My Creative Space ~ Wendy L. Macdonald

September’s Writing Prompt: What Is Your (Daily) Creative Ritual? ~ Sandi Somers

In a blog post of the same name, Karen Stiller, co-editor of Faith Today, wrote that “highly creative and accomplished writers, artists, musicians and super-smart math people, all discovered how to work well within the possibilities and limitations of the space and the time they had.”

What are your (daily) writing patterns? 

How is it working for you—or not?

How could your ritual could be fine-tuned for better, deeper work?

https://karenstiller.com/blog/what-is-your-daily-creative-ritual/

Wendy’s Post:

I struggled to start my post for this month’s theme. Not because it’s not an excellent one, but because summer upended my normal creative rituals. But then something happened, and everything shifted into glorious gear again.

My writing ritual is rigid for long spells and then sporadic when the gardening season or new hobbies arrive. 

A love of tinkering outside amongst plants, combined with a growing passion for making junk journals usurped space in my writing schedule (and in my creative space). I was hooped. Guilt and shame shackled what remained of my morning writing time. Forgetting how much one can accomplish word by word and line by line, I fell into crafting and cleaning instead. 

And then something happened. 

I moved another desk into my creative space. I gave myself permission to craft and write in the same room. Except, one desk was for playing with paper, glue, and paint and the other one was only for writing. 

Boundaries are helpful for people who have a multitude of interests. And since I have stayed faithful with my morning quiet time, I knew I could be faithful again with writing if I set up stronger boundaries for myself.

I’d broken a huge boundary during the summer. I stopped reading writing craft books while eating my cereal and watched crafting videos instead. 

Oh, dear. How was a writer supposed to get motivated to write when every piece of paper in her den was calling out, “Pick me. Put me in a junk journal”?  

Reading Lorilee Guenter’s August post on Inscribe Writer’s Online helped me forgive myself for falling out of my writing chair. By the time I read her post, I was back in writing mode and had several new chapters of a W.I.P done. But it was her post that helped me realize that maybe I needed that summer break. Maybe all that fun I had would spill into my writing? 

Yup. My new chapters were more honest than usual and included more humor. And it seemed like God rewarded me for making a concerted effort to work better; a few minutes after having had a productive writing morning, I made a meaningful connection with someone in the writing world I greatly admire. Humbled to be able to converse with her, I teared up and had to sit down. That’s when God reminded me: I already have a much grander connection to the creative world—our Creator—Him. 

Thank you, dear Father, for using everything in my life for good, even when I don’t feel so good about my tendency to wander down crafting trails.

Paper. Yes, there are tea-dyed papers drying in my kitchen right now. Hopefully, the junk journal bug won’t disrupt my cooking duties. (Actually, I made a big pot of spaghetti sauce while I was puttering with papers.)  

Blessings as you find the creative rituals and boundaries that work best for you, dear writing friends.

Wendy Mac

Wendy L. Macdonald is an inspirational blogger and podcaster who loves to photograph nature on Vancouver Island. Her byline is: “My faith is not shallow because I’ve been rescued from the deep.” Her main website is wendylmacdonald.com where she enjoys interacting with readers.