Romance! The word alone elicits strong emotions, either positive or negative. Men hear that a movie or a book is about romance and what do many of them say, “Chick Lit.” They don’t want to watch the movie or read the book unless it is filled with “Action.” Women, on the other hand, are known for drinking in romance novels as if their heart will die of thirst without it.
For a writer, keeping the creative juices flowing can be difficult enough when all you have to do is creative work. Your own heart can dry up without some influx of creativity from outside yourself. If, like me, you have a “day” job that is the opposite of creativity that can create additional challenges. During that day job I have to deal with logical explanations of customers’ accounts as well as some technical support. At the end of a really tough day the creative side of my brain feels like it has been beaten into submission with a two by four.
Lately, in order to stir up my creative side after all this logical work, I have made sure that I read many different types of books. I have read a few memoirs, some I enjoyed but others I hated.
I read an unauthorized biography of James Stewart Unfortunately the book read like an encyclopedia. Then I read a memoir of James Garner who played Brett Maverick in the old television series. That book was wonderful. I felt like I was sitting across the table from James Garner just having a conversation. Another memoir I read was Paula Deen. This also sounded like you were having a talk with Ms. Paula Deen herself, including the colorful language. That I could have done without, but it was her through and through.
Getting back to the romance part, I’ve actually been reading some romance novels lately. They are still not my favorite type of story because they are all about the romance and we all know life is about more than just romance. But, I’ve found some romance novels that have just been so much fun. They didn’t try to be anything they were not. They didn’t try to teach a life lesson or answer any questions. And they weren’t filled with graphic love scenes that are not at all about romance, but just sex. We all need just plain fun in our lives.
So, for me, purposely engaging in just fun, frivolous reading such as some light romance novels, has served the purpose of romancing the creative side of my brain. I have found it tickles the teenager in me to a certain extent and stirs up the hope of things to come. Life can beat that hope down sometimes and it’s good to know that it’s still inside me just waiting to be stirred up and poured out.
What do you do to romance your creativity?
Mina's Minutes 