by Jennifer Applin

My friend called me the other day and asked what I was doing. I told her I was working on an article and she said very politely and sincerely that she’d talk to me later. She didn’t want to interrupt my creative process. After we hung up I thought, “My creative what? Creative process? Do I really have one?… I don’t think so. Do I need one? Well it sounds pretty official and professional, maybe I do.”

So then I did a quick Google search and found all kinds of articles talking about creative process. There where these totally scientific-looking models and scales and charts and graphs…and really none of them had anything to do with me. So I thought about it a little longer. I figured I must be somewhat creative. I am a writer and I assemble words to promote a certain response. But process? Do I really have a creative process?

Then it hit me…I DO have a creative process. In a word, it can be summed up as WIPING. This includes wiping many butts a day. (Actually before the year is up I should hit the 3000 mark for the number of times I’ve wiped a butt this year…and that doesn’t even include my own!) Then there’s wiping runny noses. Wiping the blood from the knee of my tree-climbing 4-year-old. Wiping the tears of frustration from my 6-year-old’s face because the mean and cruel mom I am would not buy her a shirt that shows off her belly so she could be like her friends who dress up like the Bratz dolls. (Yes, I did say she’s only 6!) Wiping this morning’s caked-on oatmeal off of the kitchen table. Wiping last night’s dried-on pizza sauce off of the kitchen floor. (Can you tell I have a bunch of deadlines right now and cleaning isn’t a priority?) Wiping the sweat from my brow as I drag in 37 grocery bags from the van. Wiping the tears from my eyes as I record in my checkbook the $ amount I had to pay for those 37 grocery bags.

So, yes, I do have a creative process and it’s called wiping. Pretty much it’s what I do all day long and as fun as it is, there are times that I search deep within my soul to find something, anything so compelling to write about that I just HAVE to stop wiping and I MUST sit at that computer to write that very moment. Wiping is my creative process (and feel free to interrupt it ANYTIME). What’s yours?

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