tales of Suchita

If there is one thing that I have heard from the Blogchatter community and team members, it is the need to schedule free thinking time. For some of us, travelling time constitutes that time when one can think and allow the mind to just expand and flow. For others, it could be a walk among the trees, or a midnight conversation with a friend.

The #BlogchatterBlogHop prompt gave me existential crisis because I could not think of ways I nurtured my creativity. But, of course there are ways that I nurture it and today, I’ll attempt to list them down.

Take care of my health

Whether it is mental or physical or emotional, you cannot be creative or think or do any of those amazing things unless you take care of your health. Creativity and the muses have to be nurtured, right alongside your health.

Schedule in thinking time

You cannot create physically if you haven’t created it mentally first. I have found that if I know the time I will sit down to write, my brain is now trained enough to start thinking before that writing time.

Challenge myself

My sister once asked me to write a happy story and when I told her I didn’t “do” happy stories, she told me to try. I did and I managed to write 75k worth of words that are the happiest I have written. Since then, I have taken to challenging myself by giving writing tasks that are outside my usual. It’s been frustrating but interesting.

Consume what I create

Without knowing how the greats did it, how will you know what to do? So, I read a lot of fantasy and SciFi since that’s my preferred genre.

Observe textures

Observing and learning from everything around you is crucial to keep that creative spark alive. Whenever I’m travelling, people watching is a favourite pass time of mine. I pick up textures from what they’re wearing, how they’re sitting, what they’re carrying, if they’re alone or with someone, how they’re interacting with their surroundings, what their story might be.

Have down time or quiet time

Thinking can overheat and fry your brains and may hinder the creativity process. Walks, sitting in front of trees or just spending time with the humans outside my computer helps me to quieten the brain.

Listen to others’ process

Every time I see an article that says “xx writing tips” even though I tell myself not to click it, I always click it. It’s one of the reasons I love attending the Wednesday Blogchatter chats on Twitter at 8.30 PM. The raw and honest perspectives I get to read from other creatives fuels my process.

Keep the dream and the inner child alive

The dream, before it got warped with envy and “I also want that” was always to write. To create. And to have something tangible and beautiful to hold in my hands. When the going gets tough, I go back to that dream and that inner child who could take her dadi to town by her never ending stories.

Question time for you: what’s your favourite way of nurturing your creativity?

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This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop.