Invisible Integration: Craft Outside of a Practice

I am a big advocate for building a sustainable creative practice at any level from hobby to professional, one integrated into our daily lives. However, at times on that journey to building a practice it can feel like a chore instead of a process. So how do we ensure we build a practice that can be integrated into our lives and improve our craft without unintentionally walling ourselves into a practice that no longer integrates and instead pulls us out of our daily lives? 

We acknowledge the ways we already integrate our craft into our lives. The pillar we are really drawing on today is ultimately integration, but integration through bettering our understanding of the craft and how it fits into our lives as a whole and not as an individual piece.  

For example: I want to write a novel - this is a process and a practice of consistency that needs to be built and become part of our lives. However, writing is not confined to this practice or this endeavour. Writing, storytelling in my life are all over the place. The craft I want to hone is already being sharpened daily. The practice of writing a novel needs work, as does the process of integrating that practice into daily life, especially with the big changes on the way, however, the practice of the craft itself shows up in more ways than I can count outside of novel writing time. Just because the work you put in isn’t directly affecting your hobby or creative goal, doesn’t mean you are not practicing the craft in an integrated way all the time. Not contributing to a dedicated result does not diminish your creative effort.   

Alleviate Pressure

I am currently engaged in the first way my craft is practiced in my daily life - writing my blog posts. Having regular, practical deadlines for pieces of manageable writing has allowed me to cultivate my voice. I have been able to improve my skill in writing through blogging about creativity and writing instead of novel work, which takes the pressure off of a thing that brings me so much joy. Being able to write regularly and speak about creativity, a passion and obvious love of mine, without the goal of producing words for my fiction babies, the act of writing becomes normalized instead of a structured entity outside of normal life. The best part about sitting down to do these blogs is the feeling that I can do them whenever I want to, anytime I have a spare moment I can sit down and bang out a paragraph or two. When I sit down to write in my novels, I feel the expectation of setting aside time, a large chunk of time to be with the work and really dive in. This kind of pressure places a separation on the practice, rather than an emphasis on integration that has become synonyms with these blogs.

Increase Accessibility

Another way I integrate craft into my life is through consuming it in mass quantities, bite sized pieces, and for pure joy. I read. Mainly, I read in the genres I want to write in. I fell in love with fantasy and romance through reading, I learned the way a story feels through books in my hands. Returning to them each day in stolen moments and cultivated time gives me the practice of consuming words, expoanding my understanding of story and enhances the enjoyment in the entire process from ideation to creation. This integration of writing into daily life feels like cheating because it is so enjoyable and already such a part of my life. But it is one practice I want to pass onto my child, and so my husband and I sit down each night and read a chapter of a storybook together as a family to cement the habit of reading. Making things a priority until they become natural is the goal of integration! Whether I get to sit for an extended period of time to fully submerge myself into a fictional world, devour a novel in a matter of hours, or whip out the book for a quick five minute speed round, books are always nearby. Setting yourself up with the tools nearby and ready for use makes integration so much easier, and that can start with carrying a pocket book in your purse or a notebook in the car. 

Engage with the Essence

Lastly, I reinvigorate my understanding of writing by going back to its essence, and that lies in storytelling. We see storytelling all over the place from books and televisions to movies and advertising. Storytelling taps into the primal centres of the brain and activates it to listen up and learn something even when it’s wrapped up in magic and fantasy. My family and a few friends who have been pulled into the fold to play Dungeons and Dragons. We don;t play as rigorously as some, more so enjoying the chaos of running around and creating wacky characters, but we all take turns creating the world and obstacles we interact with and hopefully overcome, often theming them to a close holiday. This brings me back into full alignment with storytelling, fun, and the joy that fuels the entire process of writing and worldbuilding and diving into characters. Not only does it allow me to hone character creation or worldbuilding skills, it gives me a chance to embrace the fun and be inspired by the things our party comes up with to solve problems and how they develop their own characters and play them throughout the journey. By engaging with the essence of writing - storytelling- instead of the technical craft of it I am able to recapture the magic and fill the creative well to later draw from a palace of understanding and delight.

Moral of the story: Don’t be scared to hone your skills and engage with creativity outside of your developing or established practice! The best way to integrate more creativity and eventually your stand alone practice into daily life is to allow your creative craft to surround you in bits and pieces that don’t feel like work.       

My call to action for you this week is to take some time to first, see if your creativity shows up in your life as a craft like writing, painting, building, etc.. and then to see how that craft shows up in our daily life outside of what you think of as your hobby time or creative practice time.