I surprised myself recently when a stranger asked me what I do and I heard the words “I’m a writer” come out of my mouth.

I had never summed myself up in those words before and it felt good to say. The only reason I did is because I’ve been doing this writing gig. But even if I wasn’t writing for publications, I hope I would have realized that I’m still a writer, simply because I love to write.
I recently read a great little article by James Altucher entitled “33 tips to be a better writer,” so here are some of them. If you’re a writer too maybe some will grab you. And if you’ve never considered yourself a writer but love to write, maybe you’ll shift your thinking a little. I’ve added my thoughts after each.
Write whatever you want. Nothing is off limits. Let go of ‘what’s proper.’
Bleed in the first line. Writing should grab people by the heart.
Don’t ask for permission. Leave out ‘in my opinion.’ Just say what you want to say.
Write a lot. Writing is like exercise—daily or at least a few times a week is the goal.
Read a lot. Expose yourself to great writing. Be a fixture at the library.
Don’t be afraid of what people think. If you feel it, write it. There are bound to be others that feel the same. Connect with those people through words.
Be opinionated. Have strong feelings on at least a couple of subjects.
Risk. When you put your strong opinions out there, you’ll open yourself up to criticism and sometimes that’s hard, but ultimately that is the best thing about writing—evoking emotions in people.
Take what everyone else thinks and explore the opposite. Question the status quo—I love to do this.
Paint. Or draw. Explore other artistic endeavors. Since I love hoopdance, that is what I often do.
Let it sleep. Come back to it. Tweak it.
Coffee. Lots of coffee.

See full article here.

Tending to the creative fires more important than a clean kitchen

I was standing in my kitchen a few weeks ago talking to my friend that just moved here.  I haven’t been to her house yet, and as she stood in the chaos that comprised my kitchen that afternoon, she remarked how she wouldn’t feel apologetic to have me over to her house after having seen mine. 

            I laughed.  Good, because I want people to be comfortable in my house, and while I do prefer clean and clutter-free to messy, that’s not my reality most of the time.  I can’t stress out about it too much, or I’ll miss out on what’s most important to me, which are people and relationships and following my path of what I think makes this world a better place.

            My friend and I stood there in my messy kitchen and talked about how we fiercely hold on to what we’re passionate about and we make space for our creative fires to burn hot and bright, even though that often means letting go of other things, because when it comes down to choosing between tending our creative fires or having a clean house, we go with the fire tending.      

            Should we feel guilty?  Nah.

            Later I was re-reading a passage in one of my very favorite books of all time, Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ Women Who Run With the Wolves, and I read this: “I’ve seen women insist on cleaning everything in the house before they could sit down to write…and you know it’s a funny thing about house cleaning…it never comes to an end.  Perfect way to stop a woman.”

            Estes talks about the wild creative force flowing into each of us like a river, and will we pollute it or keep the waters clear?  Our creative ability is our most valuable asset.  I love that. 

Be a kid again and create with family or on your own

Children have an innate need to create and the gift of creativity. So do adults, whether we recognize it or not. My family does lots of creating—rarely is our table free of some sort of project in the works. Children are wonderful and open artists. I love watching their progression from stick figure drawings that can’t really be distinguished to more sophisticated recognizable animals, and their excitement over any new form of media they discover, whether it be different paints, watercolor crayons, making cut-out Christmas cookies, or building a fairy house out of found natural materials.

Last week I was at my parents house and my mother had a large basket full of pottery that we had made in art. I looked through it, pretty sure that there wasn’t any of mine left in there, since I’m the oldest and it was probably long gone. There was one, a little pinch pot, and it was painted greenish-gray. It was pretty homely really. But I looked at it and thought about the times my art projects were judged and how the joy of creating was taken from me. If I could talk to myself back then, I would have looked at the little girl that made that pinch pot and found something good to say about it to her. So what if it wasn’t cute, she had made it and because of that, it was special.

Do you have childhood experiences like that too? Remember that we all need to create, in whatever form it takes (there are many!), and honor that. There are a wealth of ideas out there to get you started. As a new year approaches, commit to making space in your life to create and experience the joy of making something, too, either with children or on your own.


Krista Bocko lives in ‘Old Town’ Noblesville with her husband and four children. She strives to encourage creativity and enjoys documenting their creative adventures. She can be reached via her blog at www.cachetwrites.blogspot.com.