Are you overwhelmed with all the ways you can improve your writing life in 2025? Relax, today's post is about how to engage in other creative pursuits alongside writing or illustrating. It will help your writing life in a new way.
A shoutout to Brittany Thurman who got me thinking about using my hands and heart when I was just not able to write. Brittany recently began embroidery as a way to release the stress of deadlines. My mom and grandma taught me to embroider when I was a kid. Now I'm ready to get a kit to try it again.
Creative side pursuits are a great way to relax, find the joy in creativity, and play without that inner critic getting in the way. I asked some kidlit friends to share their creative past times and how it helps them in their writing life. Here’s hoping you'll be encouraged to try one of the activities suggested here.
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| Can you believe this is Brittany's first project? |
https://www.brittanythurman.com/
What a unique way to work through stuff and be creative at the same time!
Susan Johnston Taylor
I like to cross-stitch funny or empowering sayings to clear my head. The repetitive motion of making X's in a specific pattern feels meditative to me and it also keeps my hands busy when I'm watching TV, a movie or a webinar. I've created some of my own cross-stitch patterns before, and that's allowed me to be creative in a different way than writing.
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| Susan's reindog ornament |
Love these sayings and designs, Susan!
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| A great quote for an author to cross-stitch! |
Kaz Widness
I don't run out of creativity often, but when I do, it's usually because I'm on book deadlines and my pathological demand avoidance (PDA) kicks in. To overcome this, I like to create mini projects just for fun. Lately, this has been small collage and Kwik Stix pieces that can later be used as gift tags or ornaments. Using clunky tools and mediums that feel less "precious" help me escape my perfectionist tendencies.
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| Kaz's cats! |
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| Meow! Cat ornaments! |
Kaz, I love that you call this “creative unblocking”!
Janet Johnson
One creative pursuit I often use when feeling stuck is playing the piano. Not only does it help me relax, and take me out of the stress of feeling stuck, but it reminds me of all the work and practice it takes to master a craft. When I play a song for the first time, I make a lot of mistakes. I move through the piece slowly, and I sometimes wonder if I should give up on it. But when I break it down, note by note, measure by measure, I can always get there. And it's the same for writing. Word by word, sentence by sentence, I can get there.
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| Janet at the piano |
Janet, this is an apt comparison of playing piano and writing.
Joyce Uglow
A good ToDo list helps me stay on track. But a creative pursuit that helps me get unstuck is going outdoors for a walk and finding a sit spot to ponder. I like to pause on my walks to look at how the branches are moving or to listen to the quiet of the woods.
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| Joyce's inspo from nature! |
Joyce, this is one of my favorite ways to relax and look for haiku subjects, thanks.
Sue Heavenrich
When I get to a place where I can’t get words on the page, then I head out with my camera and go look for beauty in nature. Not only doesn’t get me outside, which is good for my health, sometimes I even get inspiration.
Sue, seeing things through a lens and framing life in a composition is very empowering. Cool!
Katie Mazika
When I'm stuck or blocked as a writer, I do something physical that keeps my hands busy and takes me out of my studio. This could be anything from deep cleaning the refrigerator, organizing a closet, or working in the garden. But even just walking my dogs can help get my mind going again and spark my creativity.
If I hit a wall artistically, sometimes getting out of the studio helps. But more often, putting aside what I'm working on and playing with new art supplies or drawing something unrelated to my current project gets the creativity flowing again.
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| Katie from Maybe Just Ask Me (April 2025) |
Thanks, Katie, for this image from your newest PB, Maybe Just Ask Me! Love that smile on your face!
Deborah Williams
When I’m stuck, I find that getting outdoors and making enormous bubbles calms me and clears my mind so I can stop stressing and begin to think creatively again.
https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=bubblecrafters
Great post, Kathy! I love all these ideas, and the pictures of all the art are wonderful too. I gotta go now and work on my cello ...
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