This week, I bring you Tori’s tips for juggling creativity and work.

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Creative type No. 2

Tori, food writer and communications officer

1.  What’s your creative passion or dream?

To live well and share that fun by writing about it. In my early 20’s I wasn’t very well -there were a few  years when I spent a disproportionate amount of time in bed- I kept the brain ticking by writing a terrible terrible novel. I learned that when things are a bit rocky time spent on the couch with a lap rug, cup of tea, and an internal conversation can be instantly comforting. I’m not quite sure where the cooking thing came from; I grew up in a household where food was about fuel, not fantasy. In my blog I call the husband ‘The Hungry One” and I think he’s had a huge role- the satisfaction of feeding and delighting someone you adore can’t be underestimated.  These days I love nothing more than reading other people’s writing about food, cooking and travel; so I try and add to those conversations by writing about what we do. Even if it the writing goes nowhere, hopefully when I’m old I’ll have an excellent dossier of a life well lived.

2.  How do you support yourself financially?

I spend a lot of time taking capital letters up and down in a communications job for a government agency. In my spare time, I write about food for yourrestaurants.com and am always trying to get some more freelance work going. The husband is endlessly patient with my meagre contributions to the household bottom line.

3.  Are there sacrifices involved in following your creative dream, and what makes it worthwhile?

The ego is a tough one; the suspicion that you’re not advancing as quickly as you perhaps could in the ‘real world’ job because of your creative choices. But at the end of the day, it’s about what makes you happy- and the real world doesn’t always do that.

4.  Do you hope to support yourself through your creative work / do you already?

I’d love to earn a bit more cash from it. One day I’d love nothing more than to have two smiley little kids on the carpet tottering about while I get to write.

5.  What are your top three tips for managing a creative passion?

Make sure that whoever shares your life supports your creative life too.

Don’t be afraid to talk about what you do- I wish when you meet people they wouldn’t instantly ask ‘where do you work’, but instead ask ‘what do you love to do?’

If it stops making you happy; give yourself permission to take a break until you feel the urge to play again.

6.  Where would you like to be in your life in five years time, and what are three things you are doing now to get you there?

See above; sitting on a couch somewhere with one happy little muffin on the floor and maybe another in the oven, writing and earning a little bit of money from it would be perfect.

Being able to properly poach eggs (always my downfall)

Maybe turning the writing into a book (but this one may see the light of day)…

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Thanks Tori!  To visit Tori’s blog and hear some truly excellent foodie tales, go to http://eat-tori.blogspot.com

To see last week’s tips, from playwright and business analyst David, click here.

I have one more set of tips to bring you, from the lovely, art’n’crafty Kate over at http://love-you-big.blogspot.com. I’ll publish that in a couple of weeks – might be a bit busy next week, getting married.