A Couple of Creative Thoughts, A Couple of Creative Links
If you’ve read my recent contribution to Blog Action Day, then you know that those life struggles we all encounter at some point have done a number on my motivation and creativity. I’ve started finding those much-needed sparks of inspiration in the littlest everyday things and occurrences — I am slowly but surely feeling like my old creative self.
It’s no secret how much I admire and adore Julia Cameron. She’s the one I turn to in times where I find myself less than inspired. Today, I picked up The Right to Write for a dose of creative reality and opened to the chapter entitled “Mood.” Perfect for someone recently limited by their bad moods.
Julia talks about the importance of writing, and doing it all the time, whether we find ourselves in the mood or not:
It takes it out of the realm of conjuring where we stand on the rock of isolation, begging the winds for inspiration, and it makes it something as doable as picking up a hammer and pounding a nail. Writing may be an art, but it is certainly a craft.
Sometimes the biggest mistake we make when looking for a spark of inspiration is ignoring our craft when we fail to locate that spark. Creativity - whatever your outlet - is something you have to work at, and work at consistently. Don’t let a bad mood keep you from honing your craft. Make it your next challenge — work through a sour attitude and create anyway. I promise you it’ll do wonders for your creative soul.
I’m working hard at reviving my own.
Lovely Links for Today
In the last few days, I’ve found two new blogs that I am LOVING. You need to check them out.
First, the Abundance Blog at Marelisa Online, and I was drawn there because of THIS incredible post: Creative Thinking Techniques. Seriously, read it. Reread it. Print it out, hang it on the fridge and practice it everyday. What inspiring ideas from Marelisa. You rock, girlie!
Second, Creative Every Day. I found Leah’s blog because she linked to a post here (Thanks, L!). I’m very intrigued by her Creative Every Day 2008 Challenge. She’s looking for suggestions on how to approach 2009, so drop her a line with your imaginative ideas.
Any great creativity blogs you are enjoying? Let me know about them in the comments. There’s always room in Google Reader for a new, inspiring blog.
Inspiration Explosion: 14 Rousing Resources For Your Creative Explorations
Writer. Designer. Crafter. Creator.
Whatever title you go by, if you’re in the business of creativity, then you know that sometimes creativity can be hard to come by. This often happens when you’re most in in need of it. Here’s a list of my favorite places to seek out inspiration. Have fun exploring…a lot of these resources will wrap you up in their imaginative, ingenious concepts for hours.
1. Colour Lovers
Careful before you click on this link. Make sure you’ve got an extra hour or two lying around because I promise it’s almost impossible to pull yourself away from this one once you get involved.
Colour Lovers allows you to create colors, palettes and patterns so seamlessly and easily. My favorite feature is the ability to create a color palette based on a photo or image from the web. Just enter the url of the image you want to dissect and the colourlovers site extracts the different hues for you use in creating your palette.
After you’ve created a color palette, you can then apply it to one of 112 customizable patterns. I’ve already lost you for the rest of this post, haven’t I? I know, it’s pretty freakin’ cool. You can also download the palettes and patterns you create in a number of different file formats, including Photoshop and Illustrator.
Check out some of my own creations.
2. Visual Thesaurus
A thesaurus can be a writer’s best friend or worst enemy, acting as either a great source for inspiration, or a crutch holding you back from your full potential. So, how do you utilize this reference tool for your benefit? Simple. Don’t look to your thesaurus for the answers; look for a little boost to push you closer to the answers.
The approach Visual Thesaurus takes to language “encourages exploration and learning.” Right away, that means your less likely to find the “answers” there, only new questions to lead you toward a variety of answers. Test it out. You’ll get lost in language like you never have before.
3. Polyvore
Inspiration boards are a great way to showcase images, words and works that help fuel your creative expeditions. Polyvore is a great site that makes it ridiculously simple to gather any web images you like and turn them into a creative collage for inspiration.
Drag and drop. That’s really all there is to it. Wanna make it even easier? Add Polyvore’s Clipper to your Bookmarks Toolbar, and you can quickly import images from any site you visit.
4. Language Is A Virus
This one is full of plenty of prompts and boosts for any time you find yourself “blocked.”
You’ll find links to all sorts of fun word generators. One of my favorites is the title-o-matic. Whatever title pops up, I like to try and apply it to an experience or event in my own life. It’s a neat way to find a new approach to an old story.
5. Idee Inc.’s Multicolr Search Lab
This is one of two flickr related sites I’ve got on this list. And, really, I could add a lot more.
Prepare to be blown away. This site lets you search millions of flickr images by COLOR. Yep, just click on the desired colors in the palette on the right, and it will bring up all the images that contain that combination. Endless possibilities….
6. IncSpring
Let me start this one with a disclaimer: I don’t necessarily agree with the premise behind this site, however it’s filled with great designs and branding ideas that can light a fire under your own ideas.
Basically, the site is a place for designers to sell their unused designs and brands to entrepreneurs who are willing to buy them. Meh, still not so sure about that concept, but the site is filled with creative solutions. The designs are arranged by industry, which makes it easy to search for something specific if that’s what you’ve got in mind.
7. Wordle
As a writer, and a lover of words, this website is one of my favorite. Wordle is a place to create beautiful word clouds with any text you provide. You customize everything the way you want it: layout, font and color.
Here’s one I created using an old post about creativity.
8. Big Huge Labs
This is the other flickr-related link I mentioned. Big Huge Labs is a great collection of “flickr toys” that you can use with your own flickr images.
Add a matte or frame to your image, turn a photo into desktop wallpaper, create a slideshow or make your image a header for your blog. You’ll find so many great ways to display your flickr images, and an even better way to spark a new appreciation for them.
9. Ultimate List of Blog Heading Titles and Templates
If you, or your blog, ever get stuck in a rut, this post by Jacob Cass of Just Creative Design is a great resource to have bookmarked.
Jacob provides a great list of title and heading formats that only require you to fill in the blank. I guarantee you’ll find inspiration for your own new post somewhere amidst J.C.’s post.
10. 50 Word Press Plug-ins for Bloggers
Another great resource for sparking some new ideas for your blog from Mashable.
A little bit different from most of the other links on this list, this post lists a ton of resources for managing and streamlining your blog. A lot of keeping up with a blog involves a string of tedious tasks. These resources make those tasks so much easier, leaving you with a lot more time to be INSPIRED and CREATE.
11. Quotes About Writing
When I find myself in not-so-great mood, not wanting to write, there is one source I can always count on to get me motivated: reading writing about writing. Mouthful, huh? Well more simply put, I turn to quotes about writing. I always find that one little spark to ignite the willingness and passion. This is the most extensive collection I’ve found on the web.
12. Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture
Hopefully, you’ve heard all about Randy Pausch and his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University. If not, I suggest you immediately block off the next available one hour and 16 minutes that you have open in your schedule, and book a date to watch this video.
If Randy can’t inspire you, I’m not sure there’s much out there that can.
13. Getting Writing Done: A Guest Post on Copyblogger
I love reading Brian Clark’s posts. Even more than that, I love that he picks the most incredible guest bloggers who totally understand his style and write just as prlifically as he does. Jane Northcote’s post about getting down to act of writing is a perfect example.
Her 7 tips seem so simple. But, when we’re in a creative rut, that’s the one thing we need to be reminded of the most: the simplicity of writing. When you start to make things more complicated than they really are, refer back to Jane’s post to help keep things in perspective.
14. Jott
And last, but certainly not least, JOTT.
Sometimes the most frustrating thing about inspiration is that we can’t control when it comes to us. Often we are inspired and feeling our creative juices at the most inopportune time. Enter Jott. This incredible service allows you to send emails, record thoughts, make a list of to-dos and set reminders - all with a simple phone call. Technology is too cool sometimes.
Blog Action Day: I Wish You Enough
No matter how many times it happens in my life, it never ceases to amaze me. God, my Higher Power, the universe — or whatever name you give it — always finds a way to snap me out of my narcissistic coma. Whenever my self-importance starts to become a little too important, inevitably, I get my reminder.
This round’s reminder: Blog Action Day.
Recently…Not Even Close to ‘Unobstructed’
So, okay, the last few weeks have not been easy ones. My husband and I have been faced with some hurdles that require significant leaps of faith in order to get over them. Really, the only bright spot has been that, in our new marriage, we have each other to lean on.
All this “upheaval” has truly gotten me out of sorts. I’ve quit blogging all together, but, even worse, I’ve quit any of my personal writing all together as well. The only kind of writing I’ve accomplished in these last few weeks is freelance assignments — and that’s only because they produce income. Even then, it took entirely too much effort to get those articles written and submitted.
So, what have I been doing instead? Not much of anything except wallowing in self-pity. It has been pretty pathetic actually.
This morning, after I finally pulled myself out of bed, made way downstairs and fired up my Mac, there was a kick in the ass waiting for me. As soon as I moved my mouse, and my word clock screen saver disappeared there it was…an iCal alert. Not one of my weekly or monthly reminders, though.
“Write a post for Blog Action Day.”
More Than Enough And No More Excuses
When I am hungry, I eat. When I’m thirsty, I head to the refrigerator. When I am tired, I make my way to a comfortable bed. I have a roof over my head and car in my driveway. I have a husband who would give me the world if it was his to offer. I have a dog, and a cat and a closet full of outfits for every kind of occasion.
I sometimes forget just how rich I really am.
“No one should be able to say, ‘I don’t have a reason to talk about poverty.’”
I made my pledge at blogactionday.org weeks and weeks ago. In just its second year, the blog topic for the this year’s big day is poverty. The idea is to encourage bloggers everywhere to post about the same issue on the same day. It’s an incredible way to shine a big spotlight on a topic that really deserves to bask in the likes of Shea Stadium lighting.
The tricky thing about poverty is that it’s a lot more than just being hungry or homeless. There are so many dimensions — many of those dimensions being things we too often take for granted……While most of us celebrated the new millennium in style, thankful that Y2k bug decided not to bug us, almost one billion people came into the twenty-first century unable read or write, or even sign their own name. [source]
I have no excuse, no reason for not writing. A few strokes of crappy luck, a couple of raw deals here and there and a self-absorbed attitude don’t justify any of it. I live in the land of opportunity. But more importantly, I have the means to take advantage of all that opportunity. I have enough of what I need, and more than enough of what I need to make my dreams and aspirations a reality.
The written word is a powerful, inspiring, compelling, beautiful thing. And, it’s what I do for a living, revel in on a personal level and now, thanks to that iCal reminder, give to others who so desperately need it. Opportunities are everywhere, and I cannot wait to delve deeper for ways I can help.
We All Deserve ‘Enough’
In writing this post, I have had this one, simple, six-line verse in the forefront of all my thoughts and musings. I feel like it could be a good mantra for the Blog Action Day organization and all they strive to do. Life isn’t perfect, and isn’t always pretty either. Instead of letting the ugly moments leave you with an ugly attitude, put them to use in recognizing all the beauty in your life — and in sharing that beauty with other lives that need it.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish enough “Hello’s” to get you through the final “Good-bye.”
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
By: Bob Perks
A Whole New Perspective
In spending an hour on the phone with Dr. Ben Mack last Thursday, I was overwhelmed with the new thoughts and new ways of looking at my business and career goals. It wasn’t a bad kind of overwhelmed, though. Instead, I felt a rush of enlightenment as he presented me with all these new tools for exploring success.
We discussed so much in our brief hour, but the thing that struck a chord with me more than the rest was Ben’s focus on the importance of visualization and oralization. He read right through me on this one.
Learning to Give Yourself Credit When Credit is Due
Sounds pretty easy, huh?
I’ll share my little seceret with you: for me, it’s been a lifelong struggle.
I don’t want to give the impression that I am down on myself, having absolutely no confidence. In fact, it’s very much the opposite of that. I do believe in myself and my work, and have always been confident in my abilities. The place I often run into trouble is letting the tiny details have too much power and influence over that confidence.
Confidence with a small mix of trepidation. Yeah, Ben hit the bullseye on that one. It almost becomes this taboo notion within myself….that crossing a certain line of total confidence makes me arrogant. Ben really opened my eyes and showed me that doesn’t have to be the case.
Ben Challenge to Me and My Challenge to You
“I’ll just have water.”
Just? What good does this work serve? Absolutely none.
It’s a word that I eliminate from my writing. If it slips in their during an expressively written first draft, I’ve edited it out by the second draft. Now it’s time to remove it from my life completely. I think you should do the same.
One step closer to where I want to be…
Connecting With Your Roots
In The Right to Write, Julia Cameron includes a chapter about “roots” as related to writing life.
In order to bloom, all of us need a root system. Just as a regular practice of writing roots us firmly in our lives, a regular life roots us firmly in our writing.
Sometimes I get so swept up and taken away by all the creativity pumping through my veins. Do you get that? Inspiration overdrive, baby. I get tuned in and this state-of-mind can last a few minutes, a few hours or even a few days. And, when I am in creative-mad-woman mode, it’s hard to pull myself away. But, I have to - and so do you.
My wedding is in 9 days. For the last eight months, August 23, 2008 has been this sanctimonious day on my calendar. Crazy how a day can cause normally rational people to get downright irrational at times. (I’m mainly referring to myself). So much focus on that one single day. I recently realized what was happening.
The deeper I sank into the trenches of the wedding hoopla, the more roots I was severing. If I kept going at this pace, I’d have no lifeline back to reality - and to the real importance of my wedding day.
Replenishment
I’m blessed with some wonderful people in my life. Four of them will stand next to me as I marry my best friend and the love of my life.
Three of those ladies live in Denver and must have sensed that I was slipping away into wedding insanity. They put me on a plane and treated me to bachelorett fun, Denver style. (The fourth is preggo with twins :))
Nurturing roots of a regular life sure is a whole hell of a lotta fun! Girls, thanks for the much needed break and the memories that will stick with me forever. You gave my roots a much-needed boost.
