Create Time to Create

This was another thing stored in the “Future Blog Ideas” folder that I’m hoping I can do justice to. DISCLAIMER: While this specifically mentions “women”, it applies to all genders; while this specifically mentions “writing”, it applies to all artistic endeavors.

How do you – or do you – schedule time in which you give in to expressing yourself through creative means? Are you like those novelists who sit down every day with the intent to stay there until you pen a specific number of words, sentences, paragraphs or chapters? Are you an artist who fills a pallet each day with assorted paint colors and stares at a blank canvas until your mind releases its idea for what you should paint? Do you pick up your knitting/crocheting every day and pre-determine how many rows you will accomplish before you can put it down?

Or, like me, do you wait for an idea to come to you of its own free will and then rush to gather the tools you use to create your craft and plunge in, working until your energy is zapped or until the idea becomes fuzzy and vague? Do you ever go back to your project later and realize you don’t like what you’ve begun and erase it, unravel it, paint over it, just completely trash it? When you’re working on your craft, do you focus more on wanting to make sure it pleases others who may see it or simply because it pleases you to see it?

There are people who create/craft purely to please themselves. There are people who create/craft with the primary reason as a source of income. Some bloggers, for example, have a large enough following that advertisers pay them for the privilege of adding ads to their posts. Some crafty people make things solely for the purpose of selling them at craft shows or on sites like Etsy. But unless you are a famous novelist, painter, sculptor, etc. and people will buy your next book or painting or sculpture because of your status as such, is it really viable to make a sustainable income by working your craft?

I’ve stated before how I am dependent upon a muse to inspire me to create – and that my muse takes vacations without notice. I’ve talked about the self-pressure I sometimes put on myself when I feel unable to come up with words I think are worthy of writing. I’m envious of my brother who has found his niche in writing poetry and has committed to posting a poem in his blog every day for at least an entire year. And yet, I’m not in any way envious of the pressure he must certainly feel at times for keeping up with that commitment!

So I look at those words about us needing to not let our ‘should do’ list override our time to be creative. I don’t think I agree, at least not for me. When I have a desire to pen words in my blog, there is nothing that will stop me from doing so… but I can’t imagine committing to writing every day and forcing myself to write something for that reason. Kudos to those of you who have the ability and the courage to generate something every day. It’s just not me.