Take-Out Wisdom

"A truly creative person rids him or herself
of all self-imposed limitations."

(From Friday night Chinese food fortune cookie. Good point.)

Creative Tools

Here are some great ideas for coming up with new ideas.

(I really need to keep better track of where I find these links. If it was you, then, thank you, you!)

More Time, Please

Sometimes life overwhelms creative time.

Don't feel badly-- read this and remain inspired. (The article is geared toward painters, but the principles work for writers and illustrators as well.)

Stuck Again?

Keep your hand moving. That's what Lynda Barry advocates in her book, What It Is.













If you're writing and don't know what to say next, write out the alphabet. Keep your hand moving. Eventually the words will flow.




This works for drawing, as well.

I like to get up around 5:00am when the morning is silent, with a cup of coffee in hand. I read, or write, or draw. It's usually a creative time.

This morning my mind was blank.

But hey-- here's a ball point pen! And a scrap of paper! And look, there's a salt shaker!










And a pepper grinder!













I started drawing.

Boring sketches? Yeah! But who cared what they looked like? My hand was moving.

After a short break to shower and get the kids off to school I went back to writing. It turned out to be a productive brainstorming morning.

(And by the way, I highly recommend Lynda's book. It's a wild combination of graphic novel, memoir, and writing/creativity instruction-- very inspiring!)

Friday Fun: Twyla on Creativity, Failure, Success, Trust

Creativity, Writing, and How To Stop Nibbling On Chocolate Chip Cookies When You're Supposed To Be Working

I spend a lot of time listening to NPR when I'm working. Here's Faith Middleton interviewing Julia Cameron and Lee Jacobus in an episode called How to be a Writer. (Julia Cameron talks about her "writing diet." Step away from the cookies!)

Random Quote

"It's difficult to be creative in spite of the general cussedness of life, but it gets easier once you realize that creativity is a marvelous way to transcend life's little problems– like threats of war and terrorism, economic chaos, intimations of mortality, and the sneaking feeling that you have accomplished absolutely nothing all week."
– from How to Enjoy Writing: A Book of Aid and Comfort, by Janet and Isaac Asimov

Wednesday Wonderings: Creative Habits

Between being on vacation and returning to a mountain of assignments, I slacked off on doing my 15 minute-a-day exercise. This is not good thing. For me, at least.

I think it's true that you lose your train of thought, your connection to the creative stream, if you don't dip in to it every day. And what's amazing is that it only takes a small amount of time! But you need to make that time. It's so much harder to start again once you've stopped. I wonder how it works for others.

The funny thing is, my "day" job-- making illustrated maps-- is a creative one. And then there are assorted other projects I'm plugging away at. So it's not as if I'm not doing anything creative all day.

I guess it's the time to let my mind ramble-- to play, practice, toss out new ideas-- that I crave. Ooh, do I get crabby without it! It keeps me moving forward. Any thoughts?

It's About Bloomin' Time

What happens when nature gets creative...