It’s here! The survey is back in, and I had so much fun reading your responses. You guys are such incredible writers, readers, and makers, and I can’t get over how much perseverance and grit you all show every single day.
I know it’s never easy to look hard at the things we want to change in our creative lives, but I also know it takes hard looks to make hard changes. And if it counts for anything, I wish I could make every last day easier on you all.
Speaking of which: the winner of the $20 Barnes & Noble gift card tucked at the back of the survey is Beth! I hope you buy all of the pretty paper goods with it.
So are you curious to hear what others are craving in their creative lives right now?
Question 1: What do you crave in your creative life?
The responses to this question were fascinating—over and over again, you said that time was the #1 thing you were craving and that a lack of time was holding you back creatively. And of course, you wanted space + quiet to go along with it.
Time + space + quiet. Sounds blissful to me, too.
There were also folks who wanted more direction and accountability, who wanted permission to spend time on non-moneymaking projects, and one person who just wanted rest. Rest is a great goal, too.
My favorite response?
“I crave to have one truly amazingly creative moment the kind that while you are creating the little hairs on your arms and neck stand on end because it is THAT amazing and that great.”
YES.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes you?
We’re readers, writers, risk-takers, money-makers, shot-takers, basically the stars of our own rap videos. Go us.
Question 3: On a daily basis, I struggle with:
The write-in options were PURE GOLD on this one. It’s almost like you guys like to write or something.
There was a resounding shout for “all of the above” and plenty of talk of looking for balance, barely keeping up, and trying to persevere. I’m with you guys—there isn’t a day I’m not giving major side-eye to every last one of these struggles. The struggle is really real. (Really.) (Sorry, I like bad jokes.)
As Linda (names changed to protect privacy!) wrote:
“[I struggle with] productive procrastination. I rarely, if ever just watch TV or surf the internet when I should be writing, but I do tend to do the dishes, rake the leaves, send out a newsletter, etc. Important stuff, but I need to keep the boundaries up between writing and other life/admin tasks.”
Linda, I have a solution for you. Just train your dog to run your household for you. Trust me on this—it’s worked not at all in my own life.
Exhibit A: Pepper meal-planning guilt-tripping me.
Question 4: To stay organized and creative each day, I use:
You guys are really organized and on top of things. Do you train dogs?
Question 5: How much do you spend each year on things to improve your creative life (books, pens, pads, journals, etc.)?
I swell with pride that our c&b community is singlehandedly keeping the paper mills and printers of the world in business. It’s always been my theory that trees want to be books and journals—what could be a better fate?
Last Question: This was the wild card write-in option, where I asked if there was anything else about your creative life you wanted to share.
And I can’t keep these gems to myself:
From Brittany:
“I thought it was funny that someone said they wanted to get paid to read. I’ve always said that, too. And 5 years ago I got a job that allows me to read when there is no one around. So I often get paid to read! I am soooooooooo blessed!”
Guys, she’s living the dream! Brittany, how can we get your job?
And from Dan:
“Yeah! Last year I filled out this survey, and I mentioned that I was going through the process of sweating out having my book on submission. You gave me a shout-out in the survey results, and asked everyone to send me some good energy. Well, it worked! My debut comes out in March, with the sequel hot on its heels. https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/589685/titanshade-by-dan-stout/ Anyway, just wanted to let you know my submission story had a happy ending! :)”
And Dan’s living the other dream! Let’s all send him a big virtual high-five on his amazing accomplishment.
The biggest takeaway from this year’s survey?
It’s really hard to find time to be creative. And when we’ve found the time, we don’t have the quiet, or the space, or the motivation, or the ideas, or the lack of guilt that we should be doing something else.
I hear you. I’ve been spending most of this year feeling the exact same way and trying about 1,000 different experiments with my time, energy, and schedule to figure out how to get the right things done. Not everything, but the right things. The things that feed my soul and reflect what I care most about.
So our little team here is working furiously on something that I think you’ll really love and that is custom-made for creatives trying to take back control of their time.
I can’t say much more yet, but stay tuned on the blog for a big announcement soon!
5 quick reads for the week
- This pretty obscure author has a few tips for writing. His name’s Stephen King? Have you heard of him?
- Hilarious.
- John Green’s most popular books are being republished as dwarsliggers, which are just as fun as they sound.
- Are we finally seeing the end of the apparently immortal vampire trend? (Sorry, I couldn’t not…)
- TBT: some great post-prandial reads for all the competitive eating happening this month.
What we’re eating this week
Whatever they are putting in new paint these days seems to have injected a burst of productivity in my veins because I am UNSTOPPABLE. Well, in the kitchen at least. Don’t ask to look in the master closet. Or any closet. Or behind any door in the house right now. They’re closed for a reason, okay?
But let’s get back to those few areas where we can kick some tushie, and for me right now, it’s cooking:
Monday: Shrimp sushi lettuce wraps with a HORRIFIC off-brand wasabi mayo I bought because I was too lazy to go to Trader Joe’s. I said I was unstoppable, but not necessarily good unstoppable.
Tuesday: I prepped all of the things so I could seem put-together later in the week and then sat down to spaghetti Bolognese at the crisp hour of 9 pm. Again, unstoppable =/= punctual.
Wednesday: It’s Halloween! We’re hosting friends and their adorable kiddos for trick-or-treating and a chicken and broccoli casserole, which I will pull out of the refrigerator and pop in the oven Martha-style, hair flip and all. Who doesn’t love dinner served with smugness?
Thursday: Ham salad, because I read the words “ham salad” on a menu weeks ago and can’t get them out of my head. I have never eaten or laid eyes on a ham salad, but why should that stop me from making my own ham salad? So far in my recipe I have: ham, mayo, uhh… Check back later.
Friday: I bought cauliflower pizza crusts and pizza toppings, because the truly unstoppable know how to get the right things done. And clearly the right thing to do here is eat a lot of pizza.
Cheers!
