by Lynn Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn 

A few years ago I had the opportunity attend a retreat and as part of the events we spent an evening with some lovely ladies from Truth Be Told Art . . . painting.

Y’all. I’m not a painter.

I’m not great with color. I’m not great with paint. I’m not even great with the part where you have to let the canvas dry before you add more paint. #nopatience

When I think about creativity—my personal creativity—painting is not what comes to mind.

But every now and then, it’s good—wise even—to dip your brush, your pen, your camera—into an art form that doesn’t come naturally. It stretches the creative muscles in new and unfamiliar ways.

And while I have no scientific data to back me up on this, I think experimenting with new, less comfortable creative outlets is even more important if your primary creative mode has morphed from something you want to do to something you have to do.

For example, I’m a writer. I love to write. I spend a lot of time every day being creative with words. But there’s no way around one simple fact.

Writing is now my job.

I get paid for it. I have to write even when I don’t feel like it. I have deadlines and obligations and my writing doesn’t always feel like a creative outlet. It frequently feels like work.

So, as I sat there with my paints and my brushes and my canvas, my feelings surprised me. Because I was 100% sure I would mess it up. I was skeptical that I could produce anything that bore a resemblance to the sample paintings scattered around the room.

And I was *thrilled* because it didn’t matter! I could play! I could mess up! I could wind up with a canvas that would only be good for one thing—kindling a bonfire. And it was completely okay!

When I write, I feel the pressure to be good. I can’t claim beginner status anymore. There are books with my name on them. I’m supposed to know what I’m doing. (Even though I rarely feel like I do!)

But with painting there’s zero pressure. In fact, if by some miracle I come up with something that looks half-way decent, I consider myself a huge success! No one will ever hang a painting with my name on it on a gallery wall, but that’s not a problem because I’m not trying to be good. I’m just trying to be. To relax. To play.

So, let me encourage you to experiment with your creativity. Give painting a try. See if you can bake something delicate or decadent. Redecorate a room. Knit. Crochet. Cross stitch. Try some photography, calligraphy, or pottery.

Enjoy creating, not for what you hope to produce, but for the sheer joy of the process. And just see how it refuels your creative spirit and energizes your writing.

Grace and peace,

Lynn H. Blackburn loves writing romantic suspense because her childhood fantasy was to become a spy, but her grown-up reality is that she’s a huge chicken and would have been caught on her first mission. She prefers to live vicariously through her characters and loves putting them into all kinds of terrifying situations while she’s sitting at home safe and sound in her pajamas!

Lynn’s titles have won the Carol Award, the Selah Award, and the Faith, Hope, and Love Reader’s Choice Award. Her newest series kicks off in March 2021 with Unknown Threat, Book 1 in the Defend and Protect series.

She is a frequent conference speaker and has taught Scrivener to writers all over the country. Lynn lives in South Carolina with her true love and their three children. You can follow her real life happily ever after at LynnHBlackburn.com and @LynnHBlackburn on Bookbub, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.