Rekindling One's Creativity

 

Rekindling One's Creativity

By Jayne Kingsley

So, it's been a year. Quite a few, really, but let's not delve down that rabbit hole. I agreed to write this blog months ago; fresh into a new year for which I had grand romance writing and kick ass life plans. January rolled into February, and I started a new career path by returning to university, naively thinking I could handle full time study, kids, a house, being an awesome wife, and writing romance.

HA!

 

I have a confession. I haven't written a word of romance since February. In fact, I haven't read a romance novel in over two months and quite frankly feel like my creative skills have packed up, dusted their brain space a little and trotted off to Bora Bora to soak in the sunshine and sip mimosas all day long. And I'd like them to come home now, please!

Giphy.com

 But how does one switch from writing carefully crafted and extensively researched academic reports and essays back into the wonderful world of creative writing? My brain is full to the brim with behaviour management skills, literacy blocks, and mathematically rich lesson plan sequences, (I'm retraining as a teacher btw, so yes, I really DO need my creativity back to keep up with my future students) but creatively I feel ... almost numb.

 

I miss writing romance. I miss reading romance, the type that draws you in and shakes your very core. I miss my tribe.

 

Regrettably, the university year still has a few months before I'm freed from its clutches for this year, but I decided to hunt for a few tips on adding a little more balance to my days, hoping that by doing so my creativity will naturally follow the golden path back to where it belongs (one can only hope; Bora Bora and mimosas are a pretty temptation to leave).

Tip 1:Mindfulness

I'm sure you've heard of it. It's the practice of being present in the moment, being aware of our thoughts and just taking a beat. My daughter, Miss 7, does mindfulness at school, and asked me to install the app Smiling Minds. It's free (no, this isn't some weird third-party promo I promise!) but I gave it a go and well, I'm a bit of a fan. Finding just five minutes a day to sit and soak in my thoughts, listen to the world and be present can only be described as a delicious treat amongst the hectic schedule that is my life. I highly recommend this one. 

Giphy.com

Tip 2: Colouring

I guess this is linked to mindfulness, since adult colouring books are still a huge trend, but I'm putting it separately as I feel they deserve their own time allotment. I love drawing, and it's another activity that I need to find more time for. It's peaceful, and ever so rewarding to see colour bloom across a once blank page. I even have a few colouring apps on my phone now. Not as blissful, I'll admit, but they do hit some of the criteria.

Buy here

Tip 3: Daydreaming

This is perhaps the one that I am lacking the most. I used to lie in my head, characters nattering to be written, ideas appearing thick and fast for yet another story I wanted to write. Now I daydream about having already handed in an assignment and receiving a distinction on my last maths exam. Sad, but true. I used to have a lot more time alone, where I could go for a walk and let my mind wander. These days, not so much, but it's a good goal that's certainly going on my list.

Giphy.com

Tip 4: Dancing

Dance like no one is watching, and if they are, tell them to come shake their booty too! I love to dance, and I make it a habit to try and fit in at least one danceathon with my kids each week. It's fun, it makes you smile, and it is good exercise to boot. All things that can help one's inner creativity find its way back to the surface.

Giphy.com

I'm sure there are loads more tips for bringing a spark of creativity back, but these are the four that I plan to start incorporating into my life. I'd love to hear if you have any suggestions?

I love to love... watching kids movies with my girls during school holidays (Let It Go rendition anyone?)

I love to laugh... at my terrible attempts to learn the floss dance move.

I love to learn... how bees make honey. We've just bought a beehive so bring on more learning! (Okay, I may be my own worst enemy).

Where do romance writers get their ideas?

 By Sharon Bryant

Where do you get your writing ideas? I recently posed this question to some writer friends. Their responses were enthusiastic, creative and varied.

One friend with strong visualisation skills envisages characters and situations. Another finds inspiration in dreams, even nightmares.

The most common response was that writers get their ideas from everyday life. Sometimes a writer may have no idea how a particular thought entered his or her consciousness. The best ideas may pop into a writer's head during the process of writing.

pixabay.com.au

Where do you start?

So where does an aspiring author begin? Overheard conversations, newspapers, magazines, the internet, books, movies, people you've met, and situations you've encountered may all play a part in the writing ideas you generate.

pixabay.com.au

The role of writing exercises

Some beginning writers find writing exercises designed to promote creativity most helpful. These can include letting your stream of consciousness run free, the use of creative writing prompts, or writing a story then rewriting it in a different character's viewpoint. Another useful approach is flash fiction where you start with basic knowledge of your plot, characters and conflict. Next you sit down, and immediately write your story in 500 words or less.

pixabay.com.au

Where do you get your writing ideas?

Have you ever used creative writing exercises like the ones I've described? 

Were they helpful?

I love to laugh at life's eccentricities.

I love to learn more about the culture and history of the places I visit.

I love to love precious time with my family and friends.

Books, Music, and Romance

By Kristine Charles

Today is 17 February and it’s Ed Sheeran’s birthday.

Now, I can’t confirm or deny whether Ed is actually into romance or not but it seems a reasonable bet given:

• the man has written a heap of stellar love songs; and
• he recently married the woman he met at high school when they were both 11; and
• his song Perfect was inspired by his now wife <swoon>. 

Photo from Milkos via depositphotos.com (Image: 321559668)

So, I thought, what better day to explore the connection between music and romance than Ed Sheeran’s birthday.

Many of the authors I know, and read, in #Romancelandia listen to music while they write.

Some have to listen to instrumentals because lyrics are distracting, especially if you like to sing along (like me!). If you’re as addicted to Life Hacks as me, you’ll know that listening to Hans Zimmer music while studying is recommended because it has no lyrics, and the music is intended to motivate.

Others listen to the same song, over and over, to stay in the mood, or the headspace of their characters. I’m pretty sure I heard Lauren, of Christina Lauren, once say that she listened to Xxplosive by Dr Dre to get in the mood for writing Finn of Dirty Rowdy Thing. I <heart> Finn, and that song is hot.

Photo from fxquadro via depositphotos.com (Image: 250373478)

Others create entire playlists to feed their output. For example, Penny Reid and J. F. Lowe both have heaps of playlists on Spotify which, they say, are the songs that inspire the writing of the book.

And then others, again, can’t listen to anything and need silence to feed their creative muse.

Then there are authors who use music to inspire their stories. For example, Renee Conoulty’s Got that Swing series all have song-based titles and the song is central to the story. M. L. Tompsett, Renee Dahlia and Joanne Tracey also use songs to inspire their stories – Shakespeare’s Sister, Lorde and (of course!) Ed Sheeran, respectively.

And then there’s how one particular song can make or break a moment. If anyone went and listened Thomas Tallis after reading Fifty Shades of Grey, you’ll know what I mean… Spem in Alium is haunting and hot in equal measure.

Photo from Vadymvdrobot via depositphotos.com (Image: 336781326)

So, what’s your favourite 'books, music and romance' moment…? 

Love to love: music. It never fails to make me feel better.

Love to laugh: Did you hear about the bed bugs who fell in love? They’re getting married in the spring!

Love to learn: About writing sex and love! Spent three hours with Leisa Rayven this morning and it was fabulous! Leisa is a Queensland based author, has written the Starcrossed Series (Bad Romeo, Broken Juliet and Wicked Heart), and is currently working on the Masters of Love Series. Check her out at leisarayven.com

And you can check me out at www.wordsbykristinecharles.com :-)

Writing Life: Why I Feel Compelled to Write

By Cassandra Samuels

Last month I talked about the people around us not "getting" it about our writing. This month I delve a little more inward: what it is inside myself that compels me to write. 

It could be different for everyone, but for me it has been a yearning for a long time. When I was in high school, I read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It changed my life. I hadn't really sought out books to read for pleasure before and, although I had enjoyed other books I was made to read, this book made me want to write.

By Jane Austen

Is it any wonder I write Regency Romance?

That year I started a novel. I hadn't any experience and, at fifteen, I hadn't experienced much, but I knew some things about history - Australian history. I'd studied convicts and the gold rush, so that is where I began. I still have it today; half typed, half handwritten. And the premise is still a good one, if I do say so myself. One day I may re-write that story. Inside of myself I had found a storyteller.

Author unknown

It is still a mystery to me what kind of spark was lit inside of me that year, but it is a spark that has turned into an inferno over time. Although I loved to write, I was logical too. Even my teachers steered me towards journalism, well aware that the odds of writing a novel and actually getting it published were against me. I did do that journalism course and, while I loved it, it didn't give me what I was looking for. I let my dream slip away for more practical things. 

I got married, had children and, when I was about thirty, I suddenly realised I was in a funk. I was a wife, a mother, an employee, but I had lost the essence of myself somewhere. My spark was pressing to be fed some fuel to burn. It wasn't that I was unhappy, it was just that I was missing something, or perhaps had ignored my need to write. I rang my mother one day and told her I was thinking of starting to write again. She was all for it, urging me to see this thing through. 

I started to write but I really needed some guidance. These were the days before books on writing were readily available in stores, and buying them online from the US cost a fortune in shipping. I wrote to the only Australian Historical Romance author I knew - Stephanie Laurens. I received an email back with lots of helpful information, but the best part of the email was that she urged me to join RWAustralia. All I can say is Thank You, Stephanie!

author unknown

I didn't even know such an organisation existed. I joined that very week. Not only that, I asked if there was a local chapter I could join. That group was Breathless in the Bush. I cannot begin to tell you all how much I have absorbed and learned and put into practice from these two amazing groups. They fed my soul with the knowledge that if I really wanted to write a book, I could. The spark turned into a flame that I have been fanning ever since.

 For me, writing is that 'something' inside you that drives you back to the 

keyboard/notepad no matter what. (Tweet this)

And you know what else? The more you do it, the more that 'something' grows inside you. The 'something' is creative passion and drive. It isn't something that can be turned on and off. It's just there. Sometimes we can successfully shove it to the side for a while but eventually, if you really want it, it will keep nudging you until you give in.

Some say writing is like an illness that takes over the body and mind. Illness to me means something negative and in a lot of ways the need to write does take over you, but for me writing is most definitely a positive.  

Writing is an ever present bubble of creative thought that swims about in

 one’s subconscious. (Tweet this)

But, boy, am I happy it’s there. It doesn't always cooperate, but when the words are flowing it is the best feeling in the world.

I’m lucky, my husband wants me to succeed, wants me to follow my dreams. Secretly I think he just wants total control over the tv remote, but what does it matter? Without him, and the support of my family and the fabulous groups I belong to (not to forget my amazing critique partners), I would never have finished my ms - the one that turned into my published book, A Scandalous Wager.

Are you compelled to write? What compels you to write? 

Love to love - supporting other writers.

Love to learn - that I can achieve anything I want to.

Love to laugh - at my beautiful grandson's funny faces.