The need for creativity has been both a blessing and a curse for me. There are times when I brim with creative energy that spews forth in all kinds of personal projects. At these times, I write regularly, manage to maintain an exercise routine, whip up tasty meals, craft special gifts, and find beauty and inspiration in just about everything. And then there are the lows, when I drown myself in fiction: YA novels, Asian dramas, manga, anime, Bollywood musicals, movies--any story that can seduce my imagination and suck away my time, time that I could spend creating my own stories or artwork. Of course the fiction I consume provides plenty of inspiration, because anything that can entertain and force you to care for fictional characters is simply brilliant. However, when I don't create and my fiction binges go on for too long, my soul dries up and cracks in the frigid winter of my whiny, self-pitying discontent. I see only repetition, useless toil, frustrated hopes, stifling stagnation, and no beauty anywhere.
During my latest creative drought, a dear friend introduced me to Rane Anderson, a very talented writer and freelance editor. Her blog The Lit Express and upcoming online book Who Is Saint Giovanni? have inspired me to keep writing and creating (and reading, too!). I've even joined The Lit Express's book club on Goodreads. This month, we're reading Across the Universe by Beth Revis. What's not to love about a sci-fi YA novel with a bit of romance in a dystopian future?
The biggest lesson I've learned from this latest bout of self-doubt and uninspired dreariness is that I need to stay connected to people, places, and creations that inspire me. I need to help build a creative community that provides its members with support and challenges us to take risks. I need to make a habit of being inspired so that I can feed my need to create and contribute to the communal reserve of creative fuel. Starting this blog will force me to create so that I'll have something new to post. At the very least, I will have a forum to comment on the lovely works that others create, and write about the things that inspire me.
