Mehndi Roses ... & Thoughts on Writing

Mehndi roses, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

I read a lot of books, and listen to a lot of books, on writing and creativity. This year I've read and/or listened to:

Floor Sample by Julia Cunningham
The Great Failure by Natalie Goldberg
Long Quiet Highway by Natalie Goldberg
Grace Eventually by Ann Lamott

& I've read some autobiographies:

The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure
Sickened by Julie Gregory
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
Candy Girl by Cody Diablo
Cherry by Mary Karr
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

& my am-reading or to-be-read (or reread) stack includes more Julia Cameron, More Anne Lamott, and more Natalie Goldberg.

I find it inspiring to read books on creativity, and I have found more the kind of books I want to read about writing than about visual arts. And I used to write, and I still do a bit. I am working on a non-fiction project at the moment. But I have known for a long time that I wanted to write more and be more open. Various things have happened over the years, and there has been some inertia or something... the end result being that while I am very creative and spend a lot of time creating I am not feeling very connected to a creative community. And after close to a year and a half of looking for a job I am more motivated than ever to see how or if my artwork or other creative endeavors could support me full time, because that would be my dream job. So I've been trying to understand a bit what people connect to on-line. It seems to me that a lot of what people connect to is a personality, as much as the product of that personality. And I don't have that sort of personality. All of the best of what I have is already in my artwork - I am not sure what is left.

I have been reading all year though about writing and thinking I would like to write more open and honestly and connect to people with words and not just images. I've noticed that all of the most popular blogs (that a lot of people connect to) seem to be connecting mostly with words. The exception being web-comics. So Maybe other people don't "read" pictures the way I do.

Well these are all things I am thinking about. If it goes well you may see more writing from me here. We'll see. I know I struggle with a lot of things many people struggle with and might connect to: creative block, depression, a difficult time finding balance between various aspects of my life, living with chronic pain, etc. But I'm nervous about being honest about those things. Even though I don't think anyone should be ashamed of those things and I admire people who are honest about those things. Well. We'll see.