So lately, if you didn’t notice from my putting my blog on hiatus for over a month, writing hasn’t come easily. But this week I’ve come to a realization…if I don’t participate in a certain number of creative activities on a regular basis, my writing suffers too. Which brings me to my main point…
Like the body, creative muscles need to be exercised together.
I recently started taking martial arts classes again. Since then, I’ve noticed the muscles in my body performing better in general, even if they’re not one I worked on recently. It’s like how if you want strong abs, you also have to build up the muscles in your back.
For me, when I practice music regularly, and compose, my writing–poetry, fiction–gets better and I can write more easily. My lesson that I take from this is that I can’t neglect music (listening & playing) and expect to write well or with relative ease. For me, the two are inextricably linked.
If writing is my abs, music is my back.
What other creative activities do you enjoy? Have you ever noticed your writing suffer if you’ve stepped back from these other activities? I’m curious to know if others out there feel the same way or if it’s just me!
I’m with ya…
Thanks for reading & commenting. What are your other creative pastimes?
I draw and mess about with paint, bake, make things, facilitate creative writings classes, try to teach myself guitar, bounce about with the kids, swim, hike, sing, dance, go horse-riding, read, read and read.. Not all at the same time of course loll