Creativity Beyond Writing

 Creativity Beyond Writing

Artistic types, like writers, often don’t limit their talents to one form of art. We thought it would be interesting to tell you how else we let your creativity play or simply let off steam.

K.M. Rockwood - I’m afraid I’m not particularly creative. When my fingers were more nimble, I liked to design & stick embroidery projects, but I don’t any more. I let off steam with aquatics exercise classes and walks on wooded trails near where I live.

E.B. Davis - I cook, imagining the end result and then creating dishes from scratch.

Kait Carson - Crochet, throw pottery, and one of these days, I’ll get back to drawing.

Martha Reed - I’ve tried my hand at painting. To let off steam I go for an hour walk every day while I listen to disco music on my earbuds. I’ve been seen busting some moves down the sidewalk but the neighbors know I’m a writer so they cut me some slack. 

Lisa Malice - I am a virtuoso whistler. Sometimes, while in the shower, I whistle up my own tunes, melodies with a style that seem to reflect my love of movie musicals. 

Nancy Eady - I like to knit, cross-stitch, draw and paint when I can.  A lot of days I decompress by playing match-3 games on the computer like Candy Crush.  Probably I do that too much. 

Shari Randall - I spend a lot of time wishing I was as talented as many of my friends in the fiber arts (looking at Linda Rodriguez and Ellen Byron) but my hands just won't cooperate! My main hobby right now is Pilates and yoga, which are also great for letting off steam. I adore dance, but my hubby's too busy for ballroom dance classes right now. Maybe someday I'll get to take that tango class I've dreamed of.

James M. Jackson - I'm a decent wildlife photographer (particularly birds), and I've composed choral music.

Connie Berry - I love intricate craft projects like sewing and knitting. Wish I had time to indulge. I let off steam by reading (spending time in another time and place).

Sarah Burr - I loved designing digital art, which has come in super handy as an author. I design all my promotional materials; nothing is more therapeutic than diving into Canva and creating images for my books. It helps me unwind, but it also helps me think about my characters and the world they inhabit. I also love to play video games to turn off my mind completely.

Molly MacRae - Cooking and making handmade books, but never cooking my or anyone else’s books.

Grace Topping - Like my home staging character, I enjoy home decorating and helping friends stage their homes. To let off steam, I listen to audiobooks, especially at night when I can’t sleep. 

Debra H. Goldstein – Reading always. Seeing Broadway musicals whenever I can.

Lori Roberts Herbst - Cross stitch is a favorite hobby of mine. I also enjoy passive forms art, such as attending plays, musicals, and movies. Letting off steam involves a long walk or immersing myself in my reading.

Annette Dashofy - I used to quilt, but I can’t see well enough up close anymore to make those little stitches. For letting off steam and for cardio, I like to dance. I’m really bad at it, but I only do it when no one else is home.

Heather Weidner - I used to be a rapid scrapbooker, but times and technologies have changed. I create most of my photo albums online now and have them printed. I do like to try different craft projects. I love making holiday ornaments. I dabble mostly. I don’t really have a go-to medium. But I do have a craft room full of all kinds of supplies for whatever project is next. During the Pandemic, book blogger Kristopher Zgorski turned me onto diamond dot painting. It was so much fun, and it reminded me of the old paint-by-numbers with tiny beads. 

Korina Moss - I like word games, logic puzzles, and jigsaw puzzles. It’s satisfying to solve any kind of riddle. 

Marilyn Levinson - I knit, often creating my own patterns; I'm a good cook. I relax by doing Sudoku puzzles.

Margaret Hamilton - I find creativity in garden photography. I do my best plotting walking the dogs, weeding, and swimming laps.