Off and running.

Happy Monday! I love the sun on the water in this picture. I am so wishing I could go camping (thus why the theme of the camping scenery pictures lately).

I want to draw everyone's attention to the addition of the First Offenders blog to my blog roll on the right. These four authors have a neat little blog where they dish about their writing, publishing, and day-to-day happenings. If you want an incredible few mystery series to read, check out their books. I have never been as freaked as the night I read Alison's Hide Your Eyes while hubby was out playing soccer. Really a great book. I've got J. Carson Black's Darkness on the Edge of Town to read next and after reading the back cover, I think I may be in for another scary thrill!

I hope everyone got rested and did something fun to recharge your creative juices. As for me, I shopped and laughed and talked with my sister, who came up to Seattle for a visit. It was really relaxing.

I'm tired today because of stress, but wanted to get everyone thinking about their Creative DNA. If you've read Twyla Tharp's book The Creative Habit, then you'll already be aware of this great quiz she gives her readers. I won't spoil the fun for those who need to buy the book, but a few questions got me thinking today.

What is the first creative moment you remember?
I was at House Rock (see picture above) camping during the summer break and I was probably 8 or 9 years old. The camp ground boasts considerable rocks the size of houses (thus the name!) and these were automatic creative prompts for me.

I'm inspired by rocks. I have jars of them that I've collected throughout my life and I inherited rocks and shells from my great-grandmother, because she collected them also. I have shells and rocks from around the world sent to her by missionaries in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and North America.

So big rocks like those found at House Rock are really special!

What are your habits? What patterns do you repeat?

I have very specific habits. I read constantly or listen constantly. I write in between in little notebooks all over my house. I record what I read and hear and jot notes about how I interpret it. I still think I can't write if I'm not in the mood, although in truth, I write best during those times.

I am glass half full all the time. No matter how bad or dark life gets, there is always something good that will come out of it.

I tend to lessen the time I spend with friends that don't give energy. I limit my time with groups of people who just want to sit around and whine all the time. I increase my time with groups of people who spur me on, who are accomplishing huge things (which inspires me always), and who have dreams that will not be put aside. I tend to seek out like-minded people on a professional level and clear away from me colleagues who don't want to move forward in their careers or professional accomplishments.

I move very quickly through my to-do list. I have a huge to-do list and huge expectations for myself.

I batch the same kind of things together and do them all at once.

I slow down by habit on Fridays at about 2 pm. I speed up by habit on Sunday afternoons at about the same time.
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So, what kind of creative DNA do you have?

And, what are you going to do today to further your creative habit?

I plan to finish up a few short assignments and then spend the day working in Curio.