A short break... then back to the hustle...

How do you stay inspired when life throws you for a loop?

What do you do to get back on track and start huslin’ again?
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How do you keep the creativity and motivation going when the unexpected happens and you just can’t focus on getting the work done?

I’m not talking about the times when you wake up in the morning grouchy as all hell because your child/husband/dog/ghost startled you from your beauty rest.
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Or even when you’re feeling just a little bit lazy and want to put off that one thing you need to do just one more day.

I’m talking about times when something happens to you, your health, your family, and it shakes you up and spits you out again. You just can’t focus on anything else. THOSE times.

You know what I’m talking about. Everyone goes through it. I’ve been through it recently, and it sucks. We all have our own struggles to deal with, the battles we fight against those things we can’t control. What did I do? Besides Netflix and veg out on the couch or take walks to Wanderlust for the most delicious, uplifting waffle cone of ice-cream?

NOTHING.

I did absolutely nothing creative. I just let it all go because my brain just said no. No to drawing. No to chasing the next story to write. No to sharing on social media. Just nothing.

And it’s just what I needed. We all need it sometimes. Just un-plug and let go.

Take some time for yourself and start over. Recharge. Refresh yourself. Creativity cannot float through the heavy fog in your brain when your body just won’t let it.

As creative beings, yes, we have to set goals for ourselves. We have to keep creating because if we stop sometimes we can’t find our way back. We have to keep moving. But when our minds and souls have their feet firmly planted on the ground, sometimes it means they just need a little rest. The creative cup is empty, let’s stop and enjoy the shade and a nice cold glass of water before we dust ourselves off and pick ourselves back up to continue chasing that creative muse.

Don’t beat yourself up. Take however long it takes. As someone who just can’t shut off the swirling thoughts in her brain, I broke out the puzzle I bought on a whim and finished it in three days. Yup, a 500 piece puzzle in three days. And THAT felt so good. I immediately went on Amazon and proceeded to buy another 500 piece puzzle, which I finished in a few more days. Then I bought a 1000 piece puzzle, and it’s still sitting on the office room floor.

WHY?

Not because it was the most difficult puzzle I’ve ever encountered (even though it probably is).

That beautiful iconic wave of a puzzle, the one I am determined to finish one day and proudly hang on my wall, is still sitting on the floor unfinished because my mind is at ease, my emotions have settled, time has passed and the creative muse came calling anyway. Or maybe more like a swirling, twirling girl came dancing my way.

And now will begin a new endeavor, another mile marker on the kidlit writing journey. I, like many aspiring children’s book writers and illustrators also work a full-time job, and I continue to struggle with making time for this new passion of mine. I thought, “I can’t do it all. I need to focus on my writing if I want to get better at it." So, I put illustrating aside for a while. But when that well runs a little dry, the illustrations come tapping on my shoulder. I looked down and said, "Well, hello there new friend!"

A very devious little voice in my head has always told me I am terrible at drawing people, and somewhere I still believe it’s true. So all my life, I’ve very rarely made any art with people in them because of that little voice saying, “no, the face isn’t right,” or “ugh, the proportions are off.” But this little break has also sparked something else…

WHY NOT?

Why not try to figure out how I want to draw people? Everyone has their own style, why don’t I try to figure mine out? So this summer, I’ll be doing just that, drawing different eyes, noses, hands and limbs trying to figure out what I want people to look like. I call it my summer series, and I will be drawing out my favorite summer scenes as I figure out what my people style is. What are your favorite summer activities? If this goes well, I’ll be looking for more summer activities to draw soon!

Good luck with your spark of creativity or enjoy that much-needed break. Thanks for joining me on this creative journey!