Tapping Creativity

It's Where I'm From

2010-04-20T23:01:00.002-04:00

A Guest Post by Brenda Hineman

If you have had the opportunity James Joyce's Ulysses, or any of Joyce's works for that matter, one thing that comes to the surface is that the city of Dublin takes on its own character persona. Because all stories need an environment in which to take place, the ability create an environment that is as identifiable as any other character in a story is valuable skill indeed.

It's one thing to say this, however, and something all together different to execute. For one, we are trained, as writers, to always be moving the story forward. With characters as a main focus, we learn to make their stories move. The right environment, though, can make that story even better.

One hurdle that young writers face is in thinking that, because they come from a small town, there is nothing exciting to take from that experience. They try to set stories in big cities like New York or Chicago. The reality of this situation is that small towns are teeming with unique characters, dirty laundry, and oddball traditions. Big cities, however, harbor their own sense of anonymity fostered by the impersonal nature that comes with large populations.

To start figuring out how to create an environment that has character depth, start making notes about what makes your town so unique. If you live in a big city, focus on what makes your neighborhood so unique.

Where I'm from:

Strangers wave hello as they drive by. The motive is two-fold. Of course, it's just good manners. It also lets you know they are taking notice of who is around.

It's okay to close the bar as long as you don't miss the VFW pancake breakfast the next morning. You can bring your hangover; you won't be the only one.

You ALWAYS tip the girl scooping your ice cream, because she is 16, her wrist hurts from scooping for the last 7 hours, and she's working hard instead of sitting at home on facebook... and that still matters.

The land is so flat that the sunset takes an hour. And for that hour, the sky is painted the most beautiful shades of blue, orange, and pink you have ever seen. In fact, it's so beautiful that sometimes, you watch the sunset for the whole hour.

These are just a few examples. What you can see shaping up here is a pretty consistent backdrop. The way it affects a love story, a mystery, or even a comedy can add a new dimension. It's the invisible character that colors the story, provides calm or tension, and whispers that the story still continues even after the last page is finished.

So go ahead. Start making your list. What's it like where you're from?

Brenda Hineman is a freelance writer from Michigan. When she's not penning the Great American Novel, she writes about Halloween Costumes at StarCostumes.com.

10 Ways to Hurdle Writer's Block

2009-03-11T11:37:00.003-04:00

Hi, friends. Been awhile since my last blog post and I thank those of you who waited patiently for my return. While my delay was mainly because of personal reasons, often delays are caused by a much more common and dreaded problem: Writer's Block.

While my book, Tapping Creativity is completely dedicated to helping writers find new ways to stay productive an conquer writer's block, in this post we are going to look at 10 quick and easy ways to work around writer's block now.

Meditate. Often, writer's block is a fueled by overthinking. We want so much for the muse to return, that we start focusing more on our technique and skills and less time on letting a story happen. So go someplace quiet and empty your head. Don't think about anything. Clean the slate. Do it a few times if you have to.

Make Something Else. In my experience, writing is just one of several creative outlets that writers pursue. Some are also painters, graphic designers, or musicians. I am a musician. When the writing is not happening, the music usually is. In fact, some of you may know me as scarecrow in other online venues.

Lean On Other Writers. Writer's groups exist for a reason. Other writer's understand our plight intimately and can share ways to help us get pass the block. Whether it's a technique or reviewing a work in progress and helping you see where you are trying to go ... even when you can't see it yourself.

Just Do It. Ever notice writer's block is rarely a problem when you have a hard deadline. It's because you can't wait for inspiration, you have to write regardless. So why wait for someone else to set a deadline for you? Do it yourself.

Get Inspired. Sometime's writer's block is manifests in a lack of inspiration. After all, it's not like you don't want to write, you just can't up with something to write about. Instead of waiting it out, go to the artists who inspire you. A couple of hours with Wallace Stevens, Diego Rivera, Bjork, or Frank Lloyd Wright and I can usually start rocking the keyboard again.

Work Out. Writer's block is stressful, just like any situation when you can't bring about the results you desire. As mentioned earlier, though, writer's block can also be self-perpetuating where the focus shifts to the block itself. So go run, bike, walk, swim, play hoops, whatever. It will alleviate the stress and help make the block easier to break.

Think Inside The Box. Sometimes it's the seemingly endless ways to get started that is daunting. So slim it down. Force yourself to work within certain parameters. Limit your sentence to 7 words. Implement a rhyme scheme. Whatever you do, just force a new element into the equation. It will change the way you approach the work, and a little change is just what you need.

Big Picture. Getting bogged down in details can bring your writing to screeching halt. You know how it is: you want to get from Point A to Point B, but you can't figure it out. Don't sweat it. Put sections/scenes into big picture blocks. Put a few notes about each on index cards, then organize them. This forces you to back out of "details" mode and look at your work for the bog picture. Looking at the forest instead of the trees is often enough to break the block.

The Remix. Who says remixing is just for musicians? Try taking something you have already written and switch it up. Play with sentence length, tone, chronology, voice. If it is narrative, make it a poem. This forces you to evaluate your writing and see what new things you can bring to it. It will get tehe creative juices flowing again.

Ventriliquism. As writers, our voice is shaped by the voices of writers whom we have grown to love. These are voices we know well. If you are stuck on a part, then, ask yourself: How would Hemingway write this; how would Rushdie write this; etc. By using the voice of a writer you love, you may find the voice you are searching for to keep a piece moving.

This is, by no means, an exhaustive list. It could, however, be the list you pin up in your work area and come back to when you get writer's block. Remember, these aren't exclusive solution. You can try more than one. You can even combine some of them. The ultimate goal is to change your frame of mind enough to get the words going again.

Hope this helps.

George Carlin :: American Icon

2008-06-23T10:36:00.003-04:00

George Carlin has passed away of a heart attack at 71-years-old. I mention it here because he was, in my opinion, one of the few creative thinking entertainers to reach such a level of popularity. Here is an example. Caution, some swearing.

Karma and Creativity

2008-05-01T16:32:00.005-04:00

Sometimes I hear people say, "Karma is going to get that person." Usually it's when someone behaves in an unpleasant or unethical way. The sentiment, of course, is that what you put into something is what will come back to you. Dependant on your motivation, however, that is less like karma and more like a boomerang or a checking account.

In Buddhism, it is recognized that life is suffering. To free yourself from suffering, you must lead a life that eliminates the causes of suffering, such as attachment to material objects, dependence on substances or people, and more. You also must extend compassion to all beings. By extending that compassion, you can help alleviate the suffering of others.

This notion of compassion can be seen paralleled in other religions, such a Christianity, when Jesus even extended love and compassion to those who did him harm. When we practice this love and compassion, we too enrich our own lives, and extend the invitation for compassion and love from others. Be careful, however, the reason to extend compassion should not be in anticipation of receiving it in return, but simply because it is the right thing to do. Often, we realize the benefits of this sort of behavior, but because this life is inherently one of suffering, it is perfectly common to extend compassion in every aspect of your life, yet continue to endure suffering

So what does all of this have to do with creativity? It deals directly with your motivation for creating. If you are writing , painting, composing, or dancing strictly for money and adoration, you are creating for the wrong reasons. When this happens, you invite suffering, because invariably, some people will not like what you have created.

If, however, you create because, as a creative person, it is the right thing to do, you will find your work much more rewarding. I would argue that the artist writes because only he can put those words to the page. The artist paints because his imagination and the blank canvas interact in a way that is uniquely hers. When the artist composes, it is because his song has never been sung before. When the artist dances, it is because her body is led by her spirit.

A funny thing happens when you create for yourself. You will notice that, the more you do it, the more your spirit comes through. The easier it becomes to write your story or sing your song. Compliments will mean more; and your detractors will mean less.

Like compassion, when you practice creativity, you free your spirit. And that is more valuable than any paycheck or critic's praise. And in some respects, that is the true reward of karma in creativity.

The Story in Your Hands

2008-04-24T20:10:00.002-04:00

As parents, raising our children gives us the opportunity to relive certain parts of our own lives--parts we may have even forgotten about entirely. Last week, I took my daughter to perform (along with the rest of her pre-school class) at her school's talent show. As I held her little hand when we walked into the auditorium, her hand squeezed mine and I could feel that combination of excitement and nervousness.

I took her to join the rest of her classmates. And as my wife and I took our seats, I started to think about the way my daughter squeezed my hand, because it was a sensation my hand had never felt before.

Though I'm only 32, my hands have felt many things. They have felt what it was like to grow up in poverty, taking hand-me-down coats and mittens from local charities so that I did not freeze in bitter cold Detroit winters. They have felt what it was like to ball into a fist, and break the nose of a local bully who was picking on my baby sister. They have felt the turning off hundreds of thousands of pages, as books became not only an escape, but eventually a career. They have felt the blisters growing on fingertips as I labored for hours every day to learn the guitar. And years later they felt the joy of being able to dance across a guitar neck with Satriani-esque precision. They have felt the bite of handlebar rubber as I raced my mountain bike off of cliffs and around hairpin corners. And they have felt several of their fingers broken in a 28 MPH downhill wipeout.

My hands have felt their knuckles whiten as they clenched the phone, trying desperately to talk a friend off the ledge of suicide...and failing. And they have felt their other selves the first time I held my wife's hands in my own. They have also held my daughter, minutes after her birth, with her head badly bruised and her body bloody from a very difficult delivery. And those same hands have held her fevered body close to mine, rocking until we both fell asleep.

Last week, though, my hands experienced something new. They felt the sensation of my daughter as she readied herself to perform in front of others for the first time in her life. They clapped fervently and with immeasurable pride as she performed so well. And they hugged her so close when she was done, letting her know that, on that stage and every other stage she will encounter in her life, I love her and will always be there for her.

And as she hugged me back, her little hands were creating another story.

What about you? What is the story in your hands?

Clearly, I'm Unemployed.

2008-04-17T18:40:00.004-04:00

I had a unique experience today. For the first time in my entire working life (16 years to date), I was let go. While I'm still unclear as to the reason, I refuse the let the change get me down. Whenever I've moved from one position to another, I've always been thankful for the opportunities I've been given, appreciative of the new things I've been able to learn, and eager to begin moving forward at doing my best in the next adventure. This is no exception.

In many respects, this change will allow me to move forward with other interests I have put on hold out of a basic respect for my former employer. Because that is no longer and issue, I'm putting myself out there.

As of now, I'm available on a freelance basis for those who would like the benefit of a writer (both copywriting and creative writing) with no shortage of ideas, a crazy good work ethic, and an ability to get along swimmingly with anyone. I'm also available for speaking engagements regarding the nature of creativity and how to harness it. And because my creativity knows no bounds, I'm also available for audio production/scoring engagements as I have my own studio and more than 10 years of production experience.

Moving forward, I do have some plans that might interest all of you. I'm currently working on the second edition of my book, Tapping Creativity. I'll be updating sections on blogging and others, as well as including my free eBook "The Lonely Writer". That said, if there are topics that you would like to see covered in the book and on this blog, please feel free to comment.

Also, if you purchase the first edition of Tapping Creativity now, I will send you a copy of the second edition for free when it is completed (and before it is available for sale). You can purchase Tapping Creativity here or contact at tappingcreativity@gmail.com to purchase that way...or, you know, because you want to see a fantastic resume.

Clearly I'm Mistaken

2008-03-22T08:56:00.005-04:00

Today's post is a short one, but one that should pay off over and over again. It's about mistakes. We all make them, especially typos. Oh, the typos!

One of the most difficult disciplines for a writer to master is to turn off the internal editor until a draft is written. If we start to edit before we finish writing, it makes the whole process last so much longer. Why, oh why, then, do we leave that spell check on while we write? It's a constant reminder that we have made a mistake.

But so what?

Of course I make mistakes. If I'm going to wait to until a draft is done before I go back and fix it up, however, then why would I want to stop my creative flow to fix the typos while I am writing. I think this constant fixing of typos really breaks the creative flow. For the next week, I challenge you to turn off your spelling and grammar check while you are writing. Or you could use a basic text editor such as Notepad or Textpad. See if it makes a difference in your ability to get ideas on the page.

The MacGyver Guide to Creativity

2008-03-13T18:52:00.004-04:00

If you are old enough to remember MacGyver, the first thing that comes to mind is his amazing ability to fashion new devices from just about anything. (Okay, maybe the amazing hair is the first thing that comes to mind, but that device thing is a very close second.) It's this ability that made the character of MacGyver a television legend.

At the core of every conflict was MacGyver's ability to use his creativity to solve a problem. Really, the guy could make a detonation device from a shoelace, some nail polish, and a can of green beans. One of the points I talk about a lot on this blog being able see everyday objects in a new way. MacGyver had an innate ability to see those everyday objects and create new relationships between with them.

What Would MacGyver Do?
As writers, relationships are the foundation upon which everything we write is build. Because characters exist in real world scenarios, the potential for the unexpected relationship exists in every environment in which a story is taking place.

If you were given seemingly unrelated items, could you fashion a coherent narrative from them? For instance, what would you do with a firefighter, a case of candy canes, and an impending tornado? Could you create a story from these three elements? I bet you could. And what's more is that the story I create from those three elements would be very different from the story that Kimberly might. And those would both be very different from the one that Kathryn would create.

This is the difference that is established by the inner creativity we bring to each relationships. Going beyond our normal patterns of perception and looking for relationships in everything is the first step in tapping creativity. And it doesn't matter if you are a writer, musician, painter, interior decorator, or programmer. It's when you find new meaning in relationships that your creativity flourishes.

Next time you find yourself in a creative rut, ask yourself: What Would MacGyver Do?

Co-Creating :: The Power of Two

2008-03-08T14:22:00.002-05:00

In my last post, I presented an eBook that dealt with ways to stay focused when writing, because writing is, for the most part, a solitary endeavor. In this post, we are going to look at the power of tapping creativity with others.

One item I touch upon regularly is that much of creativity comes from changing your perspective. If you can see everyday objects in a new way, you can them present them in a way that is more consistent with your unique artistic vision. Sometimes this means finding new details in relationships between different objects, people, opinions, perceptions, or any combination of those. And sometimes, it’s just about looking at a solitary object from a different frame of reference.

The Power of Two
When you co-create with someone, the ability to change your frame of reference and find something unique in relationship is magnified tremendously. Indeed, having another person creating with you means working with a frame of reference that is naturally different from your own. You don’t need to try looking at something differently; your co-creator is doing that.

What develops, then, is two people with different perspectives and views trying to bring them together. Nearly always, the end results of distinctly different than what either could have accomplished as individuals. If you have ever worked at an ad agency, the dynamics between a copywriter and art designer are essential in creating something special and new. It magnifies the creativity.

Take The Beatles, for example. John and Paul were arguably the greatest songwriting team in the history of rock music. Post-Beatles, however, their solo efforts sounded distinctly different from The Beatles. While both were able to go on to successful solo careers, I would argue that John, without Paul’s songwriting sensibilities, was given to sentimentalism. And Paul, without with John’s primal passion, was much more predictable.

It’s the magic in co-creating that makes some works of art timeless.

Beyond Creating
When my grandmother recently passed, I took some time to really reflect on our relationship and why she was so important to me. Beyond her incredible character, my grandmother is the one who sewed the seeds of creativity in me. She was not a writer or a musician. I don’t think “artistic” is a word that was ever used to describe her. What she knew how to do, though, was build relationships.

She would take me to the store and we would get paint-by-number sets and do them together. When I was learning guitar, she would ask me to learn songs she liked. She never made cookies for me, she asked me to help her make cookies. It was the nurturing of relationship and the ability to work together to achieve something new that showed me, beginning at a very young age, how rewarding it was to create…and how special it can be to create something new with someone else.

Your Homework
When you are creative, you likely have creative friends. Call one tonight and pitch an idea. Perhaps you have a photographer friend who has images that will inspire your writing. Perhaps the two of you can go to new location, while one writes and the other snaps pictures; then bring the two together and see how it works. Then figure out how you can make it work even better.

Or you can simply call a friend to come over and bake cookies with you. I bet they’ll taste better that way.

Free eBook :: The Lonely Writer

2008-02-06T19:03:00.006-05:00

As a thank you to faithful readers of this blog, I'm offering up a free copy of my eBook, The Lonely Writer.

This eBook was inspired by a set of posts that originally occurred on this blog last year. Being a writer, or any creative type, poses some very common challenges. One of the biggest challenges is the solitary nature of creation when we, as humans, are instinctively social creatures. That is the focus of The Lonely Writer. It looks at these challenges and offers suggestions to help you stay a focused and productive writer...no matter what you write.

People are talking:
"I have been in a funk and The Lonely Writer couldn't have came at a better time for me."
- Yicrosoft Directory Girl

"The Lonely Writer was very informative and inspiring. I am trying to overcome this HUGE mental writer's block right now, and your book could not have come at a better time."
- Jim Moon

So enjoy The Lonely Writer and thanks for reading Tapping Creativity.

Having Goals :: Eyes on the Prize

2008-02-03T13:51:00.001-05:00

The nature of creativity is often unpredictable. In some cases, it's easiest to tap creativity when all of the fences are down and your muse has the freedom to roam. At other times, there needs to be a goal or finish line (or deadline) in place to motivate the muse. In this post, we are going to talk about the latter.

For 2008, my sole resolution was to do less, but do it better. This resolution was motivated by my having many half-finished projects lying around. Coming up with great ideas has always been my strength--following through on them, however, well...not so much.

This year, I've taken to making a list of goals. I'm happy to say that so far, I've accomplished two of them. I've released a compilation of indie musicians called Notes From The Underground. And I've put the finishing touches on a free eBook that will be uploaded to this blog in a few days.

Making the list is key, because progress is encouraging. The list keeps me focused. As I make it further into projects, I'm also realizing I'm encountering new challenges that come from the latter stages of idea development. This learning has a snowball effect as solutions in some projects are helpful when applied to other unfinished projects and future projects.

I've made lists with pen and paper. I'm also fond of 43 Things, which allows me to not only create a goal, but write a short entry about it. I can also see others who share my goals, as well as a variety of goals that others are striving toward. These options are also motivating.

Create some goals. Make a list. Channel your creativity.

Random Acts of Creativity #2 :: Be The Messenger

2008-01-25T19:28:00.000-05:00

In the second installment of the Random Acts of Creativity series, I'd like to talk about the ways we can use little bits of creativity in uplifting ways. Horoscopes are fun because the way they are written can apply to just about anyone. That's because we, as humans, share a common condition. We have needs and desires, fears and heartbreaks. This sameness, however, presents a unique opportunity to exercise our own creativity.

Try this.

Sit down at your computer and write out some messages designed to make people stop their everyday routine and refocus on what is important.

Some you love misses you very much. Give that person a call tonight.
When was the last time you danced?
The answers you seek are out there. Go to a quiet place and try not to think.

After you have written some of these, print them out. Then, cut them into individual messages and secretly place them around town--under windshield wipers, in shopping carts across parking lots, in mailboxes, in public restrooms, or any other location where they will be unexpected.

At times, we can get so wrapped up in our own lives that we don't take time to stop and see how we are really functioning among those around us. In my experience, the things that bring us such stress are not really the most important things in life, though they are sometimes the most immediate. Use your creativity to help another person see that.

Creativity is a gift. Share it.

Be random.

Realizing the Dream :: In Honor of Dr. King

2008-01-21T20:15:00.000-05:00

On this day, we Americans celebrate the life of one of our most renown civic leaders: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was not a president, nor did he ever hold any political office. Yet, his life embodied the same fundamentals that this nation was built upon: the belief that, when we come together, we are capable of being something greater than we are separately.

His beliefs were punctuated by some of the most memorable speeches and essays ever brought into the collective conscious of not only America, but the world as a whole. He showed that the power of words can make a difference, that they can leave a legacy long after the person who penned them has left this earth.

His most famous speech, known as the "I Have A Dream" speech is included below. I want you to listen closely to the way it is structured. Listen to the way he brings together the notion of different places, different people, and different beliefs into one unified whole. As a creative person, there is a lesson to be learned here.

When you are tapping creativity, it is important to keep every possibility open, no matter how unlikely it may seem. Those we revere as innovators and forward-thinkers become that way for refusing to believe that the way things have always been is the way things always have to be. They can bring seemingly conflicting ideas into harmony. They can inspire those who follow to try harder, to believe that there can be a new way--a better way--if you have the dream and are willing to do whatever it takes to make it a reality.

Thank you, Dr. King, for sharing your dream.

Random Acts of Creativity #1 :: Sharing a Sestina

2008-01-17T20:29:00.000-05:00

This is the first of what will be an ongoing series of short posts that are designed to give your creativity a quick kick in the pants. So, with that, let's get started.

The Sestina.
The Sestina is a type of form poetry that can sound intimidating, but is a great exercise in creativity. Better yet, it gives you an opportunity to share your creativity with others.

Call a friend and ask her to come up with six words that describe the state of her life right now. Write them down. Then read this article on how to write a sestina. Put the two together and give it to your friend.

Of course, if you want even better instructions on how to write a sestina (and sonnets and villanelles and lot of other great stuff), you can also pick up a copy of my eBook: Tapping Creativity.

Talkin' Baseball :: A Tribute to My Grandmother

2008-01-10T20:36:00.000-05:00

My grandmother passed away from cancer this Tuesday in the early hours. I've been struggling with it. She was my hero. I owe so much of who I am and who I try to be to her influence in my life.

I wrote this story, Talkin' Baseball, about 8 years ago. It's a creative non-fiction piece that might help you understand how love doesn't always show itself in hugs and hearts. Sometimes it's in the determination to maintain hope when all seems hopeless.

I don't normally use this blog for editorial pieces, so please forgive. But those of you who read often surely understand.

Talkin' Baseball

I used to spend Friday nights at Grandma's house. Mom would drop me off at six o'clock and she and Dad would head off to their bowling league. Grandma would always have the best dinners: breaded pork chops, pot roast, or lasagna. None of it came from a can or a box like the stuff Mom made. Grandma would ask me about school and I would tell her whatever I was learning: cursive, multiplication tables, or how George Washington Carver invented peanut butter.

After dinner, she would do the dishes, grab a Pabst from the fridge and we'd head out to the living room to watch the Tiger's game. One evening, I told her how Derrick Spivey split his jeans trying to show me a kick he learned in Karate lessons. She told me about her father—about how he worked on the first Model T to come off the line and how he knew Henry Ford personally.

After another Pabst, I told her how Antonius Jones got caught bringing dirty magazines to school. She told me how her mother used to order her one new set of clothes from the Sears & Roebuck catalog every school year, and that she still saves bacon grease in Folgers cans because during The Depression they couldn't afford butter and had to use the grease instead.

I never knew my grandfather. I've seen only one picture of him; it was in a wrinkled brown paper bag in the back of the attic, next to a box of wire hangers and an old wooden rocking horse with the paint faded. Although the picture was only from the chest up, he looked like a short man—maybe five-six. He had a full head of thin hair that parted in the middle and curled at his ears. A low brow shaded his eyes and his moustache was full and light.

Grandma sat at the end of the pink corduroy couch, dragging on a non-filter Pall Mall. She exhaled smoke through her nose and it hung at eye level. No swirls. No rising. Just hanging. The mahogany end table on her left was collecting empty Pabst cans. Every twenty minutes another would join the group; you could set your watch to it.

After cracking open her eighth red, white, and blue can with her shakybone fingers, she pulled deeply from her Pall Mall and told me, Never ever hit a girl, no matter what she does. I asked her if it was okay if the girl hit me first. She said, No, not even then. Guys are stronger than girls and sometimes they don't think they're hitting a girl very hard, but they are. She poured back a swallow or two. She said I should never hit a girl for anything: not for punching me first, not for calling me names, not for making me frustrated, not for dropping one of the only plates left in the cupboard, not for forgetting to pick up the sugar even though it was on the list because, God Damn it, how am I supposed to drink my coffee without sugar, not for forgetting to patch the hole in the elbow of his shirt because two of the kids were sick with the chicken pox and I didn't even get any sleep myself the night before, and not because I just asked why you were home so late because I was worried, that's all. I swear.

I could see her eyes start to water and a tear slip into the creases that defined her face. I told her I had to go to the bathroom, hoping that it would stop things. And she asked if I could bring her another Pabst from the fridge when I came back.

When I returned from the bathroom, pulling my feet through the dry brown carpet, with a cold Pabst in hand, I asked her to tell me about the 1968 Tigers team and her favorite player, Denny McClain. You know, she said, he was the only player to ever win thirty games in one season; these pitchers today don't stay in the game long enough see that kind of success. She told me about the others: Mickey Lolich, Norm Cash, and Al Kaline. Longer gaps of silence grew between the names until she finally nodded off around Willie Horton or Bill Freehan.

I leaned her down on that pink corduroy couch, resting her head on one of the matching pillows, and got a brown wool blanket from the linen closet. Letting her cigarette burn out in the ashtray, I took all the empty cans back to the kitchen and put them into the case.

I climbed on the other couch and went through the 1984 Tigers—my Tigers—in my head. Starting with the outfield: Kirk Gibson, Chet Lemon, and Larry Herndon. Then the infield: Darrell Evans, "Sweet" Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell….

Gettin' Organazized

2008-01-03T20:56:00.000-05:00

So another year brings more resolutions. A big one on my list this year is to do less, but do it better. Like most other creatives I know, the curiosity of a new project can be irresistible, but a lack of organization tends to lead to a stack of half-finished project. Or, worse yet, a stack of finished projects that are only half as good as they could have been.

Most of the time, this blog is dedicated to creative techniques when it comes to tapping creativity. This time, however, we're going to take a quick look at some organizational techniques that should help you see more projects through to completion, while allowing dedicated time that each projects deserves.

The Scenario
If you are like me, at any given time you have a stack of projects of varying sizes/complexities going on all at once. So you end up scrambling from one project to the next, giving little pockets of time to each one. As a result, small projects wind up taking WAY longer to finish than they should, and some larger projects that sounded like excellent ideas (and may still) simply die on the vine, because you don't have the extended periods of time for the concentration that some of those larger projects take to do correctly.

Make The List
Start by making a checklist of your projects. I'm not talking about a mental checklist either. (After all, if we were good at making mental checklists, we probably wouldn't be so far behind in the first place, right?) I'm talking about grabbing a pen and paper or - even better - opening a (gasp) spreadsheet!

Yeah, I said it.

When you have your list together, sort them from smallest to largest.

Starting Small
By starting with smaller projects, you can accomplish three goals:

You can spend some time concentrating one these projects to get them done in the time it should take to get them done, rather than having them linger around and clutter up your mindspace.
By completing the smallest projects first, you can check them off of your list and actually see the progress you are making. Like a diet, the sooner you see the results from your efforts, the more motivated you become.
When you clear the smaller projects from your list, you create more room in your schedule more quickly. If need be, you can more easily begin a new project, as you'll have some room for it. That kind of flexibility is a big advantage for freelancers.

Getting Big
Okay, now that you've moved down your list to the bigger projects, you should already be seeing the benefits of this approach. Rather than spending 30 minutes on a few projects, or a few hours on each project once a week (or more), you get nice, big chunks of time to dedicate to the bigger projects. And you can do it more frequently.

For me, these larger chunks of time are perfect for a couple of reasons:

When I'm "in the zone," I can keep going and going without worrying about the mess of little projects that need to be finished.
When I'm up against the wall on a project, having extended periods of time to concentrate on the best way keep it moving is very handy. The added time spent on some of the more difficult aspects of executing certain creative ideas is also helpful.

Bring Them Both Together
One more approach I like to take involves breaking larger projects down to smaller parts. Writing a 20,000-word piece can seem like it takes a long time to finish if you are doing 1,000 words a day for 20 days. If you can break it down to 20 chapters, at 1,000 words each, you can "finish a project" every day.

Additionally, breaking a larger project into smaller parts like this can help you pick up where you left off and see the larger scope of the project at every step.

Back to that Resolution
So my main resolution was to do less, but to do it better. Who knows, though, if I'm more stringent about staying organazized, I'll be able to do more and do it better.

Allowing Creativity

2007-12-23T15:01:00.000-05:00

Today's post is from Vitor, who keeps an amazing blog called The Fractal Forest, which showcases his thoughts on reality as well as some incredible fractal art.

Creativity used to be such a mystery for me. It just jumped at me in sudden bursts of inspiration, but I was never able to capture its essence, trying to hold onto it but grabbing only air.

But I've realized something; I have started to see myself as an inherently creative being, with the potential to shape the world I'm living in, even if only in a tiny proportion. How could I possibly not be creative? Whenever I make a fractal image, I am just giving expression to a mathematical phenomena that has always been here, patiently waiting for someone to see it's beauty. And that is the point: I never create anything new, I just give something existing an entirely different meaning.

So, I invite you to take a different look at your creativity; it is not something that ocassionally hits you over the head. Creativity is what you are. It's your ability to change the world around you; to imagine things that are not physically in front of your eyes; to see patterns among chaos.

What you believe, how you define yourself, the way you interact with the world - those are the aspects that shape your existence as a human. Every moment when you fully reach out with your senses; when you entertain a new thought; when you dream up your next piece; you are creative ... with your whole being.

Imagine a story and watch the characters play out their roles in your head. You are their god.

Look at the unremarkable and choose to see something special in it. You are creating art.

See the state of your current life and say: Enough! You are taking the brush to paint something new over that old canvas.

Creativity is something we humans were made for. It's as natural as breathing, and no more difficult. All you have to do is open up, and let it into your life.

Top 10 Blogs for Writers

2007-12-19T19:13:00.000-05:00

Over at Writing White Papers, Michael Stelzner has put together a great list of the top 10 blogs for writers. Here's a copy of that list, but please go to his site as well to get some descriptions of each site. Then go to each site and see what there is to learn.

And since Michael can't award his own blog a place on the list of top blogs for writers, I will. Check out Writing White Papers, and check it out often. Michael offers great tips and poses legit questions for writers that stir up a lot of useful discussion.

Coaxing Creativity with Music

2007-12-17T21:08:00.000-05:00

Guest post by Vincent Tan of Polymath Programmer.

Creativity is like a breeze: fleeting, invisible and just as hard to catch. Some people relax and let it come to them. Some people work hard to bring it to bear. I’m going to tell you how you can do something enjoyable and effortlessly infuse yourself with creativity.

Listen to music.

First, let me give a bit of background about myself for some relevancy. I am a programmer by profession. I write code for most of my day. Programmers rank in the same category as artists, musicians and poets in terms of creative output. Programmers need to be creative to find ingenious solutions to business requirements and technical issues.

At work, I put on my earphones and listen to music while I crank out code. And it’s not just any particular kind of music. It’s every kind of music. I’ve got new age, instrumental and pop. I’ve got Japanese, Spanish and French vocals. I’ve got music from video games and anime that I’ve played and watched before.

How does this work? By bringing your mind to a “high” place so you can “see” more of everything (part of Getting Things Done). Genius and creative imagination are of high frequencies of vibration (“The mystery of sex transmutation” in Think and Grow Rich). You can think of listening to music to increase your thought frequency, bringing you ever higher to the place where creativity runs freely.

That’s the philosophical and perhaps even spiritual explanation. On the physical side, music charges you up by waking the mind and energising your body. Ever tapped your feet to the beat of a favourite song? Fast paced music gets your heart pumping and every single cell in your body ready to get creative.

Simply relaxing is too passive. Trying hard to force creativity doesn’t work well. Listening to music allows you to actively pursue creativity yet keep a fairly light chase. Once your creativity muse deems you worthy, she’ll come to you.

So what’s the key to selecting music? Variety. You need to have fast paced and slow soothing and everything in between. If you only have fast paced pop/rock songs, your mind will shut down from exhaustion. Intersperse that rapid flow of music with a graceful waltz or relaxing cello solo to give your mind a jig. This prevents your mind from getting stuck into a rut and also provides continuous stimulation. The shuffle function of your favourite music player is your friend here.

You’re encouraged to try incorporating music that evokes strong emotions. I’ve got a few songs which greatly cause sadness, intense lightheartedness, lulling calmness or have touching, awe-inspiring lyrics. I get tears sometimes (and discreetly holding them back of course). I smile uncontrollably sometimes. I believe experiencing the many facets of human emotions is part of coaxing creativity, of tapping creativity.

Another key to music selection is familiarity. You should be familiar with most of the songs such that you can hum the tune and still be able to function (like writing code in my case). It’s of lesser importance than variety, since new songs can act as a source of stimuli too. I don’t know many of the lyrics of my songs, but the tune becomes familiar. It might even be better if you don’t know the lyrics, since the words might clutter your mind, particularly if you’re trying to write.

My personal experience is that usually after about 2 or 3 songs, I get into the mood for action. After about maybe 15 minutes, I get into what some people call The Zone. This is where I rapidly process lots of ideas, thinking up graphical user interface designs, producing working algorithms and fingers flying over the keyboard typing out code. The Zone is where you tune out everything and your muse is talking directly to you. If you’ve ever tapped creativity, you’ll know when you’re in The Zone. Everything just flows naturally.

Ok, disclaimer time; It doesn’t always work. Sometimes, I’m just not in the mood to do anything. Sometimes, a favourite song comes up, and I stop everything to just listen and mouth the words (discreetly of course. I’m still in the office). Sometimes, I don’t even want to listen to any music. It’s ok. I take it as a sign to go do some other stuff, like organising my desk or go wash my face. I’ve never found it effective to force creativity. I’ve enjoyed a high rate of success with this method though.

Listening to a variety of music with differing tempo and evokes emotions can help you coax creativity. Sometimes you need a little help. So why not consciously guide an enjoyable activity like listening to music to get creative?

One of the steady recommendations at Tapping Creativity is to try new things. Visit Polymath Programmer and learn something new today.

Shaking the Creativity Tree

2007-12-15T18:24:00.000-05:00

Much like shaking a lemon tree to break loose ripened fruits in order for them to fall to the ground for “easy pickings”; we can also use this same concept our creative minds.

Here are a few simple exercises, suggestions, and reminders that anyone can implement into their own lives right now to help get the creative juices flowing again.

Practice Creativity
You can practice creativity by doing simple, yet creative activities. Such things as drawing, doodling, making music, or even playing board games. These really help stimulate the creative side of the brain.

Try Creativity
One of my favorite creative exercises is playing the Google Image Labeling Game. This is a simple website that assists Google in accurately labeling images stored on their servers. This game is not only stimulating to the creative side of your brain, but it is also addictive. I usually play 5-6 rounds per day. This one a real fun “Creative Tree Shaker”.

Crossword Puzzles help your creative mindset flourish. It’s something about working at recalling answers or being forced outside of your normal vocabulary that really seems to stimulate the brain.

Do something new... anything... blogging, podcasting, basket weaving, scuba diving, whatever. Even if you start something new, and quickly find that you are no good at it, keep going! Strive to improve on that skill.

Reading
Read anything that interests you. This builds your knowledge and stimulates your imagination. And knowledge + imagination = creativity.

Observing
This is a key step in replenishing your creativity. Spend some quiet time outdoors. Take a walk in your own backyard or to the park. If you can’t get outdoors, just stare out a window. Notice the little details of your surroundings. Give attention to the intricacies of life.

Imagine
Allow yourself the freedom to dig deep within your mind and use your imagination. You will benefit from this immensely. Do not dismiss any ideas or concepts that you come up with. There are no silly ideas.

“Imagination is everything; it is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
–Albert Einstein

Thanks for reading,
Jim Moon

This is Jim's second guest post here at Tapping Creativity. If you liked this one (or even if you didn't), check out his other one: What Color is Your Plane? And then go visit his blog, where he reminds you that if you write like you talk, your readers will listen.

Tapping Creativity in the Stars

2007-12-11T18:02:00.000-05:00

Regular readers of Tapping Creativity will know I'm a big proponent of turning to outside sources for inspiration, especially when you are experiencing a creative block. By "outside sources," I mean some sort of writing you wouldn't normally engage in. If you are a fiction writer, try some journalism; if academic reading is you bag, try some poetry, etc. Never consider anything off limits.

To illustrate this point, today we're going to use horoscopes as an example.

In college, I thought I'd take an astronomy course. I figured, you know, I like stars 'n stuff. Turns out that astronomy was like physics with a telescope. After three days of vectors, midpoints, and formulas that Sir Isaac Newton would eat for breakfast, I got my drop card signed and snuck into another writing course (go figure).

Still, my fascination with the stars never ceased. So I every now and again, I parlay that into something more creative: horoscopes.

Indulge me.

ARIES (March 21 - April 19): A close friend has something very important to tell you. Use this trust to build a stronger friendship. Discretely record the conversation and hold it over her head. Real friends should be willing to do anything for you, but a little insurance never hurts.

TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): A money-making opportunity is head your way in the near future. Don't let it slip through your hands. Make sure the ransom contains no misspelling and don't write it on the back of your business card ... again.

GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Family matters become an issue this week. Stay neutral. Uncle Dad may try to pit you against your wife-sister. Neither is right. By holding an unbiased position, you'll escape unscathed.

CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Distractions, distractions, distractions. This week, you need to stay focused. You need take the phone off the hook. You need to get comfortable. You need to make out a check for $500 to: Tapping Creativity...

LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): Excitement in your love life abounds this week. So dim those lights, break out the bubbly, put on some Miles, and inflate your date. This is your week.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22): Virgo, sign of the virgin. Lately, however, there is some doubt as to your purity.Do the responsible thing...get you hands on the damned taped before they wind up on the Internet.

LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): A unique travel opportunity present itself this week. If you don't comply with a Taurus, you may find yourself riding around town in the truck of a '78 Chevy Romulus.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21): You're in luck! The tests will come back negative.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21): You're not as lucky as Scorpio. Your tests will come back positive.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19): Take pride in a job well done. It may not be your idea of a dream job, but other's appreciate the effort you put into it. Keep telling yourself, "I'm the best damned worker they have here." If that doesn't work, just... just... I don't know... quit or something.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18): Oh, man! You don't even want to know what's in store for you this week. Just put on your helmet and buckle up.

PISCES (Feb. 10 - March 20): You r stressful ordeal is coming to a close this week. You will feel as if you've been reborn. Remember, the doctor said the hormone shouts would work if you just gave them enough time.

Okay, all humor aside, in addition to being a different type of writing, horoscopes are a great exercise as they force you to come up with 12 unique circumstances. When you are having a difficult idea getting one idea "down on paper," having a dozen very short sketches can be a fantastic places to start.

Go ahead, give it a shot. You know you've got the star power.

The Last Supper (The Study)

2007-12-05T19:56:00.000-05:00

Two days ago, I posted a short story of mine called The Last Supper. I figured it was a timely post, with the new year approaching. I had something else in mind, however. If you haven't read the story yet, please take a few minutes to do so now. What follows will make more sense if you do.

The following in excerpted from my eBook: Tapping Creativity.

They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. It’s also a good way to kickstart a new piece of writing. Each of us has a small handful of writers we admire. Be it the concise journalistic prose of Hemingway or the winding, subconscious, lengthy sentences of Faulkner, delivery of your story hinges very much on technique.

Too often we get stuck in ruts. We use the same words. We use the same sentence lengths. We become predictable with the parenthetical phrases. Before you know it, you’re rhythm is a lullaby and you can barely stand writing it. Imagine a reader trying to endure it. You’re convinced, though, that if F. Scott Fitzgerald were writing the exact same story, it’d be un-put-down-able.

So why not write your story like one of your favorite writers would?
The following is the opening of a story that started as a poem. I had an awful time, for some reason, trying to shape it into prose. So I put it away and picked up one of my favorite authors, James Joyce, and read his story, The Dead. By adopting his sense of rhythm, syntactical freedom, and tone, I got the following:

Finding a parking space was difficult. We were always the last to arrive and the last to leave. It was my first New Year's Eve outside of Detroit, and although it was only Livonia, there is usually less Happy New Year gunfire.

We pulled up along the curb; three houses down. The snowflakes were dipdancing down to the browned grass. It was pretty. Under the circumstances, it seemed really out of place. Walking to the house, I could see where others' prints were already being filled with newfall.

I felt the heaviness as I walked through the door. Uncle Mike and Aunt Maggie owned a sauna/massage parlor that occupied the front part of the house. Aunt Charlotte, with her nose reddened to match her hair, set down her drink rather clumsily—liquor lapping up the side of her glass. Nabbing our jackets, she swayed around the corner to one of the sauna rooms.

I continued this approach through the entire story, so much so that, in a workshop, one student actually said that the writing reminded him of Joyce’s The Dead. Maybe I was a little heavy-handed in the first draft. After a few rounds of revision, however, I made the story a little more “mine”. I may never have gotten to completion had I not first started by first imitating Joyce.

For a better look at the process, let’s take the above passage and try it like another writer might approach it—say, Hemingway. We’ll need to keep the sentences on the shorter side, use adjectives carefully, and pay close attention to natural details. Hemingway I’m not, but being familiar with his style, this is how I think it might read if he gave it a shot:

Parking spaces were few. We made a habit of arriving last. It was my first New Year’s Eve outside of Detroit. It was only Livonia, but there is less gunfire to greet the New Year.

We parked along the curb, three houses down. Snowflakes fell on brown grass. Pretty. It seemed out of place. Walking to the house, I could see the others’ prints were already filling with new snow.

As I walked in the door, the room felt heavy. Uncle Mike and Aunt Maggie ran a sauna and massage parlor from the front of their house. Red haired and red-nosed Aunt Charlotte plopped her drink down. Liquor slid up the side of the glass. She took our jackets and cut a wide path around the corner to one of the sauna rooms.

Shorter. Tighter. More direct. Better? That’s up to the reader. The important part is that the piece is definitely different and I achieved the difference by trying to use someone else’s words to tell my story. In the end, both versions are distinctly mine.

To get started, take a piece you already have and rewrite it as your favorite writer might. This should get the words moving. If you’re feeling especially adventurous, trying rewriting Barbara Kingsolver as Don Delillo might. How would Gordon Lish present a work of John Cheever’s? There are endless combinations and they all force you to examine your words and achieve a tone. Once you get started, though, the hard part is over.

The Last Supper (A Short Story)

2007-12-03T20:29:00.000-05:00

Finding a parking space was difficult. We were always the last to arrive and the last to leave. It was my first New Year's Eve outside of Detroit, and although it was only Livonia, there is usually less Happy New Year gunfire.

We pulled up along the curb; three houses down. The snowflakes were dipdancing down to the browned grass. It was pretty. Under the circumstances, it seemed really out of place. Walking to the house, I could see where others' prints were already being filled with newfall.

I felt the heaviness as I walked through the door. Uncle Mike and Aunt Maggie owned a sauna/massage parlor that occupied the front part of the house. Aunt Charlotte, with her nose reddened to match her hair, set down her drink rather clumsily—liquor lapping up the side of her glass. Nabbing our jackets, she swayed around the corner to one of the sauna rooms.

The refreshments were being served in the lobby of the massage parlor. Ritz and cheese and relish trays laid out on a massage table. The Faygo was in one of the sauna rooms. The damp cedar smell settled in my senses. Warm. Old. The bulk of the party was back toward the house. Miles away. I poured a Styrofoam cupful and pushed myself toward the gathering.

The house was full. Kids I didn't know rolling Tonkas across the floor, playing video games and plotting schemes that inadvertently lead to small fires. Unfamiliar faces that were there for the same reason I was. And I know I'm a bastard because of it.

I cut through the crowded kitchen and found a spot in the living room with the few relatives I recognized. Most around my age-old enough to drink or almost there. I put myself in the middle of a foam green couch and suffered through the same small talk that surfaces every time. How much snow do you have in Marquette? How can you go to school 500 miles away? When are ya gonna get married? Blah blah blah blah? Et cetera, Et cetera.

The Christmas tree was still up. It was decorated with a medieval motif. Wizards and warriors, sorcerers and swords, crystal balls and castle walls. But Uncle Mike and Aunt Maggie were always that way. Two years prior, they celebrated their 25th anniversary in grand medieval fashion. The whole party in full costume. The cancer was probably just starting then.

My sister and her three-month-old son sat next to me on the couch. She let me hold him. I hugged him to my body and I could feel his heart rumpthumping against mine, its calm easy cadence—rumpthump…rumpthump…rumpthump. Slowly it drowned the sound of a houseful of Catholics motivated to celebration by escaping a sense of impending guilt.

They say Uncle Mike has until March. Rumpthump…Rumpthump. And all of these faces that I've never seen before are dutifully here ringing in the New Year. Rumpthump…Rumpthump. Exchanging phone numbers they know they'll never use. Waiting for Uncle Mike to wake his wearied body and make his grand entrance. Rumpthump…Rumpthump. So they can leave and say they were there. That they loved him.

Finding myself red-faced and swollen-eyed, I hand my nephew off to my sister. I cut through a cloud of cigarette smoke and lies, back to the massage parlor lobby. The Ritz are gone. I need some air. Some quiet.

My shoes chew the new powder lying on the sidewalk. Step, step, broken-back, step, step, broken-back. Ahead of me, a man leaves a party store with a 12-pack in his hand. Twelve lowly, robed apostles with their heads hanging. And he makes thirteen. No, Da Vinci makes thirteen. Everyone who wants to be in the picture, get on this side of the table. Judas took the last Ritz.
I step through door of the party store with a tinkling of the bell overhead. I wander around the store looking for something to buy, not wanting anything. I grab a Baby Ruth and take it to the counter. I slide a five-dollar bill under the bulletproof barrier and it's taken by a small Jewish man who looks afraid of me. He turns to the register. Tapitytapching! I leave without my change. Tinkletinkletink. Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings. The guy outside Wal-Mart has been making angels for two-weeks.

I retrace my reversed treads to the house.

Someone spilled Red Pop on the massage-table cloth. I take it to the sink and rinse the stain out. Its red swirls chase themselves down the drain. I ring it out and put it back on the table. There is quite the ruckus coming from the house. Eleven-thirty and counting.

I slipslide my way through the group of…of…are they relatives? And surprisingly, there is still a space available in the middle of the couch. Some cousins are flipping through a photo album. The picture is worth a thousand words, yet the conversation lives in two dimensions.

The handle to the room in which my Uncle Mike has been sleeping turns and the door creeks open. His deflated frame emerges from behind the door. Everyone gathers for the grand entrance. It's the moment they've been waiting for. So they can go home and not feel guilty.
His black robe hangs from knobby shoulders. Six-foot-three and he can't weigh over one-forty. A few gray hairs wisp around his weathered head. His cheekbones are so big that they bury his dark eyes in their cavernous sockets and his steps are measured and full of effort. He shakes some hands, gives popsiclestick hugs, and finally takes a seat next to me on the couch. My eyes wrap a 1996 banner over his shoulder.

-I'm so glad you could make it, Geoff, he said.
-I wouldn't miss it for anything.
-How long are you down here for?
-A few more days. I have to leave again for school on Friday.
-And today is?
-It's Sunday, Uncle Mike.
-Someday it is? It's been Someday for the last week. That's what happens when you sleep through them.

People are slowly slipping out of the house. I sit here trying to make shallow conversation, being oversensitive to his lack of faculties.

Five minutes until the New Year and someone turns on the TV. Dick Clark is in Times Square and he commands the collective conscience of the room. Somewhere in the house three little boys are chasing a cat they'll never catch catchascatchcan. And outside some gunshots are being fired by people with fast watches.

A few commercials later the clock goes on the screen. Confetti is falling in New York. And at the one-minute mark the ball starts to drop. Tick…Tick…Tick.

Rumpthump…Rumpthump…Rumpthump.

5…4…3…2…1…HAPPY NEW YEAR fills the house in one giant chorus.

People gather together and give each other hollow hugs, being careful not to spill their drinks and in unison they all begin:

“Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind.”

Be My Guest

2007-11-28T18:21:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed a drop in my posting frequency lately. Things have been quite busy, however. I'm in the process if mixing and mastering my next CD, creating a samples/loops disc for audio production, organizing a fairly sizable compilation release from some outstanding indie musicians, and more. Indeed, the creativity is flowing everywhere at the moment.

Just not here so much.

One man's mayhem, though, is another man's opportunity - so to speak.

That's why I'm opening the invitation to some guest bloggers. I know some of you who read this blog maintain outstanding blogs of your own. I'm calling you out.

This is great for some of you who keep niche blogs, but would like to branch out a little and talk about writing, the creative process, or other ways you find to be creative.

If you are interested, please drop me a line at tappingcreativity@gmail.com. If you have a blog, please link to it so I can check you out. If you don't have a web presence, just tell me a little about yourself and we can roll from there.

C'mon, let's make some things happen!

A Good Tangent Can Help Your Creativity

2007-11-25T15:31:00.001-05:00

One of the aims of Tapping Creativity is to not only provide you with ideas to kickstart your own writing, but also help foster habits that keep your creative mind sharp at all times. This is so that when you finally sit down in front of a blank screen, your mind can help put things together with as little pain and agony as possible.

Okay, I might be dramatizing that a little, but when you've got a creative block, not much else seems worse.

In this post, we are going to talk about something I call "Rapid Tangential Thought Process" or RTTP. Like its cousin, the brainstorm, the goal of the RTTP technique is to promotes a stream of ideas mainly related to thought association. The main difference, however, is that a brainstorm follows a flat, horizontal approach that scatters ideas.

In the Rapid Tangential Thought Process, the thought pattern is much more vertical - almost chainlike - so that one thought extends directly from the previous thought, rather than surrounding a common thought with many different thoughts. I try to extend my chain of thought to 10 links. The key in RTTP, however, is not to think too much. Move quickly from one thought to the next, trusting that your mind has a reason for creating the associations it does.

Let's take a look at an example. We'll start with the word "rug."

rug >
Oriental >
Chinese >
laundry >
folding >
cards >
sympathy >
orchestra >
whale >
blubber

Okay, in this example, you can spot the obvious connections in terms like Oriental > Chinese. But how about some of the more interesting ones like sympathy > orchestra. Clearly the word "symphony" was a synaptic cross-over somewhere. The same goes for orchestra > whale, with a subliminal "orca" in there along the way.

This chain of thought type of thinking may be new to some of you. Others whom I have shown it to have told me that is more difficult than they thought it would be at first, but got easier the more they did it. I encourage you to try it several times a day. You can do it anywhere, on paper or in your head.

Hopefully, the next time you get stuck in your creative endeavors, Rapid Tangential Thought Process can help you quickly get to the next idea that keeps your creativity flowing.

Discover Your Spirit Animal

2007-11-08T19:17:00.000-05:00

I'm fortunate enough to work right on the Lake Michigan shoreline. One of my favorite things to do is take a break to watch the ducks. I've always had this connection with ducks. I'm envious of their ability to live on land, in water, and in the sky. Yet, they are such humble seeming animals, talented, but never flaunting. I like to think of myself as being similar.

In many Native American cultures, there is a great importance in finding your spirit animal. Native American hunters used to mimic the movements of their prey. If they were wolf hunters, they would be the wolf. Bear hunters would be the bear. In this way, they could predict the animal's movements.

One of the things I talk about in my book, Tapping Creativity, is changing your perspective - stepping outside of yourself and re-interpreting your surroundings, concerns, and motivation from a totally different perspective. In my case, as a duck, I would notice things like the grass being so much closer to my field of vision, I'd be a much better swimmer, and old people on park benches would be my best friends.

I keed. I keed. A little.

So give it a try. Observe an animal for as long as you can, even if it is just your cat. Or go take a quiz to discover your spirit animal, then write a little bit from that perspective. You might be surprised what you waddle upon.

The Truth About Myths

2007-11-05T17:59:00.000-05:00

In modern society, people often equate the term "myth" with "lie". At the very least, we allow for a myth simply to be a misunderstanding of what should seem like a logical conclusion. In the literary sense, however, the concept of myth means so much more.

In the modern age, Joseph Campbell is perhaps the world's most noted comparative mythologist. Speaking of mythology, he offered:

A whole mythology is an organization of symbolic images and narratives, metaphorical of the possibilities of human experience and the fulfillment of a given culture at a given time.

In this context, the concept of myth and mythology become of much more use to tapping creativity in your writing. Across virtually every continent and every culture, a local mythology has evolved. These mythologies show us the values and taboos of the societies from which they rose. Moreover, they collectively show us the values of humanity as a whole.

Many contemporary writers have used classic mythology to influence their works:

James Joyce: Ulysses (The Odyssey)
Thomas Pynchon: The Crying of Lot 49 (The Narcissus)
Salmon Rushdie: The Ground Beneath Her Feet (Orpheus & Eurydice)

This is just a very small sample. Each of these writers, especially Rushdie, have pulled influence directly from myths originating in the Western and Eastern worlds alike.

In movies, George Lucas has made no secret of the role of mythology in influencing the most successful movie series in history: Star Wars. And the Coen Brothers openly used names and references to The Odyssey in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

But why? Why is it that myths that are thousands of years old can still be as powerful, and exert such an influence, in today's society? Because myths, at their very core, are about humanity. They are about trials and tribulations. They are about moral conflict and transcendence.

Achilles and Arjuna both asked if war was the answer.
Odysseus and Pious Aeneas both persevered until they reached their "home".
Jesus and Buddha transcended the physical boundaries of the Universe.

To use myth in your own writing, pick two different cultures and find a common theme. Almost every mythology has a creation story. You can start there. Read these stories. Compare them. Note differences. More importantly, note similarities. Then put the pen to the page and give it a shot yourself. You don't have to write The Iliad, but grasping the concept of myth as is applies to core human values should help you in your own writing.

Freestyle Living

2007-10-30T19:12:00.000-04:00

This post is going to be somewhat informal and your writing may not even directly benefit from it. Still, something is telling me it belongs here; so here it goes.

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, because I recently picked up some music gear. If you've been following this blog for awhile, you'll know I'm a musician in addition to being a writer. So I've been following that muse lately.

In addition, I've celebrated a wedding anniversary, spent some night holding my daughter while she has this really bad throat infection, been in a car accident that nearly totaled my car, and just taken a look at life. And that's what brings me to the heart of today's post.

This Halloween, my wife and I are trying to figure out where to take our daughter trick-or-treating. Last year, on this same date, we were homeless.

As our apartment lease expired in September, we made the decision that, if we were seriously going to move from the metro-Detroit area to somewhere in Michigan's upper peninsula or northern lower peninsula, we couldn't renew the lease. We could've paid month-to-month, but we would still be living in a comfortable environment, reducing our drive to move north.

So we moved all of our stuff into a storage unit, and moved into the Extended Stay in Madison Heights, Michigan. We hit job boards and classifieds hard every night. I drove our minivan back and forth to my job at a Fortune 500 company...with our essential belongings in the back.

We spent all of last October and most of November (essentially) homeless. I wasn't jobless, so that helped, but we rolled the dice and decided that we were going to make it work if we had to. We took our little girl trick-or-treating in our old Rochester Hills neighborhood, drove by our old digs - where someone else was living - and then drove back to the Extended Stay.

At the end of November, I was offered a position with an amazing internet marketing firm. I've never been so happy with a job, either. I can honestly say that I believe completely in the abilities of every single one of my co-workers. I've lived in 4 places since last year at this time, all of them beautiful places along the shores of Lake Michigan. Right now, the Lake Michigan shoreline is about 50 yards out my back door. And my daughter will grow up in a much more beautiful place than I did.

Was it easy? No. Not always.

But I'm soooo much happier now. And I've got new stories I can tell.

So, the moral? Take a chance. Do something that seems a little crazy. Throw caution to the wind. (Insert cliche here). If you win, everybody loves a happy ending. If you lose, people enjoy a story of perseverance even more.

Until next time, go switch up your routine. And listen to my latest masterpiece while your at it.

Tagging Creativity

2007-10-15T18:16:00.000-04:00

It's been said on this blog before that creativity is often a matter of seeing the same things as everyone else, but seeing them differently. It's also been said that necessity is the mother of invention. (Or was that Frank Zappa?) Either way, both of those concepts bring us to today's post on Tagging Creativity.

While written communication is a great tool, it has never really been able to replace face-to-face communication and the non-verbal cues that go with speaking to another person directly. Well, it used to be that way anyway.

Tagging Creativity uses traditional html tags to add additional information to written communications.

Let's look at some examples:
<fingers crossed>Could you give me a ride home after work?</fingers crossed>

<sarcasm>If I do, it will only continue to encourage your pain-in-the-assitude.</sarcasm>

(Yes, you can make up words, too.)

Here's another:
<genuine inquisitiveness>Have you read Geoff's book, Tapping Creativity, yet?</genuine inquisitiveness>

<with guilty regret>Not yet. Is it any good?</with guilty regret>

<barely containing pants-wetting enthusiasm>It's fantastic. There are so many good ideas in there!</barely containing pants-wetting enthusiasm>

<wringing hands>I think that should be my next purchase.</wringing hands>

No need to go on all day. You're a smart cookie; you get the idea. So take it and run. Use it wherever you want to spice up your writing.

Just remember that when your friends ask you where you learned it, send 'em my way.

Toodles.

That's the Spirit

2007-10-09T23:32:00.000-04:00

For as long as humans have been able to contemplate their own existence, there has been a religious movement to explain our existence, social expectations, afterlife, and path to redemption. Hundreds of religions and mythologies exist today, each different (by varying degrees) from the other. One thing they all have in common, however, is their dedication to helping us navigate through this earthly day-to-day and all of the uniquely human trials and tribulations that go with it.

I was introduced to the works of comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell right around the time I was taking a course on world religion. Between the two, I became enthralled (and a little overwhelmed) by the differences, and moreover, the similarities of cultural mythologies. I dove into religious texts. I re-read The Bible, The Koran, The Upanishads, The Dhammapadda, the Tao Te Ching, the Book of Mormon, the Teachings of Confucius and any other text I could find. Never once, however, did I think to keep a log of my reading.

Since that time, I’ve gone back and started re-reading all of the sacred books again; only this time, I’m reading more slowly and taking notes. As I read parables, I write down summaries and try to apply the lessons of parables to my own life. I take the verses from Eastern texts and “translate” them into a contemporary, and sometimes more detailed form, and apply them to my life.

I slowly find some answers, and not from just one source. While this practice may be considered by some as heretical—or at the very least “misguided”—it helps me make it through hard times, find the beauty in all things, be thankful for what I have, and be more forgiving of others. Of all the extended exercises I practice, none of the other helps me on a personal level so much as this one. Some of the thoughts that surface in my journal make it into stories, but more often than not, they help me keep my mind clear of the daily clutter so I can focus my writing. Be it humor, drama, or editorial in nature, the trivial seems to fall out of the work leaving the real issues to be addressed.

I’m currently in the process of writing a novel involving three separate plotlines that revolve around these central questions:

What is the nature of love?
What circumstance could make one person hurt another in the name of love?
Can love ultimately heal all wounds?

The story itself is not what I’d call romantic. It involves dissolving marriages, a character who is not able to have children and wants nothing more that to do just that, and a dying man taking a trip back through his life and reliving his most precious memories while his daughter sits by his deathbed trying to inwardly reconcile her relationship with her father over something that happened years ago.

The work stems directly from my own contemplation of the above-mentioned questions in relation to the accepted notions of love as presented to society by our sacred texts. Without the background reading, I doubt the project would ever have gotten started.

For you to start, I recommend working outside of The Bible at first. Many of us in the Western world are familiar with The Bible and may already have preconceived notions that influence our readings. Try something smaller with shorter passages like the Tao Te Ching. Most passages are anywhere from four to twenty lines long. This makes them small enough to digest and work with, but you’ll see that small on content can be very big on meaning.

Start with one passage a day and focus on that passage. Move on to another one when you are ready. Don’t feel like you need to do one every day. Remember life’s a journey, not a destination. Feel free to make a few stop along the way and enjoy the view; your writing will be stronger because of it.

Mood Music

2007-10-07T18:01:00.000-04:00

It's October and Halloween is near. While we normally associate holiday music with the end of December, Halloween certainly brings its own brand of spooktacular sounds. Collectively, these jingles, songs, and sound effects create a distinct mood during this time of year. As a writer, that makes a difference.

If you have been following this blog for any period of time, you know I'm also a musician and I put a lot of stock in the power of music to influence our writing. To that end, I suggest an album called This House Has No Light. It's my debut CD as my alter ego scarecrow. As a soundtrack disc, it is written with story telling in mind. It's a darker CD, perfect for this time of year.

Here is the first single: The Hustle.

For other articles on music and writing, check out: Hyper Balladeers and Write Like the Beatles.

Monkeying Around with Juxtaposition

2007-10-04T19:21:00.000-04:00

You've got a story that needs some spicing up. Perhaps you've started with a great idea, then it lost its way. Perhaps you've got a great character, but you don't have situations for her. Plot pitfalls like this happen all the time.

For instance, your character could've had enough at work and told her boss to shove it in a scene that has working women all over shouting, "You go girl!" We're talking about a real glory quit. She heads home to face a future that is very different from the one she woke up to. You, however, have no idea what that is yet.

As she turns the key to her apartment and steps inside, though, she finds this:

That's juxtaposition, baby!

The last thing she expects is a giant silverback gorilla bashing the skins to a Phil Collins song. That's interesting. Why? Because we, as writers, will want to know what happens next. And so will your readers.

Characters are defined by how they react to situations. Readers go through these vicarious experiences with characters. When you use juxtaposition to introduce unlikely elements to a story - be they new characters, new events, or new whatevers - you have the chance to hook readers and let your character grow.

And sometimes, you might even stumble into a story that is more interesting than the one you started with.

StumbleUpon is a Goldmine for Writers

2007-09-29T20:17:00.000-04:00

I’ve always been one to view social media sites with a certain amount of reserve. After all, I’m 32. Myspace sort of feels like someone else’s space, if you know what I mean. Digg has a bit of an elitist attitude. I like Reddit, even though the interface could be more intuitive. And del.icio.us is better as a utility than as a social scene.

StumbleUpon, on the other hand. Well, now we’re talkin’!

Right before Facebook became the social network du jour a month ago, StumbleUpon was getting mad press! Most of it was from bloggers writing posts on how they got about 7 bazillion visits from StumbleUpon within mere minutes of “stumbling” their own post. So, of course, I had to get in on that action. Well, my traffic has gone up a little bit, (10-15 visit a day) since I became active at StumbleUpon. What I got in return, however, has been far more valuable than traffic.

I’ve found StumbleUpon to be a tremendous resource as a writer. Most often, this comes in the form of inspiration and information. Please indulge me and my blatant overuse of italicized text.

StumbleUpon for Inspiration :: The Pictures

One of the most unique features of StumbleUpon is the ability for users to photoblog. Many users focus almost solely on seeking out magnificent and awe-inspiring pictures. If you’ve followed Tapping Creativity for a little while now, you’ll know I’m a big fan of Writing to a Snapshot. Some stumblers have made it an artform, however.

When you are stuck for an idea, check out two of my favorite photostumblers: TeapotFox and Fantm. Their choice is images is, without a doubt, enough to generate something creative. If not, you need to check your pulse. Pick an image from either of their blogs and use it to get started. Some stumblers also write poetry to the images they stumble. And most of it is very good. In some cases, the seeds to a much bigger story have been sewn. All you have to do is start watering it.

StumbleUpon for Inspiration :: The People

More than any blog or tagging system alone can do, StumbleUpon allows you to get a pretty good idea about a person, quickly. This helps not only in finding other cool people, but also in learning how to flesh out characters in your own writing.

For instance, Caile-girl is, what I would consider, an ideal stumbler from whom to learn. Her stumbles shine on their own. They also, however, show the range of a real (and interesting) person who shows lots of moods and sarcasm. And Perko shows a range in his stumbles that encompass a wide variety of interests from the arts and sciences, but show a common thread throughout. Checking out his stumbles is like reading a Don DeLillo book. And I love me some Don DeLillo.

StumbleUpon for Information

You will find experts in every conceivable field on StumbleUpon. I have a special affinity for some subjects, such as social media optimization. Do you? If so, check out Msaleem-stumbl. His stumbles are a veritable encyclopedia on the subject. Looking for a slew of information on socio-political current events? Try Poeticsweetnss. Her stumbles are like the best newspaper you’ll find – provided you lean a little to the left. Of course, you can always find me there, too. I post a lot of stuff about writing (surprise) and music.

Do any of you use social media to find inspiration for your creative inspiration? If so, by all means, drop a comment to share.

What Color is Your Plane?

2007-09-27T19:06:00.000-04:00

Today's post is a guest post from Jim Moon of jimmoon.com.

Many people are intimidated by the use of creativity and imagination within their day to day lives.

Their days become bland and existence just becomes commonplace. I learned a while ago that if you try and interject a little creativity and imagination into your day to day activities, life becomes much easier and enjoyable.

It is very disheartening to me when I hear people claim the they are not talented, or creative. How can you not be creative in one way or another?

A few years ago I learned the true meaning of creativity and imagination from the most unlikely place. One rainy day I went to the mall to pick up a few things, and I would have never imagined, that from this trip I would learn the true meaning of imagination and creativity.

When I parked my car, it was raining pretty hard, so I figured I would wait it out for a few minutes. After the rain slowed, I decided to make a run for the doors, without my umbrella.

Once I was at the door, I was greeted by a friend; we talked for a while and then she left. While standing there, I noticed a mother and her small child, probably about four years old. Both of them had umbrellas and were standing in the rain. The mom was protected from the rain under her umbrella, but the girl had her umbrella in front of her with the handle to her belly, and was twirling it.

The girl was pretending to be an airplane, flying around in circles, twirling her umbrella furiously like the propeller of the plane. The whole time she was describing the plane she was flying to her mom, pointing out all the details: the tires, the wings, and the color of the plane. Then she asked her mom:

“What is the color of your plane?”

In my head, it clicked that this the true untainted meaning of imagination, from a 4 year old. I asked myself that same question: “What is the color of my plane?”

I couldn’t answer.

As we grow into adults, we often forget how to imagine, or how to be creative because we don’t allow ourselves that freedom. We tend to believe there is no place in adulthood for story time or make believe. It’s all business.

This is where we are wrong. When we allow ourselves to imagine and be creative, it actually strengthens our ability to create.

Next time you’re in the rain with your umbrella, put the handle to your belly and ask yourself: “What color is my plane?”

Thanks for reading…

Jim Moon

Tapping Creativity by Writing Erotica

2007-09-24T18:32:00.000-04:00

Here's a freebie. The following is an excerpt from my book, Tapping Creativity.

Most often creativity comes from stepping outside your normal approach to writing and dabbling in something different. With its dominance in the life of so many adults, it might be beneficial to try your hand at erotica. Although erotica is not the easiest genre to poke around in, the rewards of a well-worked piece will add a new dimension to your writing.

While I don’t claim to be a fine writer of erotica, I’ve sunk enough into it to know it can be hard. The one big advantage of this particular style to writers who’ve never tried penetrating it before is that each time can be a unique experience and, like its real life counterpart, it is only limited my your imagination.

From the writings of the Marquis de Sade to DH Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover, nothing seems to stir the pot of the literary police quite like erotica, be it crude and vulgar or elegant and highbrow. In your own experimenting, feel free to write to whatever level you wish. Maybe you’re a fairly conservative person who would like to challenge yourself by really pushing the limits of your comfort. Perhaps you’re quite outspoken and detail-oriented in your personal life and would like to be more subtle and intriguing on the page.

I try to show examples of my own work as a way to illustrate the possibilities of the exercise. This time I’m going to pull out, though. I want you to also be able to write in this style without the fear of someone looking over your shoulder. Writing free of inhibitions will produce more convincing episodes. So this time, I won’t show you mine and you won’t have to show me—or anybody else—yours, if you so choose.

Something to keep in mind is this: like every other event that happens to your characters, however, adult scenes should be used to further your story rather than gratuitous episodes to simply fill pages. Again, as in real life, intimacy is often affected by other situations. Keep some of these in mind:

• What is the relationship of the persons involved? (e.g., age, married, affair?)

• Where is it happening? (e.g., hotel room, dorm, in car, on a NYC rooftop during the Macy’s parade?)

• What is your perspective? (first-person, omniscient, peeping tom?)

• What happens after?

• How will the answer to the previous question influence the scene?

Whichever highway your pen leads you down, just remember that the ability to write adult scenes appropriate to your story simply puts another tool in your box. And I can’t think of other writing exercises that wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable.

The Lonely Writer Part 6 :: Not Seeking Security from Discursive Thoughts

2007-09-23T20:20:00.000-04:00

This final installment of The Lonely Writer series is a short one. After all, if you have put the previous five lessons into place, this sixth one should evolve naturally. I call it: Not Seeking Security from Discursive Thoughts.

The previous steps were designed to help you learn how to deal with physical, mental, and chemical habits that can get in the way of writing and be preventive in tapping creativity. As we learn to train ourselves to be comfortable in the solitary act of writing, we are opening a sort of channel into our creative core.

Have you ever been into a story and felt like it was writing itself? Like you were just writing down a story that was unfolding on its own? That is the ultimate state of being for a creative writer. You are in the zone. Your mind and body are not wandering to other tasks, and you need not be talking to yourself to correct those actions. You are one with your creative self and letting the words flow forth.

Many published writers will vow that they treat book writing just like an office job. They set hours. They have special places to write. They get into a routine. This routine helps promote all of the hazards we have discussed in this series, so they don't have to think about anything else. They can sit down, and open up the creativity. They keep working, letting bad writing come out with the good. And when they are done, they do the other things in their lives that need getting done.

I'm curious now. Have any of your been in the zone recently? If so, can you recall how those sessions may have differed from other normal times? Perhaps, together, we can lean on each other and share some ideas to help each other embrace this life - the life of The Lonely Writer.

The Lonely Writer :: An Introduction
The Lonely Writer Part 1 :: Less Desire
The Lonely Writer Part 2 :: Contentment
The Lonely Writer Part 3 :: Avoiding Unnecessary Activity
The Lonely Writer Part 4 :: Complete Discipline
The Lonely Writer Part 5 :: Not Wandering in the World of Desire

The Lonely Writer Part 5 :: Not Wandering in the World of Desire

2007-09-22T16:29:00.000-04:00

Throughout other posts in this series, we've talked about fighting distractions that take us away from the writing process. Sometimes it's being over-critical of our work. Sometimes it's letting our attention wander to other places (i.e., television, 'net surfing). Sometimes it's letting our bodies wander by trying to do other task at the same time as writing (i.e., laundry, soaking the dishes). This type of wandering is a sort of horizontal movement when we are looking for something vertical. We want to go deeper in our ideas, not spread our concentration over multiple tasks.

That brings us to Part 5 of this series :: Not Wandering in the World of Desire.

Tapping Creativity means changing your perspective. This can take time, as our perspectives are usually cultivated by years of experience. Maintaining focus and writing about a subject, problem, or theme until you've exhausted it will usually get you deeper into it. Still, there are shortcuts that can come from wandering in the world of desire.

Art has a long history of substance abusers. Some were brilliant not in spite of their addiction, but because of them. We'd be naive to believe otherwise. And its easy to see how it could happen. Alcohol does relax the editor on your shoulder and let you write more freely. Drugs will alter your perceptions and perspectives.

For how long, though?

When we are stuck in the creative process, it is easy to wander in the world of desire to find help. That's a dangerous candle to burn, however. As those things can cause a physical addiction, they can also cause a crippling creative dependency. Just as drugs and alcohol can help to get more (and different) writing out, so to can they make you think that if you stop, you won't be able to be creative anymore. And that can put you in a worse spot than you were to begin with.

I would argue that it is more beneficial to sit at the keys and not write a single word for months than to wander in the world of desire with the sole goal of finding help for your creative struggles. Much attention is given to the woes of drugs and alcohol, but I feel this is one area that is overlooked.

Drugs and alcohol are only the most obvious examples. Any time we turn away from ourselves and rely on something that isn't directly related to creativity in the name of promoting creativity, we move further away from our goal, subsequently making it more difficult to take our writing to another level the natural way...with focus, dedication, and practice.

The Lonely Writer :: An Introduction
The Lonely Writer Part 1 :: Less Desire
The Lonely Writer Part 2 :: Contentment
The Lonely Writer Part 3 :: Avoiding Unnecessary Activity
The Lonely Writer Part 4 :: Complete Discipline
The Lonely Writer Part 6 :: Not Seeking Security from Discursive Thoughts

The Lonely Writer Part 4 :: Complete Discipline

2007-09-18T19:37:00.001-04:00

This is the fourth part of the series "The Lonely Writer". At this point I would like to recap why this series is called The Lonely Writer, because this installment on complete discipline is directly relevant.

Writers sometime struggle in tapping creativity because the act of writing, unlike many of the things we do in life, is a solitary practice. Nobody does your writing for you; you alone are responsible. And to be completely honest, sometimes that's a tall order...one that can get in the way of your writing.

When we speak of complete discipline, however, it can be easily confused with punishment, parenting, or even pain. The type of discipline we are talking about here, though, has to deal with the ability to focus and follow through. In any solitary event, sometimes the mind can wander. Sometimes the body starts to wander as well. For instance, how many times have you been writing something and, before you knew it, you were watching the television...or surfing the internet...or IMing with someone?

These things happen. Writing is a lonely practice, you don't have someone there to work with you in maintaining focus. That is why complete discipline takes on such an important role in writing and your ability to tap your creativity. When you take your eye off the ball, so to speak, you lose focus and the next thing you know, you end up like Theo Huxtable.

Theo is using the excuse of being normal to make it alright to not be as accomplished as his parents. His father, however, knows that Theo's excuse is bunk and makes it clear to Theo that doing your best leads to success. Making excuses for why it's okay to not stay focused and try harder is unacceptable. Doing your best, and showing complete discipline in what you do is what will lead to success...however you define success.

So how do you exercise complete discipline? After all, that's what this post is all about, right?

Simple.

Whenever you notice your mind start to wander, bring your focus back to the writing. Whenever you find yourself sitting at the keys and looking over your screen at the television, bring your focus back to the writing. Whenever you find yourself getting up to start a load of laundry or setting up the coffee maker, bring your focus back to the writing. It doesn't have to be painful, and you don't have to get down on yourself. It can take practice. Complete discipline is the ability to stay on task and always keep coming back when you wander.

This will get more writing done. And, as you know, writing is like a muscle: the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. It also makes tapping creativity easier.

Related Posts:
The Lonely Writer :: An Introduction
The Lonely Writer Part 1 :: Less Desire
The Lonely Writer Part 2 :: Contentment
The Lonely Writer Part 3 :: Avoiding Unnecessary Activity
The Lonely Writer Part 5 :: Not Wandering in the World of Desire
The Lonely Writer Part 6 :: Not Seeking Security from Discursive Thoughts

Oh no! Not the Blog!

2007-09-17T19:05:00.001-04:00

I'm not naive. I know a lot of you who read this blog also hold down day jobs in the corporate world. Indeed, for most writers, it's the most accessible way to pay the bills with your writing.

I try to keep this blog separate from my day job, but I wrote a blog post over there that I think is worth sharing. And rather than re-write the whole thing, I'll just put as link to it: When Not to Blog.

Although it written with the corporate blogger in mind, I think those of you who keep a blog of any kind will also find some useful bits in there.

And by the way, while you are over there, feel free to leave some comments, or stumble it, or digg it, or delicify it, or reddit it, or whatever... I'm just sayin' is all.

Changing your Perspective

2007-09-16T11:26:00.000-04:00

Creativity isn't some magic ability that some people have and some people don't. Creativity is simply the ability to look at the same thing everybody else is looking at, but see something a little (or a lot) different. And anybody can do it.

I'll admit, some people are naturally inclined to look at things differently; it's just the way they are wired. It does not mean, however, that those people are more creative than you are. Sometimes the key to seeing something different from what others are seeing is in learning how to look at things differently.

For instance, take notion of perspective. The closer or further you are from something, the more you tend to notice things that others do not. In your own writing, try changing perspective.

Moving from third-person to first person brings a distinct closeness to situations. Moving the other way offers a broader, more objective view. Switching characters presents a different scenario as well. What would the story of The Wizard of Oz be like it was told from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West, or The Cowardly Lion, or even the ruby slippers? Parades look different when you are watching them from the street than they do when you are watching them from a building.

When you get stuck, or if you are thinking up a new way to approach a piece of writing, trying changing perspective and see what happens. It's a good way to start tapping creativity.

The Lonely Writer Part 3 :: Avoiding Unnecessary Activity

2007-09-14T19:10:00.000-04:00

The Japanese poet, Ryokan wrote, "If you want to find the meaning, stop chasing after so many things."

Thank about that for a minute. How many things are you chasing? And I'm not even talk about the abstracts of inner peace or more good hair days. I'm talking about the practical things: housecleaning, shuttling the kids around, home or car maintenance, etc. Sometimes we are just juggling too much, and too many of the wrong things.

Do you keep "to do" lists? I bet you do.

We all do.

And when you are sitting down to write, are you thinking about your "to do" list? I bet you do sometimes, especially when the words aren't coming out as quickly as you would like. So what do we do?

We multi-task!

We think, "Well, I can at least throw in a load of laundry." Then we do it and go sit back down.

Then we think, "I could probably fill the sink and let the dishes soak while I write." Then we do it and go sit back down.

Then we think, "I should probably get the coffee maker set for tomorrow morning before I forget about it." Then we do it and go sit back down.

Then we think, "If I'm saving time with the coffee maker, I should probably lay out my clothes for tomorrow, too." Then we do it and go sit back down.

And how much of this is getting writing done? None of it.

How much of it can wait? Usually, all of it can.

How much writing got done? Exactly.

This is, in general, what our lives have become. We rush from one activity to another. And all of the new gadgets we get make it easier to keep doing it. And they sell it all to us as if it is a good thing. We don't need gadgets to let us do more. What we really need to do is stop, take a breath, and realize which activities are unnecessary, the stop doing those things. For writers, it starts with prioritizing and avoiding activity that is unnecessary while we are writing. If this isn't enough, then you need to look at parts of your life, in comparison to writing, and make some decisions. And you know the decisions, I'm talking about.

This becomes especially important when the writing is slow. Don't ever feel like inactive time at the keyboard is wasted time or time that could be spent doing something else...something unnecessary. Indeed, it is often these times when everything stops, and we are not pre-occupied with doing unnecessary things, that the best ideas start coming to the surface. When that happens, you are at the start of tapping creativity.

Related Posts:
The Lonely Writer :: An Introduction
The Lonely Writer Part 1 :: Less Desire
The Lonely Writer Part 2 :: Contentment
The Lonely Writer Part 4 :: Complete Discipline
The Lonely Writer Part 5 :: Not Wandering in the World of Desire
The Lonely Writer Part 6 :: Not Seeking Security from Discursive Thoughts

Creativity Taps Creativity

2007-09-11T23:03:00.000-04:00

Today, over at copyblogger, guest blogger, Michael Stelzner of Writing White Papers asked the question, "Who inspires you to write?"

I responded with a list of my favorite writers (Rushdie, Delillo, Wallace Stevens) and some of my favorite musicians as well. Those of you who have followed this blog for a while will know I'm also a musician and draw upon music to influence my own writing often. In fact, I do it here and here.

Today, I want to point out the power of creativity across different forms of media.

I have a very eclectic musical pallet. And among my favorite songs, you'll find selections from Prince and Peter Gabriel. My favorite all-time song, however, is a fairly obscure song called "Skin and Atmosphere" by the band 36 Crazyfists. It poses great dynamics of loud/soft and noisy/quiet. Lyrically, the tale is one of love... to some degree.

I've had the notion to write the story of this song for a few years. While searching for a video to the song on YouTube, I found one made by a film student. His take is different than mine, but now I want to write the story line in his video.

Here's a look.

I tout the power of borrowing from other art forms to help tap your own creativity. This is a prime example of film borrowing from song. And I think it is a better example than an MTV music video, because it was done with attention to the meaning of the song, not just big budgets and flash.

So who inspires me? I'm guess I'm inspired by others who push into new creative territory. It doesn't have to be a particular artist. Creativity taps creativity.

Get tapping.

The Lonely Writer Part 2 :: Contentment

2007-09-09T11:05:00.000-04:00

This is the second installment of the Lonely Writer series. Last time we talked about how the desire for resolution (however we define resolution when we sit down) in a piece of writing can sabotage our writing effort. Since writing is a solitary endeavor, we alone control our experience. Less desire when we write is the first step in that process.

The second step is: Contentment.

It's an old adage: When you have nothing, you have nothing to lose. This is contentment in a nutshell. People often look at contentment as an overwhelming satisfaction with life. I tend to be on the side of the fence that believes, if you've got nothing to lose, you are actually in a pretty good spot. When you are content - when you have nothing to lose - you are more free to write without reservation and take those chances that allow you to grow as a writer.

How do we fall into the the trap of non-contentment? This usually happens when we sit down to write and our ego comes along. Your ego is also known as that little editor on your shoulder, the one who tells you when something is not right, needs to be rewritten, or is just not as good as you are capable of doing. We've all been there. And as much as I am aware of it in my own writing, it still creeps up.

To achieve contentment in your own writing, you need to allow yourself to "make mistakes". When you do this, you are also giving yourself permission to venture into new territory. Will you turn out some stuff that is ... well ... not great? Absolutely. You will also, by default, be turning out more material, which, in itself, is an improvement over not writing anything because you are afraid you have something to lose by not creating work that you feel meets your own standards. Sometimes, if you are not careful, you may just write something amazing that you wouldn't have written before. I think that's worth the trade-off; don't you?

Next time you write, be content just to write. Check your ego at the door. Let the words come out. And if they need work when you are done, then fix them up later. That's why we have drafts of writing.

Next time, we will talk about how avoiding unnecessary activity can help you keep churning out the words and growing as a writer.

Related Posts:
The Lonely Writer :: An Introduction
The Lonely Writer Part 1 :: Less Desire
The Lonely Writer Part 3 :: Avoiding Unnecessary Activity
The Lonely Writer Part 4 :: Complete Discipline
The Lonely Writer Part 5 :: Not Wandering in the World of Desire
The Lonely Writer Part 6 :: Not Seeking Security from Discursive Thoughts

The Lonely Writer Part 1 :: Less Desire

2007-09-06T19:03:00.000-04:00

In this first installment of The Lonely Writer series, I would like to talk about desire. In particular, I would like to talk about the way desire impacts writers in terms of resolution.

Desire is not something that is unique to writing or writers at all. In general, our main goal for taking action is to achieve a desired resolution. I would say that in most cases, the resolution desired prompts the action in the first place.

Resolution = having the bills paid. Action = going to work.

You get the idea.

The desire for resolution is magnified when we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations. We try to end arguments by leaving or yelling louder. When we get overcharged for an item, we go to customer service or quietly suck it up and let it gnaw at us inside a little.

As it applies to writing, many writers get anxious when they are sitting at the keyboard and the words aren't coming out. Sometimes the anxiety manifests when the words are coming out, but they're the wrong words. In both cases, frustration can ensue because the desired resolution is not being reached.

So what do we do? We go over to check in on our StumbleUpon friends. We start scanning our favorite blogs. We thumb through a magazine.

And none of this gets any writing done. In actuality, it doesn't get much of anything done. And in the end, the desire for resolution has led to no resolution at all. To make it all worse, the willingness to sit at the keyboard and write again can also be diminished.

It's an old adage that the successful writers are the ones who put their asses in seats, and keep them there. This also means approaching writing with less desire for a particular resolution. If you get 4,000 words, that's great. If you get none, that's okay, too. When you approach your writing time with less desire, you give yourself permission to simply exist in the moment for what it is, rather than trying too hard to make it something it is not.

When you can simply approach writing without the desire for a set resolution, you get closer to tapping creativity on a regular basis. Desire for resolution creates a barrier. When you write with less desire, you can get past that barrier. In the end, you are likely to end up achieving better results, and achieving them more frequently.

This doesn't happen overnight, as the desire for resolution has been a lifetime in the building. When you are aware of writing with less desire, however, you are well on your way.

Related Posts :
The Lonely Writer :: An Introduction
The Lonely Writer Part 2 :: Contentment
The Lonely Writer Part 3 :: Avoiding Unnecessary Activity
The Lonely Writer Part 4 :: Complete Discipline
The Lonely Writer Part 5 :: Not Wandering in the World of Desire
The Lonely Writer Part 6 :: Not Seeking Security from Discursive Thoughts

The Lonely Writer :: An Introduction

2007-09-01T17:38:00.000-04:00

While writing my recent posts about Fearless Writing, I also realized that sometimes the thing that keeps us from truly tapping creativity and letting it flourish in our writing is the solitary nature of writing. When it gets down business, you have to do it for yourself. That can be a daunting task.

Humans, by nature, are a social lot. Being alone, and projecting the fruits of that loneliness can get in the way of productive writing. After all, how many times have you found yourself with alone time, and planned on getting a lot of writing done, but squandered that time when it arrived? And how many times was it spent doing things that weren't as important or fulfilling to you?

My guess is that some of you are nodding right now.

In the coming weeks, I will be posting a six-part series of posts on the ability to embrace this lonely activity of writing, using this ability to tap your creativity, and perhaps even learn a little more about yourself in the process.

The working titles for these posts are as follows:

The Lonely Writer Part 1 :: Less Desire
The Lonely Writer Part 2 :: Contentment
The Lonely Writer Part 3 :: Avoiding Unnecessary Activity
The Lonely Writer Part 4 :: Complete Discipline
The Lonely Writer Part 5 :: Not Wandering in the World of Desire
The Lonely Writer Part 6 :: Not Seeking Security from Discursive Thoughts

I greatly encourage comments on these posts. This is an idea I've been playing with for a little while, and I'm curious as to whether others will identify with these topics.

Until then, keep the fingers on the keys.

Tapping Creativity in Language

2007-08-31T23:12:00.000-04:00

When we speak of tapping creativity, we may assume that it means creativity of ideas. In many cases, this is true; but creativity is so much more. Sometimes it can be a creativity of concept, like the work of Gabrial Garcia Marquez. Sometimes it can be a creativity of technique, like the work of James Joyce or Jack Kerouac. Or sometimes it is in the creativity of language, like the work of Abbot and Costello.

Yes. You read that correctly.

Abbot and Costello's "Who's on First" routine is one of the most popular in comedy skits in American history, because it plays on what we presume to know about language. Once you can change the rules of language, creativity begins.

I've included the full skit here. Many of you have seen excerpts of this routine. Please take a few minutes to view it in its entirety. It is brilliant. I hope it sparks something creative in you.

Blogarang

2007-08-31T21:12:00.000-04:00

I've been "out of the office" for a few days. I've been dealing with some family issues and trying to get my stuff migrated over to this fancy shmancy new laptop I got for my 32nd birthday. In the meantime, however, some people have been very kind in supporting my work. I would like to take a minute to give them some thanks and let all of you know about some really cool blogs out there. For tapping creativity, learning about new people and new topics is essential. Here are some great places to start.

Spiritual Journey of a Lightworker
Patricia Singleton says her blog is about spirituality. I like to also think it is about strength. The strength is takes to write about difficult topics, look life in the eye, and grow stronger every day. Her blog gives me chills sometimes and reminds me what the human spirit is capable of when we refuse to back down from challenges.

Rebecca Thomas Designs
Rebecca is the epitome of creativity. Her site covers a wide selection of creative pursuits, including writing, design, jewelry, and education. A core staple of tapping creativity is keeping an interest in different art forms. And she's knows what she's talking about in each category. (Rebecca, if you read this, I owe you a copy of Tapping Creativity. You can contact me at tappingcreativity@gmail.com. I look forward to your e-mail.)

NAZMIESKI
This blog is from Malaysia. I love it because it is a great example of a personal blog that offers something more than journaling. Learning is a staple of tapping creativity. NAZMIESKI offers tech bits, history on Malaysia, and more. I have a general affinity for all things Asian. And the passion in his writing is something every writer should have. Plus, he offers lots of good information about blogging. And I know all of you are probably bloggers.

Getting Off My Ass
Funny Name. Great Blog. This blog revolves a lot around physical activity. For anything you want to pursue, however, the ability to get off your ass is the first step toward results. Why should you read it? Because it is a blog of action and inspiration. It's about struggles and successes. Those are the things that writers need more often than not.

Jim Moon
Jim is from my home state of Michigan. He is a better writer than I am. You know why? Because he writes more often than I do, and he covers more territory. Often tapping creativity is a numbers game. The more you write, the better the odds of stumbling upon something good. Jim's blog is good. Go read it. Subscribe to it. I do.

Thanks to all of you who read this blog and subscribe. It means a lot. I hope I'm giving you something worth coming back to.

(Look, I got all verklempt and finished a sentence with a preposition.)

More good stuff coming soon.

Still Life As Meatloaf :: A Short Story

2007-08-28T18:51:00.000-04:00

For close to two months, I've been offering bits of advice about writing. One thing I tend to preach often is the benefit of reading stuff you might normally not read. So, at the risk of using this blog as an ego-stroker, I'll give you something new to read right here. It's a short story of mine. Hopefully, it'll spark something in your own writing.

Still Life as Meatloaf

She stands by the dryer folding laundry. They were supposed to be home an hour and a half ago. Her husband and their four-year-old daughter had taken his older kids back to their mother’s house. She wonders if they were in an accident, then folds the same towel for the third time.

She’d seen an accident once. It was in June a few years back. Eighty-nine degrees. Armpit humid. In five-o-clock rush hour, a red ragtop Camero touched the middle embankment, overcorrected, and started flipping. The driver was flung from the car and bounced along the concrete, leaving purple slugs of headmeat strung along the expressway. He was dead before the car finally came to a stop. Upside down. Power wheel still spinning.

She hopes that if they were in an accident, it would be like that—fast, if not magnificent.

She’s never planned a funeral before. I wouldn’t even know where to bury them, much less how. What’s the turnaround time on the life insurance, she wonders. She would have to ask his parents what to do. She folds the same towel for the fourth time.

She can see the minivan, crushed like a tuna fish can, with blood on the steering wheel and their daughter’s lifeless little body suspended upside down, still strapped in the booster seat, her broken neck leaving her head limp and her ponytails reaching for the ground.

She grabs the phone and calls again, pushing the numbers harder than the last time she called. What am I going to do, she thinks as she gets his voice mail. She doesn’t leave a message.

Where would I go, she thinks. Her eyes get wet, get swollen. I can’t stay here, I don’t even like it here. I only came here because he wanted to. I’d have to sell the house and go somewhere—somewhere far away. She sets the phone down and goes back to folding the towels. I’d have to start over with nothing. I’d have to go back to school for something, get a degree, get a job. The life insurance could only go so far.

She walks into the kitchen and begins deliberately preparing dinner for three, grabbing some potatoes from under the counter and tossing them into the sink. She pulls a knife from the drawer and begins cubing the potatoes for boiling.

I always wanted to teach. Maybe that’s what I could do. Maybe I could go back and get my certification and teach. It’s what I was going to do anyway. Yeah, something like fourth grade would be good for me. Dammit, when are they going to get here?

In one clean motion, she slices her left index finger lengthwise, opening the skin and releasing a long, clean rush of blood. It comes fast and dark. She turns on the sink and puts her hands under the tap, cleaning and examining the cut. She wraps some paper towels around it and thinks it will need stitches.

The refrigerator is virgin white and she tries not to get blood on it as she pulls out the ground chuck, eggs, and ketchup. From the cupboard she gets the breadcrumbs. With all of the ingredients in the mixing bowl, she tries to figure how to mix up this mess by herself.

She removes the bloodied paper towels.

The cut bleeds more as a thin flap of skin hangs down, almost refusing to be a part of the finger any longer. She stares at the finger, wounded and bleeding, but still functional. Then she slips both hands into the mixing bowl, squishing the soon-to-be meatloaf between all of her fingers. She squeezes hard and watches the blob slip from her hands as the ingredients bind together, becoming one. The breadcrumbs cling to her wound, forming a dark pink paste that she rubs back into the bowl with her other index finger, letting it sit on top of the mashed up meatpile.

Finished, she rinses her hands in the sink again and rewraps the finger. One-handing the pile into the loaf pan is remarkably easy. To the oven it goes.

It is their dinner. Their sustenance.

She hears the front door open. It is her husband and daughter. Her little girl runs to her to be picked up. She does so, wincing.

“What happened to your finger,” he asks.

“I just cut it making dinner. Where were you?”

“We got stuck in traffic, some chemical truck on its side. They routed all four lanes over to the left. It took forever.”

“Why didn’t you call? I was worried sick.”

“The battery died on the cell, and the charger is in your car. I’m sorry you were worried.”

“Forget about it,” she says and kisses her daughter on the cheek before setting her down.

“What’s for dinner, muhmuh?”

“Meatloaf.”

“Yummy, my favorite.”

“Well it won’t be ready for a little while so you can go play until then.”

“Okay.” And she scampers off.

He steps up to her and hugs her. She pulls him so close, almost violently; she can feel the pressure rush to her finger. The paper towel becomes soaked.

“Whoa,” he says. “What’s that all about?”

Her eyes fill up. “I’m just really glad to see you.”

“Well I’m really glad to see you, too. I gotta admit, though, I don’t like the look of that finger.”

“It’ll be okay,” she says. “You know I’m a quick healer.”

“If you say so.”

She tosses him a potato.

“Why don’t you make yourself useful and help me cut up these potatoes.”

He grins.

Oblivious.

“You got it, baby.”

Reaching Deeper

2007-08-25T22:22:00.000-04:00

I used to be a writing teacher. I enjoyed it because writing encapsulated so many other aspects of life. I still feel that teaching is one of the most noble professions, especially when it comes to tapping creativity. Taylor Mali says it better than I ever could.

Hyper Balladeers

2007-08-21T19:07:00.000-04:00

When I used to teach writing to college freshmen, I naively believed that I could introduce a room full of 18-year-olds to poets like John Donne and Christopher Marlowe and expect them to run with it. After 23 blank stares, I knew it was time to switch gears...and fast.

Nothing a few hundred years and some music couldn't take care of.

When it comes to tapping creativity, it always helps to have creative artistic influences. In a pinch, I know I can always turn to Bjork. She's pretty widely know for challenging conventions. When it comes to lyric writing, however, her use of imagery and narration are outstanding. As evidenced in her song, Hyper Ballad.

Hyper Ballad
We live on a mountain
Right at the top
There's a beautiful view
From the top of the mountain
Every morning I walk towards the edge
And throw little things off like:
Car parts, bottles and cutlery
or whatever I find lying around

It's become a habit
A way
To start the day

I go through this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you

It's real early morning
No-one is awake
I'm back at my cliff
Still throwing things off
I listen to the sounds they make
On their way down
I follow with my eyes 'til they crash
Imagine what my body would sound like
Slamming against those rocks

And when it lands
Will my eyes
Be closed or open?

I'll go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you

Lyrically, there is a lot going on. Images of mountaintops, "car parts, bottles and cutlery", and so on. The imagery is very vivid. The lyrics also tell an emotional tale, perhaps one of insecurity, frustration, anger, or dependency. It seems that she gives us enough to work with, but not enough to draw distinct conclusions. Or does she?

Watch the video again. Read the words. What do you think it all means?

Why don't you write the story you perceive from this song?

It's one more way to tap your creativity.

Related Posts
Write Like The Beatles
Rutbusters: Busting Through Creative Block

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

2007-08-20T18:58:00.000-04:00

Everybody from Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz to The Clash has been put in that position where they are forced to ask: Should I stay or should I go? As a writer, you should be keenly aware of the power in these situations.

Sure, there is something to be said for the freedom in abstract or stream of conscious writing, but if you want readers to have an emotional investment in your characters, you need to put your characters in situations that require them to make difficult decisions. In many cases, the final decision will change the course of that character's life long after we have closed the final chapter.

Does Dorothy stay in Oz with her new friends or does she return to the Kansas that she was so eager to leave? In Sophie's Choice, Sophie cannot save both of her children, so she has to choose one. That decision stays with her forever. And Catch 22 has even become a common part of the everyday vernacular. If you are stuck in a story, think about aiming your character toward a difficult decision.

This works well for journalism as well. But first, a word from The Clash.

Man, I love those guys.

Anyway, now that the juices are flowing again, I was talking about how this notion a character having to make a decision works in journalism. Too often journalism gets confused with newspaper writing. They are not the same. Journalism is more expansive and tells a story. Like fiction, good journalism works best when there is a sympathetic character with whom readers can identify. As this person(s) face challenges, readers become more involved as well. This is what moves us in journalism.

And since the matters are based in reality can provide a challenge, as the right details, trials, tribulations, decisions, and outcomes need to be presented with attention to truth, negating a certain degree of creative freedom, but promoting another aspect of creativity that comes from working withing barriers.

Related Posts
Getting From Here to There
Tapping Creativity by Embracing Barriers

Make a Difference. Write. Now.

2007-08-16T18:47:00.000-04:00

Please stay with me on this one, because it is going to be difficult.

My grandmother is dying of cancer.

After my last post on Monday, I visited some other blogs to which I subscribe. After reading Jim Moon's inspirational post, titled Sieze the Day, I decided to call my grandmother. She is closer to me than my mother is, and I hadn't spoken with her in months.

When I called, my uncle told me she had been taken to the hospital earlier that day after she collapsed. A CAT scan revealed cancer in her lungs and at the base of her spine.

And she is dying.

When I wanted to be the third baseman for the Detroit Tigers, she bought me my first mitt and bat. Then, every night that summer, she pitched to me. She took me to my first Tigers game in that magical 1984 season.

After a couple years of playing a loaner guitar, she bought me my own. I still play it. When I told her I wanted to be a rock star, she bought me my first multi-track recorder so I could cut a demo. I've been a musician for 20 years now.

When I told her I wanted to race mountain bikes in the 2000 Summer Olympics, she went with me to get some better aftermarket parts for my bike. I've been an avid biker for 12 years.

Everybody should have someone who so completely supports their ambitions, no matter how unrealistic. While I never accomplished those goals above, baseball, music, and biking are still passions of mine.

You should know more.

When I was 14, I noticed three little scars on my mother's heel. I asked her what they were. She told me they were from a blood transfusion at birth. My grandmother and grandfather (whom I never met) had incompatible blood types. While they had three children, they lost four--all at birth.

The more I learned about my grandmother, the more she became my role model. She was born during the depression. She married young to an alcoholic husband who routinely beat her and the children. He couldn't keep a job. So she worked 60-hour weeks to support the family. This was in the '50s and '60s. When women's libbers were burning their bras and picketing for equal rights, she was behind a soldering iron, putting together circuit boards for early computers. Some days, it was dark when she went in to work. It was dark when she left.

She did it because she had to. She did it because her love for her family was greater than the challenge of the work.

In the '60s, she divorced my grandfather, which was still a very taboo thing to do at that time. She knew she faced ridicule. She knew it might make her life even more difficult. But she did it because she had to do it.

Most of her life was spent between a rock and a hard place. And I never, ever, ever heard her once complain about how difficult her life was. And because she worked so hard, my mother's life was better. And so is mine.

When I graduated from grad school with my 4.0 average, she sent me short letter telling me how proud she was of me. Of the thousands and thousands of pages I had to read in college, that degree didn't make me feel as accomplished as her short letter did.

She is my hero. She is my role model. And she is dying of cancer.

Because of her, I never get down when times get tough. Because of her, I never shy away from a challenge, no matter how difficult. Because of her, I'm a better father to my daughter. And because of her, I know that one person can change the world for the better, even if it has to be done one person at a time.

Where am I going with this? And why should you care?

This is why.

Whether you have a natural gift for words or you've toiled for endless hours to get good at writing, you have the skills you need to make a difference in the world.

There are hundreds of charities that need help. If you can write, you can volunteer your skills to help write grants, craft informative brochures, create websites to promote awareness. You can help good causes in your own neighborhood make a difference in your own backyard.

You have the ability to help put new textbooks in schools.
You have the ability to help feed the poor your community.
You have the ability to help Vietnam veterans get the medical attention they require.
You have the ability to help ensure that someone else's hero and role model doesn't die from one of the most common diseases on the planet.

If you can write, you can make a difference.

I'm asking you in this post, to find a charity that you feel you can really get behind, and contact them, offering your services for free.

Right here.
Write now.

Thank you for reading.

Fearless Writing :: Part III

2007-08-13T19:57:00.000-04:00

This third segment in an unplanned series on fearless writing addresses the yin to fear's yang: hope. Often we think hope as that force that gives us strength. On the contrary, hope tends to be the force that gives rise to expectations. Those expectations, or rather the consequences of not fulfilling those hopeful expectations are where the seeds of fear are sewn.

In the Tibetan language, the word for for hope is rewa; the word for fear is dokpa. More often, however, the term re-dok is used, as it is the linguistic combination of the two. For, as long as there is one, the other will also be present. Fear stems from hope unfulfilled. Hope stems from the belief that something else can suppress fear.

When Dante wrote "Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here," it was before the gates of Hell. I believe that a way to break the cycle of re-dok is to simply abandon hope. Right now, you are probably wondering what the heck any of this has to do with writing or creativity.

Next time you sit to write, abandon hope. It's hope that robs the present moment from us. It's hope that puts emphasis on how things could be in the ideal situation. Well, not to be a wet blanket, but life is just not ideal. But you knew that a long time ago. When you abandon hope and all of its expectations, however, you also abandon fear. In doing so, you reclaim the present. You regain your moment in front of the screen as you cull thoughts from the universe and create something where nothing existed before. You regain the right to fail without consequence. And you regain the right soar without reservation. You regain the creativity that hope too often takes away...when we let it.

This doesn't just go for writing. I would consider it a life lesson I've picked up along the way. Abandon hope. Live life in the present as much as possible, and immerse yourself in the experience of now. I can't promise it will make your writing better, but I think that you'll find the writing comes a little more easily each time.

Related Posts
Fearless Writing
Fearless Writing Part II

6 Steps to Tapping Creativity Right Now

2007-08-11T16:39:00.000-04:00

Sometimes finding ways to tap creativity can be a bit involved. Hey, this creativity thing doesn't always come so easily. Today, we're going to look at six quick steps to help you get past creative block and get the ideas rolling right away.

1. Go for a walk. Try someplace familiar, like your own neighborhood. Take a look around and see if you notice anything you hadn't seen before.

2. Go to the library and get a short book you know nothing about. Sometimes reading new writers is enough to spark new ideas.

3. Give Google and Yahoo a break. Try using alternative search engines for a while, such as Ask, Hakia, or Mahalo. They return information in different ways.

4. Write a poem. Retell one of your other works in a series of haikus.

6. Read some local news stories, then journal about what they mean to you personally. I mean...you do journal, right?

These don't have to be one-time fixes either. For instance, every trip I take to the library, I bring back a short book for new writer voices. I walk every day during my lunch hour and look for different things. I have reams of bad poetry lying around; I also have some good short stories that started as bad poems. And I do all of my journaling by hand.

Remember, creativity can be a lifestyle, not just a character trait.

Why Do You Write Contest Winners

2007-08-11T14:56:00.000-04:00

I promised to offer free copies of my ebook, Tapping Creativity, to the top five answers I liked the most in the Why Do You Write contest. To be honest, I really thought all of the answers were good and representative of different motivations for writing.

So...

I'll be sending a free copy to all of the people who entered.

Please drop me an email at tappingcreativity@gmail.com to let me know your e-mail address, your name, and which post number was yours, and I'll get a copy right out to you!

I would also like to offer a sincere thanks to all who participated. And I hope you get something you can use from the book as well.

Improve Your Writing with One Sentence a Day

2007-08-09T19:49:00.000-04:00

With a lack of time being an big obstacle many writers face, having some tips from my book, Tapping Creativity that will let you get something productive from very little time can be helpful.

When I'm pinched for time, I use a one-sentence approach; it’s painless, minimal, and requires about one minute of each day. Every morning I sit down and write one opening sentence. I have no story to go with it. I don’t know where the sentence will take me, but I make it rich enough to lead somewhere.

Here are some sentences I’ve written, but haven’t put stories to yet. After each sentence is a short list of questions that could get the story moving.

“It’d been long known in the community that Maid to Order provided more than your basic housecleaning needs.”

What other needs could they provide? Dog-walking? Drugs? Prostitution? Private Investigation? Or do they donate a lot of time or money to charities and other community needs?

What if one of these “maids” fell in with someone whose interests were at cross-purposes to those extra-curricular services provided by Maid to Order?

What if an undercover officer got “inside” the Maid to Order circle and befriended an employee, thus jeopardizing his/her police work and leaving him/her with a big decision?

Let’s try another one.

“After regaining consciousness, my brother insisted he was a French ballet dancer and commenced pirouetting around the living room spouting, ‘Merci, Frommage!’”

How did the brother lose consciousness in the first place?

How does the brother know ballet and French? And why is his French so incoherent?

Does this sort of thing run in the family?

How old are these people?

Are they going to fix this problem before mom and dad get home?

Most importantly, will he ever get a, “You’re welcome” from the cheese?

How about something like this?

“It was the final flim-flam.”

What was the final flim-flam?

How does this flim-flam stack up against previous flim-flams?

Why is this one the final flim-flam? Is it because this was the granddaddy of all flim-flams or was it because after the last flim-flam there was to be a complete cessation of all flim-flammery?

What type of person uses the word “flim-flam” anyway?

You should be seeing the pattern here. You can use anything for an opening sentence as long as it peaks enough interest to get the reader to the next sentence, and more importantly, poses enough possibilities to get you, the writer, to the next sentence when you have more time to develop it.

MUCKO :: Fun with Captions

2007-08-07T21:41:00.000-04:00

Over the last few posts, I've gotten into some pretty deep stuff in terms of where writing can take us on a personal level. I think it is worth mentioning, however, that writing can be a lot of fun, even if you are not a humor writer.

At another site I frequent, the forumites have this thing called "Mucko." Basically, it involves putting up a really unique picture, then everyone on the forum writes a caption or quote for it. I figured this might work here, among a bunch of writers.

So here is the picture:

Okay, writers. Let's have some fun. Mucko away!

Fearless Writing :: Part II

2007-08-06T21:25:00.001-04:00

In my Fearless Writing post, I talked about the practical aspects of writing and why fear should have no place. And while I stand by everything I offered in that post, I realize that simply saying, "just do it," isn't always so simple, because fear is often impractical. It is a basic psychological, even intuitive, response. And while I'm not a psychiatrist, I've learned some things about fear, and its ability to undermine writing efforts. I'd like to share those things in this post.

Fear, at its very core, is primarily a reaction to the unknown. We've been conditioned to flee what we do not know because sticking with what we do know tend to be good for basic physical and emotional health...or is it?

The unknown, by its nature, may very well offer us insight or truths about ourselves, our world, and the relationship between the two. Along the way, it is entirely possible that the unknown might also show us things we don't like or that make us feel uncomfortable. It is only through knowing these things, I would posit, that we can progress both as writers and as human beings.

We write to explore. It's how we make sense of the world. Be it a sonnet, a novel, a piece of journalism, or even a blog about something difficult, but worth facing, we write to explore. And it is only when we explore, that can we discover. What if Christopher Columbus didn't face the fear of the world actually being flat? Like Columbus, writers are explorers. And it's not writers; all artists are explorers.

By embracing your fear, understanding what it is you are fearful of, accepting it, and moving forward, you can make at least one person's life better: yours. Who knows? You might just make a difference in others' lives, too.

Remember, every instance of fear is also an opportunity for courage. It is only when we face life's challenges (like fear) with courage that we truly learn how strong we really are. I firmly believe writing can be a vehicle for this sort of self-discovery, but only if we approach it fearlessly.

Related Posts
Fearless Writing
Fearless Writing Part III

1 list, 7 items, 135 ideas for writers

2007-08-04T14:05:00.002-04:00

So much of tapping creativity is indirectly related to writing. More often, the things that fuel our creativity are the techniques we use to figure out what we should write about in the first place. Lists are a great way to do this.

Lately, lists have been getting a lot of attention in the blogosphere as a way to create great link bait for social media sites like Digg or StumbleUpon. For writers looking to get their own ideas flowing, however, lists can provide tremendous amount of fodder - if you are making the right lists.

I once found a story of a man who, while still in his 30s, had accomplished a tremendous number of feats. From scuba diving along the Great Barrier Reef to skydiving, to learning 5 different languages. His secret was that, at age 15, he made a list of the 100 things we wanted to do before he died. He held onto that list and made his life's goal to accomplish everything on it. Before he was 40, he had already accomplished 67 of those things. He said that this approach to life had given him some exciting moments, but had been most beneficial in helping him learn about what it is that truly brings him happiness.

I have used lists for years and found them to be a handy starting point for my writing. Along the way, I have learned a few things about myself. I've also created some pretty interesting journal entries from them, too.

So I offer this list of lists for you to start. When you can't think of what to write about, make one of these lists.

100 things to do before you die
5 people you meet in heaven
3 most important moments of your life
7 life lessons you have learned so far
10 favorite CDs
6 character traits you hope your children have
4 things you'd do as president (premier, prime minister, etc.)

While each of these lists carry an implicit: "What" or "Who" reasoning, the big question that makes these lists valuable, however, "Why?" With each list, add and explanation of why each item appears on the list. When you do this, certain themes should start to surface. These themes are likely to reveal your ultimate motivations for writing in the first place. And, if you are lucky, you may even come across some very interesting juxtapositions, too.

Contest :: Why Do You Write?

2007-08-02T21:54:00.000-04:00

During the last few days, Michael Stelzner has been trying to get to the heart of what prevents people from writing over at Copyblogger and, his own site, Writing White Papers.

Here at Tapping Creativity, on the other hand, I would like to know: Why Do You Write?

What is your motivation? What keeps you writing stories that very few people will ever read? What keeps you writing blog posts that get no comments? What moves you to spend precious time sitting in front of a computer while the world is happening outside your window? C'mon, let's hear it!

In one week (August 10th), I will sort through all the comment - please let there be comments - and select the 5 comments I like the most. Those 5 people will all get free copies of my eBook, Tapping Creativity.

Not a book deal, I know. Still, it's all I got.

So let's hear it: Why Do You Write?

Lunchmeat, Tampons, and a Lawn Chair

2007-08-01T22:18:00.001-04:00

Sometimes we can so much time coming up with ways to tap our own creativity that it's nice when some little bits of inspiration fall right into your lap. I'm talking about those items that we come across that are either (a) so out of place that we can't help but spin a yarn to explain them, or (b) a candid look into someone else's life.

Out of Place Items
Have you ever found one mitten lying in a crosswalk? How about a lone shoe on the side of the road? How do those things get there? Kidnappings? Alien Abductions? Perhaps an item fell out of a bag on its way to the local Good Will; if so, why aren't these items needed any more?

And you don't just have to rely on items you find. What if one of you story has a character who finds something unique, like an expensive watch, a brown paper bag containing drugs, or a human head? What happens then? Write it and find out.

A Sneak Peek at Others
The next time you are looking at a screen, trying your best to come up with some kind of interesting character or scene, do this: Go to your local grocery store or supermarket and find a receipt lying in the parking lot. You'd be amazed at the range of things that will all show up on the same receipt, such as lunchmeat, tampons, and a lawn chair. What does that combination tell you about the person who bought them? Well, write it and find out.

If you don't feel like straying too far from the computer, you can still have found things delivered right to from Found Magazine. This site has a wonderful collection of miscellaneous pictures, notes, signs, and other interesting nuggets.

Sometimes, you just get lucky and instead of tapping creativity, creativity taps you.

Fearless Writing

2007-07-30T19:25:00.000-04:00

Over at CopyBlogger, guest blogger, Michael Stelzner of Writing White Papers posted a simple question: What Keeps You From Writing? While there were a great variety of answers, one common answer that showed up several times was "fear". Since this blog deals with ways to keep you writing whatever it is that you write, I thought addressing this common issue would be beneficial.

As a former college writing instructor, I've seen fear manifest in a variety of ways. Sometimes it's the fear that a blank screen presents. Other times it is the anxiety that what we write will not live up to the standards we set for ourselves. Either way, approaching writing as a process rather than as an activity can help quell fears and get keys moving.

Too often, we are motivated to write by good things we have read or by witness remarkable events that move us to express ourselves. What is especially helpful to keep in mind, however, is that the OVERWHELMING majority of well-regarded works of writing are the products of extensive editing or rewriting that occurs after an initial draft is completed. Ulysses wasn't built in a day, nor will your most captivating work be.

Realize that 50-90% of your initial draft will be rewritten or thrown out during the editing stage, and you should feel a tremendous weight lifted from your shoulders during the drafting stage.

Drafting stage:
This is the stage where you get out shreds of ideas . You jot down thoughts. You pour collective brain drippings onto the page. These thoughts will come out in varying degrees of order: and that's okay.

Editing stage:
After you have put the words on the page, the editing stage is where you begin to shape them into the story you wish to see. During the editing stage, you'll discover that some thoughts need filling in, some need to be rewritten to portray a more accurate account of your creative vision, and some need to be reordered for maximum impact. Depending on the length of your work, the editing stage can often take 20 times as long as the drafting stage. That, however, is why writing is a process, not an action.

Additionally, the best way to reduce fear of writing is to write as much as possible. Create a journal and feel free to post even the most mindless things in there. Try writing a poem. Scribble ideas on sticky notes. Don't think. Just write. This practice will reduce anxiety and usually uncover themes from your own life that you find important and worth writing about.

In the end, however, I find writing is a mode of self-expression that should satisfy our basic desires to express ourselves. If you get something brilliant, that is a bonus - one that can certainly be worked toward, and even achieved - but not necessarily the most realistic motivating factor.

If you are looking for ways to be fearless in your writing, I might humbly suggest my book: Tapping Creativity.

Related Posts
Fearless Writing Part II
Fearless Writing Part III

Writing. Exercise.

2007-07-29T16:56:00.000-04:00

Today we are going to talk about a non-obvious practice that can help you when tapping creativity in your own writing: exercise.

Sure, the physical benefits of exercise tend to get all of the press. And that alone should make you want to lace up some shoes and hit the trail. Still, when it comes to writing, exercise offers many benefits that might not seem so obvious.

The first benefit is basic stress relief. In a very unscientific study of one person (me), the ability for exercise to help relieve stress usually means I sit at the keys with a mind that is free from distraction. This helps to cut down on instances of writer's block, foster more organized thoughts, and get more out of the time I spend writing.

Next, when I run, I throw on some headphones and got lost in my head. It's these times that I'm able to get my best ideas. Why? Because when I run, it's all about me. I don't have to answer to anyone else. I can just think, and often something worth writing about will usually pop into my head.

Since I run with headphones, I can catch up the music that I review for my other blog: Blog Rockin' Beat. If you find yourself pressed for time, you can use supplement your workout time with podcasts or books on CD, to learn something new or get inspired for your next writing session.

Not all writing happens while you are at the computer. In fact, I had a conversation with Joyce Maynard at a Walloon Writer's Retreat a few years back. She was working on The Usual Rules: A Novel at the time. She told me she prefers to ruminate on an idea for a long time, then sit down for a six-week stretch and hammer out the first draft.

The immediate lesson was, of course, that writing doesn't always happen at the computer. For me, it often happens when I'm running. In my experience, a writing exercise isn't nearly as useful as writing and exercise. So lace 'em up, get sweatin', and see what you get!

Don't Think. Just Write.

2007-07-26T20:59:00.000-04:00

During my day job, a very talented and intelligent co-worker was struggling with a piece of writing she was working on. She knew the material. She knew where she needed to go with it, but she was at a standstill in trying to get it there. And the more she got frustrated with the situation, the further down the spiral she went.

Anybody who writes enough understands this phenomenon. It's the point when the editor on your left shoulder is trying to butt in when the writer on your right shoulder is working. This sort of situation requires a different approach to tapping creativity. By remembering that the barriers to our own productivity are most often matters of the mind, we can overcome this type of barrier by following this most simple rule: Don't Think. Just Write.

In my experience, sometimes taking too much time to figure out how to write something leads you to lose sight of just what it is you are trying to write in the first place. Trust yourself to know what it is you want to write, then just write it. Once the words are out, you can go back and make adjustments to how you think the piece should flow.

Another short cut in this type of situation is to simply say your thoughts aloud. Often, when you actually speak the thought, the words you are searching for come more naturally.

Sudden writer's block in the middle of a piece can be crippling. Trusting yourself to know what you are writing, however, and just getting the words on the page are enough to get you through, and build your confidence for the next time.

Showing Up Isn't Always Enough

2007-07-24T19:19:00.000-04:00

Going out to eat is one of my favorite things to do. It's not so much about the food as it is about the social nature of eating in public. People watching is a habit all writers should nurture. (Disclaimer: Please keep it to public places.) This past weekend my family and I went to eat at a local chain restaurant. My first inclination is to always grab the seat that offer the widest view of the room. This time, however, my four-year-old daughter insisted I sit by her - facing away from the room and out the window instead.

I tried not to let it bother it bother me. I mean, seriously, how much could really be going on behind me? And it wasn't until my lovely wife started talking about all the things that were happenin that it really got to me. Kids falling off of chairs. A trio of girls singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". A man vividly telling the story of being chased by a large snake, with his arms flailing and vivid facial expressions even. I was missing it all!

I had shown up, but that wasn't enough. I found myself in a position where I was missing all of the goings on. It made me think of an article I'd once read wherein Flannery O' Connor mentioned that she usually doesn't know how her stories are going to end until she gets to that closing moment and stops to take a look at what is really going on with her characters. Only then does the picture become clear.

Fiction writers will sometimes have a sense of where they would like their stories to conclude, yet - and I speak from experience here - when they get to that point, they get stuck. They have focused so much on getting the story to that point that sense of "what now?" happens. Most often this is because writers are sitting on the wrong side of the table, so to speak. By turning around and look at what is really happening, the results start to come into focus.

Creativity Transcends

2007-07-21T17:30:00.000-04:00

It has been my observation that many creative people dabble in more than one art form. In addition to being a writer, I am also a musician. This month I've done a lot of writing. On top of whipping up an extended marketing study for my employer, I've start and maintained this blog and started working out another blog that should be launching soon.

Today, I switched gears and sat down to work on some music. The result is a song called Solar Flare. I noticed how change from writing to music allowed me to also tap other aspect of my creativity that my writing perhaps doesn't. As a result, I'm reminded how good it feels having an outlet that lets me escape my normal medium of creative expression, yet still be creative.

So the lesson, I guess, is this: switching mediums helps in tapping creativity. And if you don't have another creative outlet aside from writing, maybe you should find one. Who knows? You might have some hidden talent you never knew about?

Tapping Creativity by Embracing Barriers

2007-07-19T19:46:00.000-04:00

In my last post on rutbusting, I talked about ways writers and other artists can turn to different resources to shake up their routines and help break through creative block. This time, I'd like to talk about a closely related idea: self-imposing limitations and intentionally creating barriers in your own work.

At a previous stage in my career, I worked in-house on the creative team of a Fortune 500 company. Like most big companies, they put a lot of stock in the idea of branding. As such, they had rigid graphic design standard. Certain visual elements had to go in the same place on every piece. Headers, subheads, and fonts were all accounted for.

New designers groaned. Designers who had been around for a while, and had a chance to work with the guidelines, loved them. For them, knowing right away what they could and could not do eliminated the fear of staring at a blank page. Further, they felt that being forced to work within barriers forced them to reach deeper than normal and create new concepts they would not have if they were given free range. In essence, these barriers forced them out of comfort zones.

For writers, there are many possibilities for self-imposing barriers:

Fiction writers can limit story length to 500 words or write in haiku.
Non-fiction writers can write without using the word "I".
Advertising writers can limit headlines to three words, one of which must be a verb.
Journalists can be forced to use two-sentence quotes only.

Next time you are stuck looking at a blank screen, make up some outlandish rules like alternating sentences of seven words and 13 words; then start writing.

I often turn to form poetry such as sonnets and sestinas when I get stuck or simply want to write from a different creative mindset. Sometimes the final results aren't always usable. What is usable, however, are the ideas that often come from writing in this new way embracing barriers. Who knows? You might even be able to frame a familiar idea in a whole new way.

Check out my book, Tapping Creativity, for a more detailed discussion of form poetry as it relates to tapping your own creativity.

Rutbusters: Busting Through Creative Block

2007-07-17T23:35:00.001-04:00

Like it or not, it happens to all of us sooner or later; creative block. In some circles, it goes by writer's block. In addition to being a writer, however, I am also a musician, and I can tell you from experience that creative block happens to all artists, regardless of the medium.

Tapping Creativity, as a practice, is perhaps more valuable in breaking through creative block than it is in any other area of artistic productivity. What follows are some of my rutbusting quick fixes.

Rutbuster #1: Alternative Search Engines
Most users rely on Google, Yahoo, or MSN to do all of their searching online. For one week, try using some alternative search engines like Ask, Hakia, or Mahalo. They present results differently than The Big Three engines do and encourage you to search in a different way. When you are rutbusting, any break from the norm helps. When you change how you search, you may change what you find.

Rutbuster #2: Read Something Different
My favorite genre is literary fiction. After awhile, however, my own writing has had all the DeLillo, Joyce, Pynchon, Rushdie, and Faulkner influence it can take. By breaking outside of my main influences and venturing to read material I usually don't, I gain a wider perspective and learn a few tricks along the way. A few books that have helped me in the past include:

House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski is a completely different look at narrative structure and book layout. It's about as postmodern as you can get.

Why Not Me? by Al Franken chronicles his fictitious run for president in 2000. The only time I put this book down was to give my sides a rest. It was that funny.

Dracula by Bram Stoker. It's classic horror. And it's haunting in a way contemporary horror isn't.

Rutbuster #3: The Tried and True
As mentioned, I'm also a musician. Some artists inspire me constantly. When I'm rutbusting, it often helps to throw on some musicians who touch a creative nerve in me, changing my frame of mind. Personal faves include:

Bjork always offers a creative and unique approach to each album. In the end, however, when I listen to her music, I feel like the world is a million miles away.

Peter Gabriel has an honesty in his music that, opposite of Bjork, makes me feel in touch with the whole world at once.

The Beatles. As I mentioned in a previous post titled Write Like The Beatles, their ability to tie together meaningful narrative lyrics with great rock songs is the best of both worlds.

These approaches are far from the only ways of getting through creative block, but they are the first ones I usually turn to. If you have any stock rutbusters, please feel free to share.

Write What You Know? Not Always.

2007-07-15T16:59:00.000-04:00

I learned several very valuable lessons in grad school. Aside from learning how to survive on essentially NO money, I also learned how to focus my writing by finding my motivating force. One old adage is to write what you know. For many writers, young writers especially, knowing enough about anything to compile it into a book or book length collection is no easy task.

For my master's thesis, I was hoping to do a compilation of short stories. The stories I'd been writing were a mish mash of ideas and themes. When put together, they seemed even more out of sync. No university would ever let me slap them together like that. Fortunately, my thesis adviser, Kate Myers Hanson was not only a great teacher, but an amazing writer whose collection of short stories, Narrow Beams, is an ideal example of what a short story collection should be.

Her advice was this: Write about what interests you. In some instances, this is the same as writing about what you know; in some instances, it isn't. For a young writer, the latter is usually the case. She had me make a list of my favorite books. The list included: The Brothers Karamazov, Anna Karenina, and The Stories of John Cheever. The idea was that all of these books were favorites of mine because, through them, ran a common theme that was a deep interest of mine. And there was. The theme was how certain challenges break families down. After I learned this, I was able to choose the stories of mine that were consistent with this theme, and craft new ones more easily.

Fiction, though, isn't the only area of writing where this applies. My book, Tapping Creativity, was originally designed to be a textbook on writing, complete with grammar lessons and primers on APA and MLA styles. The more I hammered away at it, however, the more I realized what interested me most were the sections related to idea creation and ... well ... tapping creativity. And that is something that applies to all creative arts.

Getting Big, Cold, and Creative

2007-07-13T15:43:00.001-04:00

In a recent article by Seth Godin, titled Small Before Big, he discusses scalability in terms of business growth. His main point is that bigger isn't always better when it comes to a business model. Indeed, if you work on being better first, then bigger should come more easily - after the fact.

I mention this, not only because I have a strong appreciation for Seth's business sense, but also because much of his advice can also be applied to other areas of interest. In today's post, we'll talk about how this applies to writing, using Seth's words, and applying them to my friend, and writer, John Smolens.

I met John when I was a student at Northern Michigan University. He was teaching a few writing workshops. One of the things I liked most about his teaching style was that he shared his works in progress with the rest of the workshop. This approach created a closeness , showing that, just because he was a publishing writer, he still saw the value of workshops in improving writing. One semester, he brought in a short story he was writing; the working title was "Cold".

I was immediately impressed. True to the workshop, however, John solicited as much advice as he could. People spoke about what character attributes they liked and when certain actions just didn't seem quite right to them. John was a pro. He scribbled copious notes, and thanked his class for their help.

Months later, John hosted a reading. At the reading, he finally unveiled "Cold". The reading went very well. I mean, it went well in that kind of way that leaves the whole room speechless. Comparing the pre-workshop version to the live reading, I noticed several changes. And I must admit, the second version was better.

To Seth's point, John went out of his way to make his story as good as it could be. This led to the next step: getting bigger. John, building off the success of the story, continued with it, turning it into a novel. To my knowledge, Cold: A Novel, is John's most well-received book. I'm sure it was a result of the care put into making it great before making it as visible as possible.

When you are working on a story, solicit input from others you trust. After this step - and only when you feel your work is as good as it can be - then consider moving to the next step of increasing the scope and scale of your work. The Internet makes it easier to reach a bigger audience, but if your product isn't as good as it can be, you will be shorting yourself ... and your readers.

Getting From Here to There

2007-07-09T23:50:00.000-04:00

The basis of most storytelling involves getting a character from here to there. Along the way, of course, is a struggle that needs to be overcome. Traditionally, there are four main struggles that prevent characters from getting from here to there. They include:

Man vs. Man (Rocky, The Iliad)
Man vs. Nature (Call of the Wild, Castaway)
Man vs. Establishment (1984, Office Space)
Man vs. Self (Crime and Punishment, The Shining)

In each instance, when a protagonist overcomes an adversary, getting from here to there is accomplished and readers are happy. When writing, however, it is easy to lose steam on a story when we are to a point that lacks clarity in direction. At these times, it can be helpful to revisit the above list. What is preventing your character from getting from here to there? What you thought was a Man vs. Man story, might actually be a Man vs. Self story, and fighting that inevitability is what is slowing or stopping your progress.

Getting from here to there isn't always easy, but being mindful that it is the true challenge will help you find new and creative ways to accomplish just such a feat.

Writing to a Snapshot

2007-07-08T22:59:00.000-04:00

When you are in a creative rut, sometimes creative inspiration can be as close as the nearest photo album.

In my book, Tapping Creativity, I go into depth about using paintings or photos to get a narrative going. We will touch on that briefly here, then get into advertising, where this technique also works well.

Take a look at the photo on in this post. That is a picture of my daughter taken at a nearby park/beach. If you didn't know that, however, who do you think this child might be? And what is her story? If you are trying to get a narrative off the ground, you might start by asking questions like this:

Is this the happy ending of a story?
Is this the earliest memory of the child who is now grown up?
Is this the dream of a woman regretting an abortion?
Is this the first outing of a reunited parent and child?

You can also discern other clues as well. Since this is at a beach, it eliminates a lot of the Plains States and Southwest. Since this child is wearing jeans at the beach, it might be a location where the weather gets cooler, or is in a cooler season.

This type of questioning can be the seed that gets a story growing and be a foolproof way to tap your creativity time and time again.

A Horse of a Different Color

2007-07-05T19:22:00.001-04:00

Today's news of the hybrid horse/zebra foal is a good reminder that nature can get creative as well. Call it a hebra or a zorse, it's a good lesson in how interesting things can become when you combine them. The hebra is just the most recent example. For years we have been combining terms. We wear skorts to brunch and eat with foons (or sporks) while talking the latest gossip about Brangelina or Bennifer. We even comment about it on our blogs.

Why? Because it's a fun and simple way to be creative; that's why.

You'll notice that I don't have links on this page. I have BLINKS. Those are my blog link: links to my favorite blogs. I'm not sure if I'm the first to use the term, but it came about by simply combining terms.

What terms can you come up with? Feel free to leave them in the comment. I gotta go run and feed the pet cockapoo now.

Write Like The Beatles

2007-07-05T00:57:00.000-04:00

Call me nostalgic, but I really miss songs that tell a story. Traditionally these were called ballads. These days, that term is usually reserved for sappy slows songs that adorn Disney movies (cough, cough, Phil Collins, cough). There was a time, though, that a song like Eleanor Rigby could be appreciated as literature as well as for its musical merit.

Do know the story of Eleanor Rigby? Seems like Sir Paul gave us just enough to gather some great images, but not enough to spell the whole thing out. Sometimes I just want to sit down and write the story of Eleanor Rigby. I mean, all the lonely people, where do they all come from? Maybe I know. The Beatles have a few songs that do this to me. Man, I wish I could write like The Beatles.

There are some other musician that are also good for this kind of inspiration: Bjork, Peter Gabriel, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd and, lately, Kelly Clarkson. Yeah, I said it. So, you guys want to go in with me?

I call dibs on Eleanor Rigby.