Author: joshpcreative

This Beautiful Life Is a Blog That Can Make Your Life More…Well…Beautiful!

[In this series, Creative Blog Profiles, joshpcreative.com takes a peek at what other creative bloggers are producing and profiles them here. They don’t necessarily know it’s happening (although we do the pingback/trackback where we can), so we’re prepared to remove an entry if they get mad. Hopefully they won’t. We just want to find creative stuff to tell you about.]

Let’s see….

Something positive, something positive. Let’s check the news. Oh, look! This presidential candidate is under scrutiny for make an awful comment. Oh, and surprise! This candidate is now under scrutiny for something they did 20 years ago. Moving on.

Let’s check celebrity news, shall we? Hmmm…. I see this star broke up with this star! Well, it’s about time, right? Oh, and this up-and-coming star is being quoted as a tastemaker even though he said things that are in poor taste. Bleah.

How about world news? Oh, I see people are still fighting. Ah, and it appears things are still melting and people are busy arguing about who or what is making it all melt instead of figuring out how to stop or slow the melting. That’s nice.

Where can a person go for something positive? Well, luckily we here at Josh P. Creative know that folks are out there in the blogosphere trying to make something good out of this crazy ol’ world that seems to serve up a whole lotta stuff to be down about.

I happened across a blog today called “This Beautiful Life” (christinawrites.wordpress.com). The author-in-residence at this positive place is Christina (of course!), and she will tell you on her “About the Blogger” page that she is happy to meet you! And you, by the way, should be happy to meet her. Christina tells us that she started her online journal/blog to, “…journal about what life has to offer and find ways to turn the negativity I come across in life into something positive.” Now, if you can find something wrong with that, then you are either not human, or one of those political candidates we spoke about before.

Her posts cover a wide range of topics, including ways to use a blog to enrich your life, finding keys to happiness (at Disneyland? sure!), and a very creative way to think about your keyboard.

I don’t think Christina is a politician, rich and famous star, or a climatology expert. She’s just a creative person out there on the Internet sharing thoughts about positivity and creativity. And here’s why that matters: negativity sells on the big news sites. Gossip gets all kinds of clicks. Sports and entertainment rule the day. But so often, those stories drag us down into a quagmire of angst, envy, jealousy, rage, and all kinds of other things that we know stink for our wellbeing. But when people blog about the positive and the creative? Well, those sites are worth looking for. And when you find them? Keep reading them.

Because hey–a positive message and a reminder that a trip to Disney is good for the soul never hurt anybody.

Winston Scrooge Gets Us Thinking about the Reality of Writer’s Block

[In this series, Creative Blog Profiles, joshpcreative.com takes a peek at what other creative bloggers are producing and profiles them here. They don’t necessarily know it’s happening (although we do the pingback/trackback where we can), so we’re prepared to remove an entry if they get mad. Hopefully they won’t. We just want to find creative stuff to tell you about.]

I happened upon a very interesting blog post today at Winston Scrooge. The post is about writers block. In a very clever twist, Winston Scrooge props writer’s block up in a chair and makes him/her a character to which Scrooge can speak. The result? A somewhat uncomfortable, but very honest, tour of the writer’s mind. The underlying foil? Fear. Read it and see what you think of the post. Does it resonate with you? Make you laugh? Cry? Hit really close to home? Engage the dialogue and see where it takes you.

If you read joshpcreative.com, you know I like talking about writer’s block. One of the things that intrigues me is the idea that people who so love to create can find themselves so stymied in their attempts to create.

That’s no small thing.

Writer’s block (and writing itself?) is, in a sense, a sort of self-imposed tortue. Anybody who has ever put finger to keyboard or pen to paper to create a character…a story…a world…knows that at some point or another the doubt creeps in. The fear creeps in. The block is thrown. Yet, we willingly advance. We reluctantly stop. We willingly advance again. Over and over. We push ahead until the story is finished because it isn’t just a hobby, but a way of life. Creation runs in our blood, and we don’t live unless we wordsmith and bust down the wall that can block our way. Writers risk and endure writer’s block because it is a necessary evil on the way to a completion. On the way to truly living.

How do you handle writer’s block? What do you do when writer’s block sits in the chair across from you or stands next to you and leans over your keyboard? How do you make it to “The End” when writer’s block begins?

Read what Winston Scrooge has to say and let me know.

 

Don’t Let Negativity Clip Your Wings

See, the problem isn’t that we don’t have ideas. It’s not that we don’t know how to write. It’s not that we need approval or anything like that. The problem is that we let negative thoughts and distractions creep in. That’s the reason we get stifled.

The only thing that clips our wings is negativity. If we can learn to block that out, we have a clear path to soar creatively. Ways I’ve tried? Meditation. Journaling. Playing guitar. Talking through blocks with a trusted friend or family member.

The ways are endless. What’s your way to soar?

On Star Wars Day, May the Fourth (Draft) Be with You

So it’s May 4th. As any Star Wars fan will tell you, this is Star Wars Day. Why? Because…well…MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU! Get it? Get it? “Fourth” instead of “Force.”

Clever!

I love Star Wars. I’m not sure why, but it probably has to do with the whole “out of nothing, a great one rises” hero’s journey archetype thing and all that jazziness. There’s something exhilirating about a (spolier alert) hero who rises (literally) from the dust of his home planet to take on the scourge of the Empire.

You can actually see that saga continued in the new Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens. I did. Twice. In the theater.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a piece of advice on this Star Wars Day 2016: never stop writing. That’s a common theme on this blog, because I am well aware of the doldrums that can hit when we are working on a new book. We start. We write. We ramble along. And then, somewhere in the mix, we have the tendency to put the whole thing in a drawer and forget about it. We lose the force, as it were.

But on this day, we say, “May the 4th be with you.” And you know what? Today, we can take that to mean that it’s the fourth draft that will be the key. I know, I know, it’s a stretch, but as with any religious holiday, we have to go beyond the obvious trappings and find the deep meaning.

I edited my first book over 15 times (with two readers). The second? Probably almost 20 edits (with four readers). It was probably more. A lot more. But I’ll be conservative. Each edit gets the juices flowing in new and exciting directions. Each edit got me past a problem or insecurity. Each edit a new saga. Each tweak a new way to connect with the writing force that’s a part of each of us.

So today, on Star Wars day, fight the good fight against the dark forces of procrastination. Fight the Darth Vader in your head that tells you you’ll “never” or you “can’t.” Resurrect a draft from the ashes and take on the empire of writer’s block. Be the author who rises from the ashes and finds greatness!

At least until that next edit comes along.

In the meantime, live long and…oh, wait…right…

May the 4th be with you.

Spring Has Sprung…Or Spring Sprang–Either Way, Spring into cREative Action!

So, spring has sprung. Or, maybe spring sprang.

Well, whichever it is, I know that first iteration up there is what fits best with that saucy Sinatra song lyric, “You make me feel so young…” I think a sprung spring was the right choice.

Anyway, now that spring is upon us, it’s time to think again about who we are creatively. It’s time to thaw out and meditate on rebirth. Renewal. Anything with “re.” Come to think of it, creative has “re” in it. So, with that in mind, how do you plan to use this season to your best advantage? How do you plan to warm up the creative engine and get going on your pet projects?

If you’re stuck, here are some ideas:

  1.  Pull an old manuscript OUT of the drawer and REvisit it. Dust it off, give it another look, and see what you can do to breathe new life into it. Add some fresh flowers, some fresh faces, or a fresh new storyline. Give it to a friend and see if they can revive it. Get a new perspective.
  2. Put a current stale manuscript IN the drawer and REv up a new one. Think of a new character and put them in a new situation. Put a bit of yourself on the page and then write your dreams around this new side of your persona. See what happens! If you don’t have time for that March getaway, then write about a character on vacation and live vicariously.
  3. REinvent yourself. If writing or painting or whatever you do has you down, pick up a used guitar and do what I did: sit in front of YouTube until you can play. It works. I bled a lot, but now I’ve got the ability to make music. Yeah, I still write and write and write. But now I can take a break and play Simon & Garfunkel tunes. Paul Simon was one of the greatest writers I know, and it inspires me. What music inspires you?
  4. Go sit in nature in REpose. No book. No music. No conversation. Just sit there and listen to the grass grow. Hear a child laugh in the distance and let that make you happy. Take pleasure in things that don’t need to be created. Find joy in things that just are.
  5. REad. See what someone else created and let it get your juices flowing.
  6. REpeat this mantra: creativity is a process. What I’m saying is, if you’re trying to shake the sleepy doldrums of winter, don’t expect that it’ll happen overnight. Give yourself time to thaw, stretch, and get into the swing of spring again.

It’s spring. It has sprung. You don’t need to be Sinatra to make beautiful creative music this time of year. You just need a little inspiration. Or a good Paul Simon tune.

How do you get into the creative swing of spring?

2016 Is Bringing Out the Sweetest Creative Juices!

As 2016 progresses, I’m finding lots of things moving and shifting. Big changes. Little changes. Changes so small, they’re hardly perceptible to the human eye! One change in particular that I’m noticing: I’m falling in love with creativity and the creative all over again. And it isn’t taking the form I thought it would as 2015 came to a close.

First? I’m loving my instructional design (e-learning) work. A lot. Why? Well, I’m working with some really creative people and it’s giving me a chance to create new storylines, copy, and design ideas. I’m taking what I’ve done and pushing it to the next level. Stretching out in new ways. Very exciting.

Second? Changes in my non-work life are prompting me to think about my creative writing in different ways. Instead of focusing solely on book-length manuscripts, I’ve started mining the everyday for creative stems. I got away from that for a while, but it’s good to be back. These tiny fireflies don’t have to light up the big city just yet. They just have to exist as kernels–ready to pop at a moment’s notice.

These are just two examples. But y’know? They are exciting. And the best part of new creative juices is the sweetness they bring to the rest of life. As 2016 progresses, I have to say I’m really looking forward to tasting more.

If you need instructional design/e-learning services, creative copy, editing, proofreading, or any other projects of that nature, reach out! Let’s make 2016 great all around.