IWSG: Creative Callings

January's finally over, so that means we're one month closer to spring. I wouldn't mind fast-forwarding to March, but unfortunately that's not possible. At least we have the Insecure Writer's Support Group to keep us going during the rough weather. To learn more about the IWSG, check out their website, Facebook page, or Twitter feed.

This month's co-hosts are Raimey Gallant, Natalie Aguirre, CV Grehan, and Michelle Wallace. For February, we've been asked the following question: Besides writing, what other creative outlets do you have?

 If you've been following my blog for a while, you know one of my other creative outlets is crochet. I focus on amigurumi, figures of characters and animals. Most of the amigurumi I make is from other people's patterns of Star Wars characters, but I'm slowly branching out into other geeky characters and working on my own designs. Here are a few photos of my work. The top one mostly features Star Wars characters; the bottom one displays variations on a porg pattern.

Since getting into Star Wars costuming in 2015, I've also learned to sew. I still consider myself a beginner, but I've made Jawa costumes, lanyards, and a skirt (pictured below). Eventually I want to make my own Jedi robes, but I'm not sure if I want to make General Leia's blue dress from the end of The Force Awakens or have someone else make it for me.

I'm not sure if I should count Star Wars costuming separately from sewing. There's more to costuming than sewing; some people do leatherwork, assemble armor, or paint/embroider as well. Trooping (wearing the costume in public at scheduled events) might also be considered a separate creative endeavor, since it's acting. When I wear my Jawa costume, I try to avoid speaking English and use Jawaese words instead. I also goof around much more than I do as myself or as an Imperial Officer. To save space, I'm not going to post any Jawa pictures in this post, but you can find them in the archives.

Finally, cooking and baking are also creative outlets for me. Most of the time, I follow recipes, but I occasionally tweak them to suit my own taste or use ingredients I have on hand.

Juggling all these creative endeavors takes a lot of time, but it's good to be able to switch between them. It's quite fulfilling to sell an amigurumi to someone or wear something I made myself.

Do you have any creative hobbies? If so, feel free to share them in the comments.

IWSG: Writing, Creativity, and Life

Welcome to another blog post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. You can learn more about the IWSG on their website, Facebook group, or Twitter feed.

Our hosts this month are Ellen at The Cynical Sailor, Ann V. Friend, JQ Rose, and Elizabeth Seckman.

This month, we've been asked to answer the following question: How has your creativity in life evolved since you began writing?

My life has definitely changed a lot since I began writing over twenty years ago, but I'd say other factors besides writing have definitely influenced my creativity. One major life event that increased my creativity was becoming a mother. Although motherhood takes up a lot of free time, it also exposes me to different interests and activities that I wouldn't have discovered on my own. For instance, after taking my son to bouncy houses when he was younger, I used one at the setting in my short story "The Mommy Clone." When he became interested in Star Wars, our whole family got into Star Wars costuming, which has led to me learning to sew.

Other creative hobbies have come and gone over the years. I taught myself how to crochet in my twenties; among other things, I made a ring bearer's pillow and a baby outfit. Then I forgot about crochet for a while until the end of 2016. I found a pattern to crochet a "pussy hat" for the Women's March and ended up making two. From there I just kept on going. I currently found a niche  in making geeky amigurmi with Star Wars characters, though I'm expanding into other fandoms and other crochet projects. Most of my crochet is done using patterns someone else designs, though sometimes I modify the pattern. Eventually, I want to create my own designs, possibly to sell.

How has your creativity changed with your writing? Feel free to share in the comments.

New Ideas and Old Characters

I saw a cartoon on Facebook recently that perfectly captures some of the frustrations of the writing process. It starts with a shiny new idea (or ideas), which connects to starting a new project but not actually finishing it. (I don't remember what the last part of the comic was, but it probably led to another new idea.) I have so many projects that I want to work on, not just writing-related, but also crocheting and sewing projects. Hopefully after the comic-con on Saturday the sewing/crocheting projects will feel like less of a priority. (I still need to make the Santa Jawa costume in time for the holiday parade in late November.) I think I need to list all the various projects I want to work on so I can prioritize them.

One of my priorities for this is is finishing the first draft of Dryads to Discover. While I'm made slow but steady progress on it, the characters don't grab my imagination the way old, familiar characters do. I'm itching to tell more stories about the Season Avatars (particularly Gwen and Jenna), and Paul and his friends from Twinned Universes. It's hard to pants new stories when old characters are still occupying your head. I do want to continue with both series, and I do have a sense of where they would finally end, even if I don't know the entire path that leads there.

Do you ever feel that writing past or writing future interferes with your writing present? If so, how do you manage to focus on your current work? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

A Plethora of Projects

As if I didn't have enough to do already between writing, crocheting, and making a new set of Jawa robes, I've discovered a new project: making lanyards. My family and I are planning to attend Star Wars Celebration next year, so naturally we need suitably themed Star Wars lanyards for our badges. Rather than spend $10 each for the official Celebration ones, I did a little searching and found instructions for making my own lanyards from porg-patterned fabric I already had. (See photo.) They're so (or sew) easy even a beginner like me can make them, though it takes me longer than ten minutes (as promised by the pattern). I plan to make more, but this project cuts into time I need for other activities. I'm not sure exactly why I'm inspired to do so many other projects, though it could be a way of avoiding my current writing project.

How many projects do you juggle at once? Do you find yourself spending more time on projects that are lower priority than the ones you really need to do? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.