Are You Validating Your Creativity by Blogging Your Journey?

The Blossoming of a Creative Life Comes by Way of Habit

By Chris Dunmire

If you are regularly blogging your creative journey, then I would like to hear from you.

When I started quasi-blogging pieces of my creative journey on the Creativity Portal in July 2003 in a feature named "Inner Diablog", something unexpected happened to me. I found that the more I engaged in my own inner dialogue through writing, the larger my creative appetite grew. You would think just the opposite would happen — that I would eventually exhaust my energy and run out of things to write about. Not so.

I read a remarkable thought about the nature of creativity in an article by author Alan Cohen that describes this phenomenon. He wrote:

"Will you ever run out of creative ideas and expressions? Ha! The more creative ideas you have, the more you will discover. Creativity is a tree with countless branches that never stop blossoming."

I find this to be true in my life. The more creative things I do, the more my creativi-tree blossoms. No wonder why so many creativity coaches encourage making *whatever* creative thing you enjoy doing a regular habit. Once you do, you won't be able to stop!

This is what else happened to me. Through my regular writing practice I discovered a part of myself that could no longer be contained within small reflective paragraphs. So in early 2005 I moved my Inner Diablog over to my personal Web site, renamed it "Creative Slush", and began writing a whole lot more. I also began doing other creative things such as indulging in modes of artistic expression and engaging my sense of humor. Looking back I now see that I've been documenting not only my creative journey, but also my creative autobiography. I'm writing a story that doesn't need to be blessed by a publisher, be contained in between two covers, or have a 'once upon a time' beginning and a 'happily ever after' ending. In doing so, I'm validating my creativity and declaring that it matters to me first and foremost. This is empowering. If you are at a similar place, you know what I'm talking about.

Are you blogging your creative journey? Or if blogging isn't your thing, are you somehow documenting your creative life by capturing bits and pieces, visual snapshots, and honest memories of it — perhaps through journaling? Are you finding a way to validate your creativity to yourself as an artist, craftsperson, writer, performer, engineer, or inventor? If not, why not? Isn't the most important story you can tell first-hand about your creative life the one that you author each day? Don't relinquish that privilege to someone else. Or worse yet, don't let your story get lost in time. Other people want to hear it. They need to hear it.

If you are regularly blogging your own creative journey as an artist, writer, or creativity enthusiast on a family-friendly Web site and would like to inspire Creativity Portal readers with what you're doing, I would like to hear from you. Send me your Web blog address with the subject: "Blogging My Creative Journey."

Chronicle your creative life and share it with others. You are the finest author of your own story. •

© Chris Dunmire 2006. All rights reserved.

See the feature that this article inspired:
Blogging the Creative Journey: Inspiring Blogs

© Chris Dunmire 2006. All rights reserved.

Creativity Portal hopes you enjoyed this feature, which is copyright © Chris Dunmire and not available for reprint on your Web site, blog, or publication. Please respect the creator's copyright by not duplicating this material elsewhere.

About the Author | More by Chris Dunmire
Chris Dunmire is an author, artist, humorist, workshop facilitator, and the driving force behind multiple creativity-inspiring features for Creativity-Portal.com, a Writer's Digest best Web site. Chris trained with Eric Maisel, Ph.D. as a creativity coach and inspires people of all ages at CoachingYourCreativity.com. She also develops printable project playbooks (including the world- famous Dollar Bill Origami Money Plant) available for instant download at CreativeSlush.com.

05/31/06