Roni Loren: My Top 5 Things to Refill the Creative Well

So for the last few months, I’ve been in crazy writer mode—under deadline, locked in my office, eating/sleeping/breathing my story. It’s part of the job when I put out 2-3 books a year. However, when I finally turn in that book, I feel completely wiped out and creatively spent. So for the brief weeks I have in between finishing one book and starting the next, I have to take time to refill the creative well. To do things other than writing. And for me, these are my go to methods… 

1.      Purge and organize things – I’m not a particular good housekeeper. I hate to clean. However, I love to organize. And after I’ve been under deadline, stressed and scattered for months, there is something very therapeutic about re-organizing things. This time around I redid my writing craft file cabinet and then pulled everything off my bookshelves and went through what I wanted to keep and what I needed to donate. It’s always a little painful getting rid of books, but I know that if I have three floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled and still have boxes of books on my floor, that it’s time to purge some. This time I got rid of almost a hundred books. I only cried a little. ;-)

2.      Redecorate – This is similar to the one above but different. Changing a room in my house can be very cleansing. The whole process of shopping for new things, changing the whole look of a room I’ve been seeing for years the same way, is all part of it. This time I redid my kidlet’s room. He’s starting kindergarten this year, so we got rid of the toddler bed, got him a big boy bed and switched from a zoo animals theme to a travel/transportation theme. It was so much fun changing it all up. Plus, I got to spend copious amounts of time at Hobby Lobby, a rare indulgence.

3.      Get out of town – When I’m in the writing cave, I don’t see much of my own neighborhood, much less anywhere else, because I’m spending my life in my office. So after a book is done, I crave travel and the outdoors. So this weekend, we’re taking a last minute trip to the beach and I’m going to spend two days listening to the surf. Ahh.

4.      READ for fun – My TBR pile is out of control (this pic is only of the books I came back with from this summer’s RWA conference.) And though I try to read while I’m writing a book (because if I don’t, I’ll never read since I’m writing 90% of the time), I don’t get nearly as much read as I wish I could. So doing these rare breaks between books, I gorge on reading.

5.      A non-writing creative hobby – I think this is really important. For many writers, writing was our creative hobby. It was what we used to get away from our “real” job. However, once writing becomes your job, it’s still fun but it has pressures and business stuff attached to it. That’s why I think it’s good to have something else you can go to escape and just be creative for the sake of being creative, something you don’t get paid to do. For me, it’s photography. I recently bought a fancy camera and took a few classes on how to use it. Now I’ve fallen in love with it and do photography for the pure enjoyment and creativity of it.

So those are mine, what are your methods of recharging whenever you finish a big project or are coming off a particularly stressful time? What fills your well?

About Roni: Roni wrote her first romance novel at age fifteen when she discovered writing about boys was way easier than actually talking to them. Since then, her flirting skills haven’t improved, but she likes to think her storytelling ability has. She is the National Bestselling Author of The Loving on the Edge series from Berkley Heat and a 2013 RITA finalist. Website: www.roniloren.com

Caught Up In You:

The girl who has spent her life running is about to be caught . . . by love
 
After a shaky past, Kelsey LeBreck’s future is looking good. She’s been saving money for culinary school with her earnings from The Ranch, a private BDSM resort. Even better, she’s landed a day job where she can practice baking and flirt with her favorite customer. However, having secret fantasies about Wyatt Austin is where it has to end. If there’s one thing Kelsey knows can derail her, it’s a relationship. But when a danger from her past threatens to steal her fresh start, the intense executive may be the only one who can help her. 

Wyatt doesn’t have room on his agenda for dating, but something about the pretty young waitress stirs desires he thought were long buried. So when he needs someone to pose as his girlfriend at an important business retreat and finds out Kelsey needs to go off the grid for a while, he can’t resist making her an offer. Soon, Kelsey learns that Wyatt’s power in the boardroom is no match for his power in the bedroom, and she wonders if her heart will survive. Because Wyatt Austin is a man who gets what he wants, and now he wants her.