Elaine
Calloway writes paranormal/fantasy novels with romantic elements. Currently,
she is working on her Elemental Clan Series, a set of good versus evil tales
between nature’s Elementals (Water, Fire, Earth, Wind) and the evil Fallen
Angels who hunt the innocent. To learn more about Elaine and her books, visit
her website.
Creativity Will Out
I have a confession. Ah, just saying that reminds me of my days in
Catholic school. (You know the old joke, don’t you? You know you’ve survived
Catholic school if you can walk into a phone booth without feeling the sudden
need to confess.)
My confession—or self realization, if you will—is that I’m creative. It’s
not an observation; it’s something I have no control over. In the absence of
creativity, my mind actually does go
berserk. Creativity will out, no matter what.
In the last few months, at my day job, I’ve had a huge amount of mundane
tasks to finish. When I say mundane, I mean horribly repetitive, mind-numbingly
boring tasks. A day or two of this isn’t bad. Crank the radio, give the mind a
break, and go-go-go get it done. Great therapy for a day or two, but an entire
month? Not so much.
The mind refuses to be numbed after a specific point. I began to take
walks around the office building, making up stories and creating plots for any
objects in sight—lampposts, trees, umbrellas. I picked up rocks from a rock
garden and began to have a puppet show on the ledge. I had conversations with
umbrellas and named them after royalty in 18th century England.
(While I did enjoy these talkative moments with umbrellas, admittedly they
didn’t talk back…)
In other words, I went a bit nuts.
But don’t call the men in the white coats just yet. (Does anyone besides
me ever wonder if they wear different colored coats just to rebel?) You see my
conversing with umbrellas is not a yell for help. Or Thorazine. It just means
that my mind has to do some form of creative activity or it can’t function. So
in the absence of challenging tasks or being able to leave the building and
write during lunch, my brain resorts to rock puppet shows and umbrella
dialogue.
How would you describe your creativity? Have you ever had to postpone it
and experienced a strange quirkiness in your mind? C’mon all, the confessional
is open…
Earthbound
Some say history repeats itself, but for
Terran, an Earth Elemental, history has returned and slapped him in the face.
Along the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, the Acobi Fallen Angels have
decided to go underground–literally. Resurrecting an ancient legend, the evil
Acobi are trapping underage girls and shanghaiing innocent humans into slavery.
Terran must stop the Acobi and keep the public away from the Shanghai tunnels,
all while keeping his supernatural powers hidden.
Kelly Habersham, overachieving real estate
developer, has finally convinced her father and brothers to give her the
Portland condo project, which would require extensive construction near the
tunnels. Determined to impress her father and make a name for herself in the
family business, she is not about to let a Save-the-Earth guy get in her way.
Terran and Kelly
must work together and come to a truce–or they may be the next victims.
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I find the longer I suppress my creativity the stronger it gets and eventually becomes disruptive or unpleasant. Feeding the beast regularly keeps it friendly and stops those unpleasant thoughts when my children aren't back when they said they would be.
ReplyDeleteAlas I've never seen enough umbrellas in one place to have a conversation:D but cactus are great listeners and have their own personalities.
Thanks for commenting, Linda :)
ReplyDeleteWow, you're right. If I lived out West and had cacti everywhere, I would SOOOO have conversations!
Elaine
I write and edit nonfiction for a living, and even that doesn't really satisfy my creative drive. I find myself getting irritable and depressed if I go too long without working on my fiction (of course, I also have the typical writer's tendency to procrastinate). When I finally sit down and do even one scene of my novel-in-progress, the clouds lift. Only afterward do I realize, "THAT'S what I needed!" So when people ask how I produce so much, even with a full-time job, that's the reason. Just think--I'd be even grouchier if I didn't!
ReplyDeleteThanks E.F.!!! You make my point exactly :)
ReplyDeleteElaine
Enjoyed your post, Elaine. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteInteresting, sometimes I think I don't let it out enough, and like EF, I can be an expert procrastinator...I probably just need to make a point to write more...because, yeah...I do feel better afterward, for sense of accomplishment alone...
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Alan.
Thanks for commenting, Angela and Alan :) Yep, I think the creative bug has to come out of us eventually. Whether you're a writer, painter, airline pilot--creativity can take many forms :)
ReplyDeleteElaine