I realized the other day why it’s taking me so long to get into writing my new book. I’m tapped out. No, not of story lines. I’ve got those up the wazzoo. Is that how you spell wazzoo? Well, I’m spelling it that way. What was my point? Oh, right, tapped out. I’ve spent so much time pouring every spare moment into my writing that I’d almost given up, no, I had given up all the other creative outlets I enjoyed. I hadn’t knit anything in almost two years. I’d always enjoyed taking photographs, but rarely picked up a camera to take photos of my kids, even. Reading? I’d forgotten what that was.

So after I finished the last book and got it off to market, my brain just

stopped working. It went blank when I sat down at the computer. I tried to cover with my friends. “Oh, yeah, I’m plotting.” Mmm-hmmm. I meant plotting to outwit my 3 year old, not the book. So, for some crazy reason, right before Christmas when we took the kids up to the mountains for a few days I grabbed my knitting needles and an odd skein of yarn to work on in the car on the drive. I also brought my computer. I didn’t even crack that puppy open for the entire trip. Instead I knit my nephew a hat. I’ve knitted five more since then. Not all for my nephew, which he is extremely thankful for, I’m sure. That act of creating was like taking a deep breath after holding

my breath for months.

I told my husband I wanted a camera for Christmas months ago. I had no idea how much I was going to love it. It’s another creative outlet. I have taken some of the best pictures of my kids with my new Rebel–fabulous close-ups, action shots. I’ll never take them to a professional again. And nature photos? That was the reason I got the camera, after all. I’ve taken some absolutely stunning photos of the sunset and sunrise through our trees. (I have a thing for trees. There, I said it.)

I’ve been working on the newsletter for a local charity with a program on my new computer, and I’m using the same program to help my son with a major school project. Writing, finding and inserting photos, learning a new program, it’s great! Next up is my website. I’m going to completely redo it.

So the moral is, I’m rejuvenated. I feel creative again. I am artist, hear me roar. Well, you know. But the truth is that I need these other things to keep the creative side of my brain (is that right or left? I can never get that straight) working. Writing isn’t enough. Writing taps the well, and

helps to refill it. But there has to be other sources or it’s just not enough.

I’ve created a playlist for this new book because I love music. It speaks to me, another creative outlet in a way, I suppose, although I can’t sing or write music. But enjoying it, listening to it, interpreting it, is a creative endeavor, I think. I haven’t tried a playlist before. So far, it’s really helping me stay in the story. It’s a mix of all kinds of music from jazz to country, and it’s inspiring a lot of creativity with this book. I’m also typing the book on Scrivener, another new program for me. So I’ve got the creative and the learning sides of my brain working together.

What do you do to keep the creative well full? Or the battery charged? (See, I did know. But I thought it would be funny.)

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