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Daughter #2 came home for a visit this weekend. While she was here, she got out an old ancient glockenspiel and a melodica, which hubby purchased many, many years ago. Daughter #2 proceeded to record the sounds of both instruments, experimenting and blending the tracks together. The end result was something that sounded like mood music from a movie soundtrack. Spooky music. It was delightful.

Though I enjoyed time with my daughter, I've continued forging ahead with my writing, encouraged by the other intrepid writers of the NJ Romance Writers' Challenge. I'm hoping to hit 20,000 words tonight on my current project. With only eight days to go, I don't know if I'll hit 30,000 words, but I'm delighted with my progress.

It is amazing what you can do when you make up your mind to allow some time for creativity in your life. The dust is piling up, the floor needs washing, but I can do that next week and I will. Right now, I'm having fun and that's worth more than a spotless home.

I wish everyone allowed themselves to play. Coming home from work and watching a television show  is not the same as being creatively engaged. Even adults need to play. Some people have hobbies, and that's good. It's healthy. You can read about it here.

Have fun. Just do it.

Solitude and Creativity for the Writer

Writing is a solitary occupation. Putting words on paper--or the computer screen--involves a lot of concentration. As an author, I record my daydreams and then offer them to others for their entertainment. If readers enjoy my story, they might buy another one of my creations. If not, I have to come up with a better flight of fancy.

Ideas are everywhere, but a book must be specific--it cannot wander around as real life does. There must be a point to the story and it needs a beginning, a middle, and an end. That process takes a great deal of thought. Sometimes I hit a dead end when I'm writing. Sometimes I'm not sure I'm leading my characters along the right road.

I've found the creative process can often be nurtured with solitude. When I was younger and raising three small children, sometimes the only solitude I could find was in a trip to the supermarket or a session of folding laundry in my bedroom. Now that I'm older, I find a quiet walk conducive in stimulating my mind.

I found several interesting articles on solitude and creativity but this one, The Lost Art of Solitude, by Leo Babauta, offers a good guide to finding some quiet space to allow your imagination to flourish.

Give solitude a try.

Creativity: A Gift? Or an Aberration?

I love writing stories. It's fun. Watching my characters in action and listening to them talk--in my mind--is usually better than watching movies.

On the other hand, I hate writing query letters and synopses. (That's work.) Writing blurbs is sheer torture.

I love writing letters (longhand) to friends and family.

I have been putting words on paper since I was nine years old. I have not run out of words or stories. I always have something to say. Some people call it a gift. Some think it's egocentric.

Some just think I'm crazy.

There have been many studies done concerning mental illness and creativity. There are some psychologists who are persistent in trying to prove that there is a link between creativity and madness. It is true that there have been an abundance of famous writers who apparently showed signs of mental illness. I found a list here, but there are others. I do not think it's fair or ethical to diagnose someone after they have passed on.

I know a lot of romance writers. I hang out with them. They are very nice, normal people. They simply have vivid imaginations. Children have vivid imaginations, too. Do you remember what it was like to be a child? A child can view a box as a house, or an army tank, or a boat.

Writers are people who have not lost that power. They can create stories out of almost nothing--out of little bits of information that most people ignore.

Writers are special, but not crazy.