I think I’ve said before that I’ve never had a problem with writers’ block, just a problem with sitting down and actually writing. So I nearly didn’t read a recent post at Tina Su’s Think Simple Now when it came through on my blog reader, despite it being titled “Connect With Your Creative Writer”, because it started out talking about writers’ block. I figure it’s one of those negative things that I don’t need to read about – perhaps it’s something you can talk yourself into if you read too much about it.

But I scanned the rest of the post and did find something really interesting. Tina included a list of tips for “unlocking creativity” that included a few standards like keeping a notebook with you wherever you go, establishing a routine and practicing a lot. The final tip on the list (lucky 13!) was to cross-train. That is, practice other kinds of creative endeavours so that you improve your overall creativity – as Tina puts it, try “doing something creative that frightens you or you don’t have much experience with”.

This struck me as a really great idea, and something I don’t usually do. I play the piano, and I know that this musical expression often puts me in the mood to do some good writing, but I actually don’t really have any other creative outlet at the moment – although at times, my teaching involves a decent amount of creativity. I enviously watch my husband painting, but as for painting myself – that definitely falls into the “it frightens me” category, although he’s always encouraging me to have a go.

I’m going to look around for a few other creative opportunities and I’ll report back soon on whether a bit of creativity cross-training helps out my writing or not.

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