Happy Blog Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Tried & Twisted! My little blog is celebrating its first Blog-iversary!

2013 has been quite an eventful year for me. New blog, new hobbies, new job, new haircut. Life just keeps on changing and challenging, and I can't wait to meet what tomorrow brings!

Last January, I started writing this little blog as a dare to myself. As a creative person, I've always had a pile of projects. You know the type: crafts, decorations, and hobbies. But being busy with the rest of life, I struggled with giving myself permission to take the time to be creative. Sadly, that meant that I often rarely had time for a single project.

Creating a blog about my creative trial and errors gave me an excuse to give a little more importance to my hobbies and to allow myself to take time to play, to bake, to craft, and to just do all of the creative things I've always wanted to do!

Geronimo! Or Should I Say GeroNaNoWriMo!

November means a lot of things to different people.

For some, it is No-Shave November. For others, it is all about Christmas: the Prequel. But for the writing community, it is all about NaNoWriMo.

 National Novel Writing Month exists as a month-long pledge for aspiring novelists around the world that for once, they won't get distracted, they won't procrastinate, they won't stop. They'll keep going until they have a full 50,000 word novel saved to their harddrive. Or notebook. Or roll of toilet paper...whatever your medium.

The combined encouragement and peer pressure from friends, chat forums, and famous writers alike pushes writers beyond the wall of writer's block. Rather than worrying about writing the best novel ever, the experiment of NaNoWriMo is to just write. It is daunting, but liberating to just get the words down on paper and edit later.

For years, I've watched while my fabulously talented writing friends completed one novel after another. I'd contemplate joining, but could never quite commit out of fear of failing to reach 50,000 words. Let's face it, that's a lot of words.

Then consider that out of all of the months of the year, NaNoWriMo happens in November, which is one of my busiest months as I buy gifts, make stocking stuffers, plan parties. It always seemed like way too much to take on in one month.

But then I had an epiphany.

I started this blog as a sort of New Year's resolution dare to myself. I wasn't doing nearly as much writing as I used to, and I wanted to challenge myself to get back into the narrative habit, to keep those writer's muscles flexing.

While it started as a resolution, it has really developed into a fun challenge for me. Do I succeed in publishing a post once a week? Not always. Do I always polish up my photos to that high-gloss magazine finish? No.

But you know what, I am writing. And that alone is the victory.

With resolutions, we so often get blinded by our high goals that anything less is tempting to call a failure. But just like with learning a new skill or eating properly or going to the gym, every day that I try is a victory.

Every day that you're not wasting on the couch is a victory, even if you're not finishing first for that 10-mile run yet. To try is still a victory.

Have I reached 26,000 words yet in my first year of NaNoWriMo? Not quite. But I am writing a novel that I have neglected for the last eight years, and that alone is cause for celebration.

So with all due respect to Yoda, there is a try, and it is the first step to doing.

New Year, New Attitude

Peppermint Candy Cane Parisian Macarons

It's a new year! Everyone woke up to this week with bright-eyed optimism and hope, armed with new resolutions. We promise to lose some weight, learn a new skill, finish patching all the holes in the wall, or what have you. Yet inevitably those resolutions fail. We eat that second donut. We watch TV instead of reading a book. We slip up once and it's so easy to put all our hopes and resolutions away for another year when it will be that much harder to start all over again.

I mention this depressing fact because resolutions are a lot like any creative project. Any time you choose to create something, you're taking a risk that you might fail. It's a hard fact to face, but living a creative life will be so much easier if you give up now. Expect to fail. But then pick up the left over felt and thread and try again!

Above, I posted a photo of my Christmas batch of French macarons (I do have a minor obsession with those chameleon pastries--so be warned that I'll share much more about them). This time, I took a risk. I tried a new recipe for macarons that a fellow Pinner was kind enough to share. The result the first time for these finicky desserts was not up to standards. The brand new gel food coloring that I tried made the macaron pink -- not red, white, and swirled. The macaron shell itself was too puffy, occasionally hollow, with pointy tops. Now, it tasted fine, but the perfectionist in me was quite disappointed. My fellow Pinner's macarons were gorgeous, absolutely flawless! And mine was like a puffy dreidel.

Poor puffy hollow macarons.

So what did I do? I tried the recipe a second time, altered a few details, and produced one of the prettiest batches of macarons I have ever baked.

The moral is that you have to keep trying, whether for a new year's resolution or for any creative enterprise. So what if your craft doesn't look like the one in the picture? Did you have fun making it? Do you like the final results? No? Then keep trying.  And if you do like it, then fantastic! 

I'll borrow from cooking icon Julia Child, who said that "The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” (Yes, that sweet lady actually said "what the hell"!). Be content with your projects, and remember that every failure is a lesson learned. Be proud that you dared to try and realize that most of your mistakes are far less noticeable that you think. So give yourself permission to fail. I already gave myself permission, so maybe I'll spare you a few mistakes along the way. Good luck with your projects and enjoy each failure and success!