Struggling to Live a Creative Life in a Stressful World
Let this image engage your muse. Write a paragraph, a short story, a poem, a memory, a journal entry…or whatever you feel inspired to create. And share your creations in the comments if you’d like!
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What do Atticus Finch, Lisbeth Salander and Ferris Bueller have in common?
They’re the first three names that popped into my head when I started thinking about compelling fictional characters.
It’s hard to imagine the qualities that link a 1930s lawyer oozing with integrity, a female punk cyber spy, and a naughty high school boy, but they do share certain characteristics that make them compelling:
Hyperink.com‘s question of the month: What makes a compelling character in a book or movie?
Today I’m pointing you toward an excellent article in which artists of all types share how they connect with their creativity. I find it inspiring to hear how other people get creative — I hope you do, too!
Click here to read the article. And if you have any muse-inspiring ideas that work for you, be sure to share them in the comments!
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And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
The exercise below is one of my recent Creative Bursts. The Creative Bursts are fun, 15-minute play breaks designed to help get your creativity flowing. They encompass writing, drawing, doodling, dancing, wordplay, singing and more. And they’re free! If you’re not receiving them yet, click here to sign up!
What is your invisible feature that nobody knows about? A tail that keeps you balanced? Wings that help you fly above confusion? A special nose that smells disturbances before they arrive?
Spend a few minutes writing about or drawing — or just imagining — your invisible feature.
Here’s what people are saying about the Creative Bursts:
“Your Creative Bursts Rock! Love the creativity exercises. They are fantastic.” ~Andrew, Brisbane, Australia
“Love these prompts!” ~Sarah, California, USA
“Thank you for the Bursts, they are hopefully going to restore some sanity!” ~Hannah, United Kingdom
“I LOVE your Creative Bursts! They really spark my imagination.” ~Christopher, Maryland, USA
Click here to download your free Creative Bursts workbook and sign up for more Bursts in your inbox twice a week!
Let this image engage your muse. Write a paragraph, a short story, a poem, a memory, a journal entry…or whatever you feel inspired to create. And share your creations in the comments if you’d like!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
I’m on vacation until January 1st. If you’re looking for a little creative fuel, check out these writing exercises I’ve created for this blog in the past. Most of them can be done in 15 minutes—or take longer if you’re inspired!
Use a word pile to create something tasty
Combine a random image and a line of text to create a new writing prompt
Turn your life into a movie, a bubblegum card, a fortune cookie…
Use a clincher detail to create a vivid character in just one sentence
Gather words you find sprinkled throughout your day and turn them into something new
Try one of these five exercises to shake up your muse
Turn something old into a new piece of writing
Use the environment to reflect a significant change in a character’s life
Craft compelling first and last sentences
Try one of these 10 ideas to get your muse out of neutral
Use this prompt as a launching pad into creativity
Compile a thesaurus of the senses
Create a thesaurus of memories
Turn found words and phrases into something new
Transform a creative block into a character (with another example here)
Write a haiku about creativity
Create a faux-history for a random item
Dive into this word pool to write about a physical, emotional or creative journey
For bloggers—create a poem using search engine terms
You’ll also find photo prompts here, and some 5-minute creative quickies here.
And, if you want to work on something larger, write the story of your life with a series of 6-word memoirs.
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
Yesterday at the grocery store, I overheard a woman telling the check-out clerk “Fourteen years ago, I rearranged my life so I can spend all my time with my dog!”
Overheard dialogue can make a great story starter. So my writing challenge to you today is to write a brief story or character description starting with the line I overheard.
Or, if that sentence doesn’t resonate with you, make your own by filling in the blank: “Fourteen years ago, I rearranged my life so I can ___________.”
Have fun with this, and share in the comments if you like!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
Let this image engage your muse. Write a paragraph, a short story, a poem, a memory, a journal entry…or whatever you feel inspired to create. And share your creations in the comments if you’d like!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
you don’t have time to write for half an hour, spend that time making up stories with a child in your life while buying or wrapping presents.And the last word: don’t beat yourself up if you aren’t able to write as much as you planned. Enjoy your holidays and start fresh in the new year.
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
If you didn’t have a pen or paint or any of the usual creative tools, what could you create with? Here are some of my answers:
Now make up your own list. Your answers can be serious or whimsical or both. I’d love to hear what you come up with, if you’d like to share in the comments!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
Let this image engage your muse. Write a paragraph, a short story, a poem, a memory, a journal entry…or whatever you feel inspired to create. And share your creations in the comments if you’d like!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
For those of you wanting a little creative break today, here’s a roundup of amusing and inspiring sites I’ve mentioned before. Some people call these time-wasters, but since they all stimulate creativity, I consider them time very well spent!
Sketch Swap: Draw something with your cursor and submit it, then receive a picture someone else created.
This is Sand: Click on the tiny gray box at the top left of the screen for instructions. You can use your cursor to drop digital sand of different colors and create beautiful virtual designs.
Magnetic Poetry: An electronic version of the refrigerator magnets that turn us all into poets.
Language is a Virus: A variety of inspirational devices including writing prompts, a character name generator, a poetry generator, the text collage, madlib poems, the haiku-a-tron and much more.
Passtime: Three “creative time wasters,” including instructions on writing a haiku using the phone book.
Wordle: Turn your words into a cloud.
Mr. Picasso Head: Have fun with this this twist on the childhood “Mr. Potato Head” game.
Right Brain vs. Left Brain Creativity Test: Take this test to learn which side of your brain is dominant.
String Spin: Click and draw with your cursor, watch your sketch rotate in 3D, then hit the button that puts it into full spin to create amazingly intricate patterns.
Character Description Generator: Use this to create quirky people for fun or fiction writing.
Still Life: Create a still life in the style of the Masters with this imaginative interactive website from the National Gallery of Art. Note: It may take a couple of minutes to download, but it’s well worth the wait.
Collage Machine: Another fun site from the National Gallery of Art: create a collage online.
Animation Station: Make your own animated cartoon.
Matisse’s Pieces: Pretend you’re Henri Matisse as you position, size and color various shapes to create your own cutout.
Make Your Own Music: Click to create circles, then listen as they produce gorgeous tones when they touch each other.
Doodle Pad: Choose your color from the rows of crayons at the bottom, choose the thickness of the line using the slider at the top, and doodle away.
Splash Paint: Make virtual abstract designs with this fun online paint program.
Draw a Stickman: Draw a stickman, then help him out as he gets into trouble.
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
The exercise below is one of my recent Creative Bursts. The Creative Bursts are fun, 15-minute play breaks designed to help get your creativity flowing. They encompass writing, drawing, doodling, dancing, wordplay, singing and more. If you’re not receiving them yet, click here to sign up!
If you planted your heart and watered it, what would grow?
Don’t spend too much time thinking about this question, just quickly write or draw whatever comes to you.
Here’s what people are saying about the Creative Bursts:
“Your Creative Bursts Rock! Love the creativity exercises. They are fantastic.” ~Andrew, Brisbane, Australia
“Love these prompts!” ~Sarah, California, USA
“Thank you for the Bursts, they are hopefully going to restore some sanity!” ~Hannah, United Kingdom
“I LOVE your Creative Bursts! They really spark my imagination.” ~Christopher, Maryland, USA
Click here to download your free Creative Bursts workbook and sign up for more Bursts in your inbox twice a week!
Today I’m pointing you toward an excellent article compiling 20 ideas from “creativity connoisseurs” for inspiring your muse. They discuss everything from practicing “creative grazing” to exploring different mediums to subtracting “serenity stealers” from your life.
Click here to read this inspiring article. And if you have any muse-inspiring ideas that work for you, be sure to share them in the comments!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
(I’m busy fighting dragons, so I’m reposting an old favorite today.)
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
Let this image engage your muse. Write a paragraph, a short story, a poem, a memory, a journal entry…or whatever you feel inspired to create. And share your creations in the comments if you’d like!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
Have you ever written a story (an essay, a screenplay, a poem…), then decided it wasn’t worth the price of the paper and ink you wasted on it? Have you imagined people laughing when they read it (and not in a good way)? Have you believed your work had no sparkle, was boring, was not noteworthy?
If you’re a writer, the answer is probably yes.
In my last post about perfectionism, I discussed the importance of creating even when your life isn’t in perfect order. But what if you’ve managed to write something you don’t believe deserves to see the light of day?
Here’s a little secret my Inner Perfectionist tried to hide from me for a long time: a lot of what you write will be bad. Or uninspired. Boring. Or half-finished because the idea fizzled out. And that’s okay. It’s not only okay, it’s part of the creative process.
Let me repeat that, because it’s important: Producing bad writing is part of the creative process.
It’s easy to imagine our favorite authors sitting at their desks, inspired every day while they effortlessly write out the masterpieces we love, barely changing a comma once they’ve finished. But it’s important to remember they struggled just as much as we do.
Here’s a little proof:
Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression. The chasm is never completely bridged. We all have the conviction, perhaps illusory, that we have much more to say than appears on the paper. —Isaac Bashevis Singer
Easy reading is damn hard writing. —Nathaniel Hawthorne
Every writer I know has trouble writing. —Joseph Heller
Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand. —George Orwell
The work never matches the dream of perfection the artist has to start with. —William Faulkner
I am irritated by my own writing. I am like a violinist whose ear is true, but whose fingers refuse to reproduce precisely the sound he hears within. —Gustave Flaubert
I could go on, but you get the point.
Here’s the only way I know to combat this problem: Allow yourself to make mistakes. Write with abandon. Fail spectacularly.
An editor once told me my submission to his literary journal was the silliest story he’d ever read. Ouch! My own Inner Perfectionist couldn’t have dismissed my efforts with more derision. But I didn’t let his comments stop me. Okay, I may have cried a little. Or cursed the editor for his abysmal judgment. It’s possible I stuck a few pins into my literary journal editor-shaped voodoo doll.
But then I picked myself up, applied some ego salve to my bruised psyche, and raised my pen again. Because here’s what I’ve learned: Creative gems live in the middle of piles of dreck. Diamonds aren’t mined from pits lined with sheets of diamond, and gold isn’t panned from rivers of gold. These things are more valuable because they are rarer than the rock and the water they inhabit. You have to get your hands dirty, covered in grit and slime, to pull out a gem. It’s the same with a work of art.
The only way to write a good story (essay, screenplay, poem…) is to write lots of bad stories (essays, screenplays, poems…). Embrace your mediocre writing and your pieces that fizzle out. Because the more rock you chisel through, the closer you get to a diamond. And once you start finding diamonds, a funny thing happens. Your percentage of dirty rock to diamond shifts, and you gradually begin to find more precious things within your huge pile of work.
It’s never going to be all diamonds and no rock. Not even close. But as you continue to work at your craft, you learn to spot the diamonds more easily and to mine them faster. You learn to polish dull gems and make them shine. And, perhaps most important, you finally learn to stop hating the rock. Because you realize it’s just a layer you must get through in order to reach the jewel within.
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
I’ve been thinking (and writing) a lot about perfectionism lately, and I can see two particular ways in which it has hampered my creativity over the years: Needing my life to be in perfect order before I can really devote time to writing. And feeling my writing isn’t good enough, because it’s not perfect. In this post, I’m going to talk about the first issue, and I’ll discuss the second one next time.
Here are some things I’ve learned: Life is messy. Creativity is messy. Muses come to you at the worst possible times. They arrive when you can’t possibly listen to them because your world will fall apart if you don’t finish the big work project/get another hour of sleep/re-grout the shower right now. They arrive when you’re tired and cranky and you don’t care about their amazing creative insights. They come to you straight from a Paris café on a sunny afternoon where they were just biting into the perfect tarte au citron. They arrive with crumbs still falling down their chins because they had a brilliant idea for you that couldn’t wait. They expect you to drop everything and listen to their inspirational comments.
Alternately, muses are good at vanishing. They disappear just when you want them the most. They start pouting and storm off right in the middle of a wonderful creative session. Or they suddenly have pressing business elsewhere and won’t stay, even when you beg. They abandon you, leaving you astonished because you thought things were going so well. Or they never arrive at all. They stop taking your calls and won’t tell you why.
And here’s the thing. If you want to create, you must create anyway. If you want to write or paint or sculpt or make music, you must write or paint or sculpt or make music in spite of everything. You must do it when your muse is acting up, and you must do it when you’re cranky, and you must do it when you’re busy.
Because if you don’t write, you’re not writing. If you don’t paint, you’re not painting. In The Writing Life, Annie Dillard said “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” If you don’t spend your days creating, you’re not spending your life creating.
Not to put any pressure on you or anything.
Something else I’ve learned—and it’s taken me years to truly understand this—is that creativity can take place in tiny bites. You don’t have to set aside big chunks of time to write a novel. You don’t have to complete a short story in one sitting. Or a poem. Even a haiku.
I once completed a series of stories by setting aside 15 minutes a day when I was working full time and freelancing on the side and felt swamped all the time. I began stopping at a sheltered bench or a hotel lobby every morning after my commute downtown. I wrote for 15 minutes before heading to my office. Once I got into the flow of this daily writing habit, I was amazed at how much I could get done in such a short time.
You can spend five minutes creating metaphors twice a week, spend 15 minutes working on your memoir another three days, write a couple of lines in your head once or twice in the shower. If you engage in these small moments of creativity most days, a flow begins.
Soon the metaphor about the grandfather clock slips into your memoir as a pithy reflection on your family’s tendency to eat breakfast food at dinnertime. The quick description you wrote in your head while showering becomes a narrative about the bully who harassed you on your first day of elementary school. Before you know it, you’ve written the first five chapters of your book.
It really does work. And your days will feel richer because you’ve dotted them with creativity, and forced your Inner Perfectionist to go away and leave you alone.
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
The exercise below is one of my recent Creative Bursts. The Creative Bursts are fun, 15-minute play breaks designed to help get your creativity flowing. They encompass writing, drawing, doodling, dancing, wordplay, singing and more. If you’re not receiving them yet, click here to sign up!
Imagine you can literally eat your words. What do they taste like? How does the last thing you said to someone else taste? How do your angry words taste? Your kind words? Your joyful words? Your sad words? If you want, quickly weave your answers into a poem.
Here’s what people are saying about the Creative Bursts:
“Your Creative Bursts Rock! Love the creativity exercises. They are fantastic.” ~Andrew, Brisbane, Australia
“Love these prompts!” ~Sarah, California, USA
“Thank you for the Bursts, they are hopefully going to restore some sanity!” ~Hannah, United Kingdom
“I LOVE your Creative Bursts! They really spark my imagination.” ~Christopher, Maryland, USA
Click here to download your free Creative Bursts workbook and sign up for more Bursts in your inbox twice a week!
Let this image engage your muse. Write a paragraph, a short story, a poem, a memory, a journal entry…or whatever you feel inspired to create. And share your creations in the comments if you’d like!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
With National Novel Writing Month fast approaching, I’m re-running my post about lessons I learned from participating in 2008:
It’s about that time again, the one month a year when tens of thousands of crazy people attempt to write a complete novel during the month of November, or National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I did it in 2008 and “won”—meaning I completed the first draft of a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.
While I usually write about fitting brief moments of creativity into the stressful busy-ness of life, it can be eye-opening to pursue a large, ambitious project like this and see where it takes you. So, without further ado, here’s what I learned from the experience:
Failing that, at least get up and stretch a lot.If any NaNoWriMo veterans have other tips, please leave them in the comments section. And best of luck to everyone participating this year!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
Here’s a fun little exercise to give your muse some creative fuel:
Collect 16 words during the day. Find them on signs, food and clothing labels, junk mail, bumper stickers…wherever words lurk.
Use these gathered words to write about your day in any way you choose—realistically, impressionistically, fictionally. It could be a journal entry, a poem, a scene, a movie trailer review of your day. Write about specific events, or discuss your thoughts, dreams, an alternate reality version of today….Get creative!
I’d love to see your creations—feel free to share in the comments section!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
For a different kind of journaling, why not try doodling instead of writing?
You can use doodles to express how you’re feeling, what happened during your day or what’s going on in your life. Sometimes expressing yourself visually can help you go deeper into emotional territory more quickly than words can.
Here’s an easy doodling exercise you can do in fifteen minutes:
Spend a minute or two doodling; fill up the entire page.
Then doodle inside your doodle. You can think about expressing what you’re feeling or what’s going on in your life as you do this. Or you can just let go of thinking and let the doodling take you where it wants to go.
You might want to play some music you like while you do your doodling. You also may want to color or paint your doodle once you’ve finished. But most of all, be sure to have fun with this!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)
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