Fi Phillips

As we grow as individuals, in years and experience, most of us acquire the knack of self analysis. I don't mean that term in any technical way, simply that we can begin to recognise our underlying drives and emotions. We can say, secretly to ourselves, 'okay, I didn't do that as well as I could have because...' or 'the reason that this makes me so nervous is that it could work, and then I'd be successful, and then what would I do?'. For me, the emotion of fear has always been an underlying drive, specifically fear of success.  Writer,  Elizabeth Gilbert discusses this and more in her wonderful TED talk, Your elusive creative genius. It's almost twenty minutes long but well worth listening to all the way through. She talks with honesty and humour and ultimately, she makes a hell of a lot of sense.

Not really. Who am I trying to kid? The last six weeks may have formed a glutenous mass of imagination, frustration and end result, but they've been enthralling too. I'll explain. 1. Zazzle My husband and I have always been all round creative lunatics. If we're not writing, we're discussing plans. If we're not doing that, then we're doodling designs. The list goes on and on in our constant creative endeavours. The result, almost two months ago, was the decision to do something constructive with our humour (well, it makes 'us' laugh) and our designs. Combining the two led us to a website called Zazzle . Zazzle is an online organisation that creates quality custom products. Put simply, you can upload a design and create a t-shirt, business card, tie or gift, either as an individual or as a store. Although Zazzle is based in the USA, it has bases in many other countries too, including the UK. We have become what is termed by Zazzle artists as a pair...

Today I started a new challenge, well, new to me. Creative Every Day has been running since 2008. It was started by Leah Piken Kolidas "to help infuse my life and lives of others with daily creativity". You can participate through your blog, your Flickr account, through Twitter or just by leaving a comment on the CED site . "Creativity is meant in the broadest sense, so it doesn't have to be something art related. Your creative acts could be in cooking, taking pictures, knitting, doodling, writing, dancing, decorating, singing, playing with your kids, brainstorming ideas, gardening, or making art in the form of collage, paint, or clay...or whatever!" Can I be creative every day? Hell, yes!

1. Be a child One of the biggest lessons my children have taught me is how to play. To them, there is a world of magic and adventure in our garden. They look at a fallen leaf and see a fairy boat to be floated on our pond. The space behind a tree, hidden from the path, is a hiding place for mythical beasties. Even an oddly shaped cloud is a dragon flying in for a visit. As adults going through the daily grind, we often spend so much time concentrating on the tasks ahead of us that we forget to look at the possibilities around us. Next time you have a moment to spare, take a look at the world through the eyes of the child that you once were. 2. Turn your hand to a different artistic skill If you're a writer, try drawing or painting. If you're a painter, try singing or playing a musical instrument. If you're a musician, try to sculpt with clay. Just because you seek success in one artistic area, doesn't mean that you can't try your hand at another. I love writing but ...

It must be spring. I'm wearing a skirt for the first time this year. My legs are in shock. This always feels like the real start of the year for me. Perhaps it's the return of the sun or the buds on the trees, but spring is the season that inspires me with its fresh colours and new beginnings. It always feels like a much better time to set myself resolutions than at the new year. Creative juices and plans a plenty buzz around my brain, asking to be picked forth into existence. Where Ted Hughes found his Thought Fox in the winter, setting 'neat prints into the snow', my muse springs from the earth with the appearance of daffodils and crocuses. I am full of ideas for all areas of my life but plans for my writing for 2010 include more plays for Murdering The Text with an accompanying eBook, more work on my novel and a joint writing project with my husband. Spring is here. Life is good.

The pantomime script is complete. After swapping around a few scenes and changing a couple of songs, the script is finished and has been submitted to the ladies of the PTFA. I can't describe how satisfying it was to click on the 'Send Email' button. Do I get a rest? No. The murder mystery season has begun in earnest. Or rather the purchasing of murder mystery scripts by am dram groups has begun. Tis the season to shout "he did it" and other deductory expletives. And to top off the creative rapids that are my life, I now have a butterfly mobile and painting to get done for my daughter's seventh birthday at the weekend. I think I may have to settle for just doing the mobile for now. Without a tardis, I just do not have enough hours left in the day. So excuse me while I root out a stick and some silver glittery spraypaint from the garage. I may be some while.

Or to be more precise, the child-filled, mostly unproductive six weeks that is the school summer holiday has taken over my life and my mind. My normal writing routine has been replaced by trips to viking museums and desperate shopping trips where I attempt to stop the octopi that are my children from destroying the comic or sweet display at the local supermarket. Everyone is different but for me, I need peace (i.e. children at school or at least asleep in bed) and usually to be alone to get any quality writing done. Cue many many midnight writing sessions after my husband has gone to bed to keep up with what I need to do over the holiday break. One advantage of having so much time with my children, however, is the boost to my imagination. I think it's a mixture of being around these magically creative little people and visiting new places (i.e. the viking museum mentioned above, a train museum , a different city, couple of zoos). I have almost filled the note capacity on my mobile...