There's a bull in the rotWIPs house

Sometimes you think you can't do a thing, and then you realize you can

Hey, Runners!

It’s still Registration Week (meaning I’m hyper-promoting this week; don’t worry, registration will remain open at least into October), so I’m going to open today’s post reminding you to register for the writing challenge!

And there’s more good news! If you sign up with a friend, both of you get 10% off, and if you sign up with a group of 5 or more, you can contact me directly to get 20% off for everyone!

That bit of business done… let’s talk about the healing power of creativity.

Okay, so here’s the thing: It’s been a Week. I don’t know if you’ve been feeling it, but I’ve been feeling it. Like, in my body. It took me four hours to get up and start working today. I keep crying at the drop of a hat.

And I’m generally not a crier. It’s weird.

But I do remember this feeling. It’s very similar to when I was in and out of the hospital with a kid with asthma; when I was in the crisis, I was great. I was doing my thing, being there for the kid, making sure the doctors and the nurses had all the information they needed, and then taking the kid home once they could breathe again.

It was after I’d get home and all was well that I’d break down. The relief of releasing a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding has the power to knock me to my knees.

This is eight years of holding my breath now, and I finally have some hope that it might be over soon.

And you know what I do when I get all emotional?

I create something.

This may not seem like a big deal. I make these little graphics all the time.

Except this one… I drew.

Today’s Comments Assignment:

What is the creative thing, other than writing, that intimidates you the most?

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Look, I’m not an artist by any measure. When I was a kid, I had a couple of shitty art teachers. As a result, I have spent my whole life thinking I couldn’t draw, and had no artistic talent.

Then in the past few years, two things happened: I got an iPad with an Apple Pencil, and I came across a wonderful art teacher named Lisa Bardot. To no one’s surprise more than my own, I discovered that I like drawing. It’s relaxing. I like working with different colors and brushes, and Lisa’s tutorials are so inviting and encouraging that I joined her Art Maker’s Club.¹

I wasn’t good at it at first. I’m still not able to just come up with an idea and draw it in a style. I do not yet have a style. But I am capable now of imitating styles I see.

Up until now for the rotWIPs art, I licensed a gorgeous illustration with all these cartoon animals by the wonderful artist Maria Starus. Since the Running of the WIPs is inspired by the Running of the Bulls, I kind of wanted a cartoon bull, but there wasn’t a bull in the licensed set, so I just used the other animals.

But this morning, I realized that maybe I could make one. I studied Maria’s style, played around a bit in Procreate and—using the skills I learned from Lisa—I put together the new rotWIPs art.

If I can start drawing, you can write a novel.

I’m sure of it.

1. No one is sponsoring this post, but if you’re interested, I recommending checking out Lisa’s free tutorials on her YouTube channel and see if you like her vibe.