MamaManagement

This is my art mat beneath a window on the floor in the corner of my dining room. It's not pretty. It's a mess. I love it here. If you follow me on Instagram @bookwormanista (and if you don't, you should: instagram.com/bookwormanista ), then you already know that I had a lot of fun playing on my art mat in the month of December. I took the month off from writing, as a recovery period after winning Nanowrimo2018 and finishing the first draft of a new novel. I tend to let things go in December. I didn't so much succumb to the insanity as I did when the kids were younger, but things are crazy and there is much ado, so I just try to roll with it. Rolling with it meant decompressing on my art mat and discovering a new process for myself. Which was super cool. A few months back I took a one day art class with a local artist whose art I admire. It was supposed to be a group class but others cancelled last minute and it ended up being just the two of us. Which turned...

Sometime over the last year or two, writing went from being my hobby to being something more of a vocation. It's not because I started making money at it (I haven't really...yet), but I committed to it in a way that made it somehow different. I set goals, objectives, and timelines. I started investing more time, and more-than-just my time, in it; I'm spending money to attend conferences and workshops; I've joined writer organizations; and I'm querying my work to agents. You know, stuff that makes it feel more like a legit, budding career. It's great and I'm happy with the path I'm on with my writing. I'm growing and developing and really loving it. BUT, what used to be just a creative outlet for me is now somehow changed. And that change left a little hole in my creative brain space. I realize now that I need a creative outlet that is about nothing more than relaxing, enjoying, and creating. No real goals or objectives or timelines. Just joy. ...