Category: Creativity

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?

With the New Year 2016 Upon Us, It’s Time to Reflect and Project Creatively

As I sit here and ponder the fact that 2015 will soon be in my rearview mirror, I want to take a minute to reflect on what the year has meant creatively-as well as what lies up the road in 2016. I think it’s good to rewind. To look back. To take a good gander at what has passed so that we can better plan for the future.

This recent trip around the calendar certainly saw some interesting highlights. I started my writing company, and that has been fantastic. To those of you out there wondering whether or not dreams can come true, I can tell you that they do. I write and edit for a living, and I couldn’t be happier. Creativity is now a permanent part of my work and personal life, and that is what I’ve always wanted.

I also decided to polish up my personal marketing machine to embark on some re-branding campaigns for some of my books. I dove into old waters with a new swimsuit, and I can truly say that I have found a new resolve to take those manuscripts to the next level! New designs, new online copy, and a new sense of purpose will see that happen. I’m planning. I’m excited.

But most important was the time I took to just be. I didn’t rush to finish another manuscript or try to push the river of words in directions they didn’t want to flow. Instead, I took some time for family and reflection. And wouldn’t you know it? I washed ashore right where I wanted to be. Renewed. Refreshed. Ready to take on new challenges.

As we head into 2016, I want to say to all of you: keep writing, keep creating and, most importantly, keep breathing. When you pursue the lifepaths of words, art, poetry and general creativity, you sign up for more than you bargained for. It isn’t really about money or notoriety, but about putting something special out there. It’s about creating a message and getting it into the world. It’s about a strong sense of personal satisfaction that comes from an ability to see the world in our own unique way. Everyone can do it. They just have to do it!

If you struggled with creativity in 2015, make a resolution: “This new year, 2016, I will be more authentic, more courageous, and more my unique self than I have ever been before. I will speak my voice in whatever medium I love.”

And if that doesn’t work? Well, just keep breathing and see what comes your way. After all, 2017 is right around the corner.

What did you pursue creatively this year? What do you have in mind for 2016?

How 10,000-Year-Old Cave Lion Cubs Helped Me Thaw Out My Own Creativity

Ever heard of cave lions?

Me neither.

However, I ran across an article by Jeva Lange at The Week, and suddenly, I’d heard of cave lions. Apparently 10,000-year-old cave lion cubs were found almost totally intact in Siberia. Perfectly preserved specimens of a lineage now extinct. And that got me thinking about writing. About creating. About the ebb and flow of creative ideas as they move (or don’t move) through our lives.

Consider these cave lions. They had a life. A narrative. A story in progress. But then? Well, that life was put on hold. Literally, put on ice. And for thousands of years, as the story of earth unfolded around them, they stayed frozen. But then, the story of human exploration and the story of the cave lion cubs intersected, and now their journey will continue. Not only will it continue, but it will help to write stories for generations of scientists to come.

All this prompted me to revisit some story ideas I’d been kicking around in my head years ago. I guess somewhere along the way, these ideas got lost. Frozen in time. These story stems became trapped under the snowdrifts of time, waiting for the day they might be uncovered again.

And then it happened. I actually started to flesh out some ideas on these old themes, and I’m pretty happy about where they might lead creatively.

You see, sometimes an idea we have feels right for our time in life. Very much in its element. However, for some reason, it gets lost. Stuck. It waits patiently for us to unearth it so that is can once again continue the journey. Instead of ignoring old ideas when something in us unearths them, perhaps the better approach is to dig a little. Explore a little. See if we can bring new life to something that seemed so cold and lifeless.

If you feel stuck or frozen, or even if you just have a bit of the idea explorer in you, try this exercise:

(1) Right now, no time to prepare, think of something fun from your past. RIGHT NOW! Got it? Good. Don’t judge it.

(2) Now, see if you can construct meaning around it. Investigate how that random, silly memory may have informed your present. Construct a new narrative around that memory. Bend it. Shape it.

(3) Type out the memory and your new story, and save it somewhere where you can come back to it. (But for now, let it go.)

The point of this exercise isn’t to get you to write the next great American novel because you recalled a story about sliding around on the ice in front of your house in Ohio because your dad decided to make a homemade ice rink and he almost slipped and hurt himself while you and your brother laug…wait…that’s my memory. Anyway, the point of this exercise isn’t to make you famous. It’s to show you that you are a storehouse of images. A waystation of wanderings. A vault of vestiges.

You have ideas and memories frozen inside of you, waiting for the story to come back to life. You never know which one will someday find its way into your ongoing story.

Stay open and explore. The results may just change the generations.

What memories came to your mind? What happened when you explored?

 

 

A Reminder: Soar Creatively by Tuning Out Negativity

We posted about soaring high a while back here at joshpcreative. Essentially, the message was: if you want to soar creatively, don’t let others bring you down with their negativity.

As the days and months of your writing and creative pursuits progress, this becomes more and more imperative to remember. I’ve had some conversations with some folks lately about their creative endeavors, and I just wanted to post this little reminder.

Be brave. Be courageous in your creations. Soar high. Listen to those who want the best for you, but try your best to tune out the negativity.

Just a friendly reminder.

Be Mindful When You Create – Hey, it Works for Driving, Right?

Stop. Breathe. Create.

I find that formula to be effective when I sit down at my computer for a writing session. Even when I have an idea that I can’t wait to get down, I often find myself taking one second to gather myself before I start the fingers flying on the keyboard. Here’s why:

1. Stop. It’s never a good idea to rush into things. A ‘pause just because’ is a good way to make sure everything is in working order.

2. Breathe. In the time it takes for three small breaths, my mind focuses. It’s a form of being mindful, or being in the moment. Focus, focus, focus.

3. Create. Now, it’s time to move forward with the idea.

I don’t just jump in my car and zoom away. I get in, put on my seatbelt, open the garage door, adjust the mirror and radio, and back out slowly.

Why should my creative process be different? Being mindful and taking a minute to breathe can go a long way to helping creativity flow.

If Creativity Eludes You or Writer’s Block Finds You, Just Celebrate

If creativity eludes you today, or if you are suffering from the dreaded writer’s block, don’t worry too much about it. Go do something else and celebrate the fact that you are creative and have creativity in your bones. Period.

Your Innate Wisdom Is Your Key to Creativity

We are all wise. Right here. Right now. Did you know that?

Just by virtue of living your life, you express your wisdom. Now, it may not be a brand of wisdom that’ll earn you a place in a philosophy textbook, but it’s yours. You have a lifetime of achievements, successes, and failures, and they all mix together to form a wellspring of wisdom that’s all your own.

You are “one of the greats” of your life, just as you are. Right in this moment.

When you write or create, you are expressing that wisdom. Whether you write about chocolate chip cookies or zombies, do needlepoint, or sing in the shower, whenever you create, you express your innate wisdom.

I know, I know. This sounds like the corny ramblings of a naive Pollyanna, but trust me, it’s true. It HAS to be true, or you wouldn’t be able to create anything unique.

I want you to try something right now. Think of a character in a book you’d like to write. A male protagonist. Give him hair. Give him an eye color. Now, give him a secret that only he knows. Got all that?

Take a moment and make it really clear.

Now, give him a female love interest of your choosing. Picture her clearly.

Okay, take it to the next level and have the man tell the woman his deep, dark secret. I’ll give you a minute………….what was her reaction to the news? What emotion was she feeling? Now, consider how the male protagonist reacts to her reaction.

Sit with all of this for a second. Let it grow.

Good. Were you able to do that exercise? Were you able to take a skimpy set of prompts and create an entire story out of it? If you did, that’s a good indication of your innate wisdom.

How?

Because you were able to take two previously unknown characters and create them from prompts. Then, you were able to build a small scene for them. A day-in-the-life, if you will. You are able to do that because you have had days in your life. You’ve had a love interest. You have secrets.

And, you were able to take your regular life experiences and create characters from them.

To me, that’s a form of wisdom.

Here are three way to use your everyday wisdom to create!

1.  Acknowledge that you have a life! That’s right. You may not be George Clooney or Sandra Bullock, but you have a life. You have experiences. You have a relationship to money, a place to live, and perhaps a car. Or maybe you take the bus. You have secrets. Embarrassing moments. All of this is fodder. Clay from which to mold something. Use it.

2.  Acknowledge that others have a life! Yes, even others’ experiences are grist for the creative mill. That guy who cut in front of you at the Post Office today? Grist. The dog that chased you on your walk? Grist. The parent at the soccer game who talks on his cell phone AND chews out the ref at the same time? Grist. Wisdom isn’t just about using your own experiences, but paying attentions to others’ experiences as well.

3.  Have the courage to let wisdom shine. It takes some bravery to step forth and let the world see inside. But you can do it. Start an anonymous blog. Open a Word document and type up a short story about a funny event from your past. In other words, let the collected wisdom of your life be something to share. Get brave and get it out there.

How have you tapped your inner wisdom and let it shine forth? Tell us how!