was an inconsistent decorator. You want 24 frosted cupcakes to look EXACTLY alike? You’ll get 18 identical ones, 4 wonky ones, and 2 that look like they should be featured on an episode of Nailed It!
Unlike writing, where I can utilize cut/paste or find/replace, baking is unforgiving.
Cooking, much like writing, allows for more slap-dash additions and improvisation. You want spices—I have spices. I make a turkey/sausage/sweet potato gumbo that will make your mouth do a happy dance. And then sometimes I serve chewy rice.
[While I make several substitutions based on my family’s palate – the original recipe for spicy turkey sweet potato gumbo can be found HERE.]
While I’m still writing and hope to be for quite some time, my newest creative urge requires a sewing machine. Never mind that I’ve never owned one, I took Home Economics back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I’m sure I’ll figure it out. Of course, now we have to move because I’m going to need a craft room.
How do you funnel creative urges into action?