I sigh deeply as I stare blankly at the ceiling. Is that a spider or just a random black speck? Hmm, I should probably get started on my writing. Or should I take a short walk? No, no, I’ll make a coffee first, then write…

Lately, I have been thinking about my ever changing relationship to creativity. It’s evolution really, as someone with multi-faceted interests. I believe I am a storyteller through and through with the medium changing depending on the inspiration: words, photos, video, audio - or any combination of them. Writing however lies at the center of it all. I knew from an early age that writing was my vocation but it took a while to label myself as such in a world that is not always kind to artists. And writers are artists indeed, for writing is a form of art. The word métier lends itself so nicely here.

Given the current trends in social media, content is created at such a dizzying speed that we can barely catch our breath. Our focus is on output and analytics seldom paying attention to process and therein I would argue lies the joy of creating.

Slow, intentional, conscious - that’s my goal for anything I create. And so I find myself, some mornings at my manual typewriter ready to let the words take over. The use of something so mechanical in a digital age, allows for my thoughts to catch up to me because I have to be both present and deliberate. The weight of the keys at my finger tips, the clack,clack clack, followed by the dings that are so musical. I move with precision (at least that’s what I tell myself as an amateur typist).

I write any number of things: letters to friends, personal essays, brainstorming sessions on my continued research on food, sound, and language, flavor mapping ideas, recipe development or sometimes it all ends in a stream of consciousness. I like that I can look back and see my train of thought. Ah yes, that’s where that brilliant idea began. So yes, process is where the fun is.