When I did the follow up programme after the 30 Day Challenge I talked about in detail in my last post, I started out with some ideas in my head of where I wanted to go, things I wanted to do for my work. None of those ideas came to anything. But that’s OK – and here’s why.

One of the things I started doing during that challenge was creative writing. I hadn’t done it for twenty years or so, but the joy of it came flooding back. I’d sit down for 15-20 minutes and I’d write about the first thing that came into my head. Some days it worked, and some days it didn’t really produce much. But I showed up every day during the challenge.

I thought I wanted to do something with that, to have poems and creative pieces published in return for money, to publish my own books and sell those. But I gradually realised that there was a lot of effort involved in it, especially in the promotion – and it just wasn’t where I wanted to focus my time. I do still write, and I have published a number of ebooks (see here if you would like to buy one and see what’s inside my strange creative brain! *affiliate link). But I no longer have ambitions to do anything else with that.

Similarly freelance factual writing, which although not quite so relevant to what I’m trying to explain with this blog post, is still part of my story. I did a freelance features writing course, and have read books and articles on how to become a freelance writer and be published in magazines etc. But similarly to the creative writing, it just didn’t feel like the place I wanted to spend my time. I’ve created and kept up my own blogs, and I’ve had articles or news stories published on other blogs and in newspapers and magazines – just none in exchange for money.

And the other thing I thought I wanted to do was take photos and make money that way. The trouble is, my photos aren’t technically brilliant. They’re creative and sometimes quirky, and on many occasions I’ve had nice comments about them. But I can’t take great photos on demand, they just happen – so I accepted that it’s not a way for me to make money either.

The important thing that I did figure out was what photography and creative writing actually mean to me. (The factual writing is one for another time.) It’s all about noticing and being present. When I walk and take photos, or just take photos at home, I’m looking closely at my surroundings. I’m noticing tiny details. I’m focusing on the object I’m photographing, and everything else has just left my brain for a while.

When I write creatively, sometimes I’m writing about the sights and sounds around me at that moment and sometimes I’m pulling in details from my memory. It means that if I’m writing about where I am right now, my brain is thinking about that. And if I’m writing about a memory, it’s recalling details I once stored in a similar way. It means that whenever I’m out and about, I’m watching people and places and the sights of nature, and I’m storing away little details that appeal to me, and they’ll probably appear in my writing at some point.

These were two of the aspects of creativity I wanted to get across in the course I ran earlier this year. I created tasks for the participants that would enable them to see the details of their world through photography and writing.

And this is the reason I still do these things myself. Because they keep me present, even if only for small moments in a busy day. Distracting me from work problems, life challenges or world events, even if only a tiny respite in a long day. That’s what I want to share with you through this blog and my newsletters – the idea of noticing little details and doing something creative with them that’s just for you, a little piece of your world.

If you’d like to sign up to my newsletter, which I aim to send every two weeks, you can do that here. I share ideas and tips on noticing those little details and doing something creative with them.

*Affiliate link. If you visit Amazon through the link I shared above and make a purchase, I will receive a small amount of commission on the purchase.

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay