"Being creative requires that we venture into unknown territory and chance failure" — Robert Alan Black, Little Things Can Stop Creativity

How has the Creativity Portal influenced your creative life? I am overjoyed when readers e-mail me personal stories of how the Creativity Portal has positively influenced their creative lives through our newsletter, articles, projects, or connections they've made through the site. One of the most recent stories came to me from Mimi Greenwood Knight, a reader and contributor of the article "Writing for Her" published in January 2005. Mimi gave me permission to share her story with you:

"I just had to let you know. Some time right before the clocks in South Louisiana stopped (AKA the day Hurricane Katrina hit), I read on your wonderful site that getting outside of your routine promotes creativity. Little did I know how far out of my routine I'd soon be and how true your words were.

After being exiles for a month, we returned when our town was inhabitable again only to find that my job as an artist in residence in the public school system was yet another victim of Katrina. Since then I, like so many other people, have done whatever I need to do to make money. Among my jobs has been housekeeper and recently gardener. I have never made my living doing manual labor before and am amazed again and again at how the more I wear myself out pushing to the limit of my energy and strength during the day, the more I write that night. I've never written so much in all my life.

Last week I spent five hours doing back breaking working in the sun (Not complaining just thankful to have a strong back to do it with.) and couldn't make my hand write fast enough to get down all the thoughts that swam through my head that night. Actually it can't wait until night. I keep index cards in my overall pockets and stop often to scribble sentences or entire paragraphs. I'm writing on the dash board while I'm driving. I'm scribbling in margins of books and on backs of envelopes.

Thanks for a great piece of advice. I never dreamed how true it would turn out to be." — Mimi Greenwood Knight

I was speechless after reading Mimi's story and extremely grateful that she shared it with me. The article discussing "getting out of your routine" may have been Linda Dessau's "Make Every Day an Artist Retreat Day."

Please keep sharing your stories with me. If something published on the Creativity Portal has particularly helped you or inspired your creative life, I would love to hear about it (send it through our contact form). And if you'd like me to share your story with our readers, please let me know if I have your permission to.



Chris Dunmire
Publisher, Creativity Portal

P.S.Those of you who've asked about a Creativity Portal RSS feed will be happy to know that we now have one!

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