To be creative on Wednesday and Friday I spent time working on my columns for Nauvoo Times.
Writing a weekly column is more time consuming than I had expected. I usually spend lots of time thinking about it, and lots of time writing it on Monday and Tuesday. This week, I put in more writing time on Thursday and Friday, and I hope it will make for a not-so-late night next Monday and Tuesday.
Some questions are easier to answer than others. The column about tardy thank-you notes flew out of my brain in half an hour. The column about a husband who watches too much TV took months of writing, re-writing, re-thinking, and adjusting.
Jeremy is my sounding board/editor. When a column is reasonably far along, I read it to him, and then ask what I have missed. He is very helpful. The process helps me identify assumptions I have made that need to be explained or defended instead of assumed.
Sometimes, I consult people with expertise or experience in the topic of my column. I might need to verify points of Church procedure, for example, or talk to a parent of teenagers.
Most of the columns so far have been questions from family and friends. Thank you to my question-askers! The column would be very boring if I had to make up imaginary problems on which to offer advice. It would also be pointless to give advice to imaginary people.
Excitingly, I have started getting questions from readers I don't know. It gives me a little thrill to see a Nauvoo Times Submission Form email in my inbox.
It can take a long time for a question to go from asked to answered. If you have sent me a question, I am working on it!
Please send more questions! Be sure to include plenty of detail. I will disguise the details, if you wish.
Finally, on Day 6 of Creativity, I wrote this blog post.
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