Explore Boundaries (Mindset Monday)
Boundaries is a word that’s used a lot when people talk about self-care. Set boundaries. Make sure you respect yourself and your time. This is important. However boundaries also are a part of our lives, our interests, our creativity. As an author, we often try to “stay in our lane” when we write to market or produce things that we think people will read. A romance author, for example, may find common, marketable tropes, and write only those stories even if something else is calling to them.
Boundaries are powerful places. The intersection of genres, of tropes, of our creativity, creates space and room outside the norm for our writer minds to play. When we look at the boundaries of our own lives, for example the intersection of our jobs, if we have day jobs, and what we write, there’s often fertile room to go. A slight interest in paleontology, for example, may bring new life to ancient creatures in fascinating and different ways.
Too often we play it safe. We color between the lines, as it were, because we feel like that’s how we’re supposed to get readers. Instead, try coloring outside the lines. That strange cross over that you think is odd, but fun, someone else might enjoy too. When we push ourselves to the edge of our creativity, we may find new ground to cover and new stories to tell.
The important thing is that we don’t fence ourselves in. Boundaries are wonderful in our personal life. In our creative life, they can be stifling. I encourage you to explore them and see what you can do to find the promise that lays at the edge of your comfort zone.
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