Today I’m guest posting over at K.M. Weiland’s blog Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors. My post is called What House Sitting Teaches You About Writing and covers how to use a character’s belongings to reveal their personality. Head over there and take a look!

For the past four weeks my husband and I have been house sitting. A change is indeed as good as a holiday and we had a great time.

You may remember an earlier post mentioned some of the goals I had in mind for the month. The good news is I managed most of them.

Let me give you a brief recap of the things I learned or was reminded about during our ‘house sitting adventure.’

Change Sparks Creativity

I was overwhelmed by how creative I suddenly felt in new surroundings. Possibilities seemed endless and new discoveries were everywhere. As Creativity pointed out in her post there was plenty to distract, but the distractions were all part of the wonder of being exposed to new things.

The intial spark of excitement only lasts a week or two and then the house felt like home, but it reminded me to soak up everything that excites my Creativity and run with it while the joy is there.

‘Change sparks Creativity’ is a great thing to remember when you’re feeling blocked or stale in your writing. Change, even in small ways, does boost your Creativity and often you’re in control of when and how you bring that change about.

Sunshine is a Great Start to the Day

One of my goals for the month was to start the morning by having breakfast outside. Of course, the weather didn’t make that possible every day, but I definitely noticed a difference on the days I managed to drink in the rays (I stress I did this in the early morning before the UV index climbed too high).

I saw a great quote yesterday from Rasheed Ogunlaru which sums this up. He said:

Take a walk outside — it will serve you far more than pacing around in your mind.

As writers, we probably spend far too much time indoors and at our desks pacing around in our minds. When you’re feeling lethargic and uninspired, invest in some fresh air, movement and sunshine.

Remember, change sparks Creativity – even small changes. Stepping outside may be just the level of change your Creativity needs to start firing again.

Objects Can Tell You So Much About a Person

This is probably the biggest thing I learned during the month but you’ll have to go over to Wordplay to read my guest post about it.

Creativity Needs to be Integrated Into Your Life

The sparks of my Creativity didn’t just help my writing , they also entered other areas of my life – like cooking.

My goal was to have four successful new recipes. I had several ‘interesting’ recipe attempts that, while still edible, shall not be repeated. I did end up with one very good recipe that I’m happy to pass on to friends and family. One out of four is not bad.

But the point is that to be creative in one area of your life means you have to be open to your Creativity having opinions and input on other areas of your life. In fact, you want your Creativity to be present in as many different parts of your day as possible. (I’m not the only writer who feels this way. Charlotte Rains Dixon wrote about the topic this week too.)

Creativity is not something you can switch on and off. It’s a part of yourself that you can nuture, encourage and listen to. You can build trust and understanding in your Creativity and grow together to become more and more creative.

There are plenty more things I learned during house sitting (like cats are evil, washing machines are destructive and deciduous trees are only beautiful when they’re not dropping leaves in your garden…although I already knew that last one) but I’ll spare you the details.

Have you experienced some kind of change during this past month? Have you noticed an impact on your Creativity?

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If you’d like to find out more about how to be creative whenever and where ever you want, download my free e-book Creativity on Demand.