by Andrea Christenson, @AndreaC_Author
Every year in January and February, like clockwork, something happens in my home. Up here in the Midwestern United States, the air grows cold, the snow piles up, and my furnace kicks on every fifteen minutes or less. Folks in a similar location to mine will know what this means.
It is dry in here.
Static cling on all your clothing, hair crackling when you brush it, skin that chaps seconds after you apply lotion, may as well hang your laundry to dry in the living room because it is faster than the dryer dry in here.
I find a similar thing happens to my creativity. The lack of sunshine, the fatigue after the gamut of holidays that end the year, and the cold slog of January zaps my energy for originality. They don’t call it the dead of winter for nothing.
This is the time of year I find myself in the biggest slump. I’m sure each of you has a similar story, maybe not during the same time frame as me (especially those of you whose weather and seasons are different from mine. Winter in July?!), but we all face dry spells in our creative life.
The question is, how do we hydrate our imagination back to life? Aside from resorting to googling “creativity,” I mean (unrelated side note: did you know that Wikipedia defines creativity as “a phenomenon where something new and valuable is formed”? Or that Psychology Today calls it “the ability to discover new and original ideas, connections, and solutions to problems”? Those are actually kind of inspiring…). I’ve got a few tricks that I use when the dry spells start to get the better of me.
- Read a book. This is especially effective when it’s a totally frivolous book and by frivolous, I mean unrelated to what you are working on. It should be fun, not business.
- Read a book. Ha! Yes, this is the second thing I always try. I believe most problems are solved by reading. My dirty dishes do not agree. The second time around I usually read something that is related to what I’m working on. Reading something similar can spark new ideas.
- Take vitamins. When I get in a slump it’s easy to neglect the little things. Keeping a routine and taking care of myself helps!
- Meet with a friend. Either in person or online, talking shop or talking shopping, getting together with someone who gets you can be a tall drink of caramel iced coffee for your parched soul.
- Lie on the couch and moan. Just kidding. This one never works for me. Although I do keep trying it… Maybe someday it will be the answer.
- Do the work anyway. Sorry. Sometimes you just have to work dry.
How about you? What tips do you have for me when I’m in a dry spot? I’d love to hear your tricks for beating the blahs.
He just wants to erase his past. She can’t seem to escape hers. But facing it might put their future in jeopardy.
The day Jack Stewart walked out of jail, he vowed to keep his conviction a secret. The whole thing was just a terrible mistake, and he did his time. Now he wants a new life in a sleepy town where no one knows his name. Deep Haven is the perfect place to start over as a chef. The last thing the former pararescue jumper wants is to get involved. But when Boone Buckam—the guy he owes for getting him out of the slammer—asks for help, how can he refuse?
Colleen Decker has already escaped evil once—as a teenager, she was kidnapped by a murderer. But she’s put all that behind her as a trauma nurse in Minneapolis. Or maybe not, because a freak mistake in the ER sends her past crashing down on her. She needs a timeout in her hometown of Deep Haven. She doesn’t plan to stay—even when she’s roped into the job of flight nurse for the town’s Crisis Response Team chopper. Colleen’s not sure why she’s drawn to danger, but she’ll be safe enough—after all, she’ll need training, and her teacher is a handsome former pararescue jumper. What could go wrong?
When Jack said he didn’t want to get involved, he especially meant his heart—but being with Colleen feels like a fresh start. He’ll even climb aboard a chopper again, despite his vows. They’re headed for a happy ending…
But secrets never stay buried in a small town. And when disaster strikes one snowy night, they’ll both have to decide if the past will destroy them…or if it just might lead them home.
Cozy up to this perfect Deep Haven drama about discovering a season of second chances.
Andrea Christenson lives in Minnesota with her husband and two daughters. When she is not busy homeschooling her girls, she loves to read anything she can get her hands on, bake bread, eat cheese, and watch Netflix—though not usually all at the same time. You can connect with Andrea on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and on her website www.AndreaChristenson.com