Creative Endeavors

For the past few months, I have had a tough time feeling guilt over NOT writing.

I have been about 1/3 of the way through the draft of my third book since October; and, before that, I was "spinning my wheels", cliche-speaking, since summer.

My former writing critique group even asked me to reconsider my involvement with the group, since I was not reliably sending chapters every month. And they were totally 100% right to do so. In fact, they probably were more patient with me than they should have been.

And, for that, I felt guilty.

Still do, actually.

But I am working on being kinder to myself this year. And part of that is with giving myself permission to NOT attempt to do absolutely everything. And permission to NOT feel guilty when I, well, when I just can't.

I work a more-than-full-time job for 10 months of the year. Part of the other 2 months I spend planning and preparing for the 10 months. I also own and run an Airbnb, for which I do all the cleaning and change-overs. I travel quite a bit, which also involves a lot of time planning and organizing. I (sort of) attempt to keep up with this blog. I read, but not NEAR as much as I would like. And yes, I write.

Oh, not to mention regular human things like laundry and house-cleaning and appointments and whatnot.

But there is a whole additional aspect to the way I spend my time, and that's something I don't talk about on here much.

I'm a creative person, and I explore and foster this creativity in a whole lot of different ways.

Which is the fancy way of saying, sometimes I get obsessed with a new NON-WRITING project and that takes up all my time. And then I feel guilty about it. Which isn't great.

Take right now, for instance. Over a year ago, a new theatre group popped up in our community. For someone who loves theatre, who always wanted to be involved, this was a dream come true. So I signed up and got a part and all of a sudden there were rehearsals and costume creation and performances... and a whole lot of fun. A few months later, another performance was announced. Again, I tried out. Again, lines to memorize, rehearsals, rehearsals, rehearsals, and then performances. A few months passed, during which time I wrote a few scripts and short pieces for different performances I was not otherwise a part of. But then in the fall, another performance was announced, and there I was, right back in the audition, right back ar rehearsals. And now, preparing for the upcoming performances. It's been months, and it's really coming together, and it's still a whole lot of fun.

But it's also a whole lot of time.

Another example is last weekend. I was at an annual local film festival. I love it; we have gone 11 years now. I was immersed in another type of story. But, again, it was time. A whole weekend of viewing movies and talking about movies and enjoying movies. Different genres, styles...

Every once in a while a new creation will grab my attention. Right now it's costume making, both for the upcoming performances, but also playing with outfits for an upcoming trip to Disneyland in the spring. I'm learning to embroider.

Oh, I'm also teaching myself Spanish. Because I've always wanted to learn it. So I'm plugging along with that.

I craft. I read. I teach. I plan. I travel. I create. And yes, I write.

All of these endeavors are creative. They take me away from my writing time, though.

But you know what else? What I figured out, which is helping me to feel a bit less guilty about it all?

They all make me a better writer.

They add to my experience. They help immerse me in stories. They help me approach words and worlds from another angle. Even with the play, I adapted the script for the group (with permission, of course!). Understanding a character - any character - in a play, for example, can help me understand characterization when writing. Understanding an element of costuming might help me pay attention to detail when writing, whether or not those details ever make it to the page.

Ernest Hemingway said, “In order to write about life first you must live it."

Though it all takes time, by dabbling in other creative pursuits, I am learning to better the time I do spend writing, and, as such, I am a better writer and, ultimately, just a better version of myself.

---

Do you ever feel like there is just not enough time? How do you deal with the guilt of that? Comment below or via my contact page. And don't forget to subscribe to my (very occasional!) newsletter!