Tag-Archive for » creativity «

Jun

I didn’t have to go far to find this week’s New Blog Of The Week (NBOTW). I found her in my comment section.

Want to guess who she is?

You may have already visited her blog.

Here are a few hints.

In one post she says, “Don’t give away your power”.

You give away your power when you allow others to make you feel inferior, when you blame outside circumstances, and when you let other people make decisions for you.

To teach writers more about awakening their creativity, she shares two methods of writing.

1) Proprioceptive Writing

2) Morning Pages

For another clue, she wrote about the power of the magician, and how by using the same techniques as a magician does, you can….

learn to control your thoughts and emotions so that they become aligned with the things and circumstances that you want to create. Remember to devote yourself to perfecting your craft to the point where it appears to others that you can pull solutions to problems and ideas out of a hat.

And that million dollars? It’s one of her dreams.

Have you figured out who she is?

It’s Marelisa. Her blog is “Abundance Blog”.

Please join me in welcoming Marelisa as the NBOTW.

Pay her a visit, leave her a comment, and don’t forget to subscribe to her blog for more of her great writings.

Hello again, Marelisa!

Photo Credit: Simon Davison’s photostream

Category: Archives, New Blog Of The Week Tags: creativity 21 Comments

Jun

Step Away From The Blog

Barbara Swafford

Have you ever had days when you just didn’t feel like writing?

I have.

Today’s Lesson

I have lists of ideas for blog posts, and half finished drafts, as well.

Having blogged for over a year, there have been many times when I look at my list of ideas for blog posts.

I stare at them, but nothing inspires me.

Sometimes I reread the words, and they don’t even make sense. The don’t reflect my viewpoint anymore.

Other times I will sit with a blank screen and hope my muse shows up to help me create a post. It doesn’t.

The harder I try to be creative, the thicker the wall grows.

I’ve learned to stop fighting the lack of creativity.

I’ve learned to step away from my blogs.

I get up from my desk, go for a walk, play with the dogs, call a friend, wash dishes, read a book, or go for a (short) drive.

By removing myself from the situation, I regain a new perspective and my creativity reappears.

Today’s Assignment

What do you do when your creativity stalls?

What re-motivates you?

Photo Credit: g-hat’s photostream

Category: Archives, Blogging Lessons, Writing Tips Tags: Blogs, creativity 34 Comments

May

Be Inspired By Nothing

Barbara Swafford

We all have days when the words escape us, we feel uninspired, tired or just plain unmotivated to post to our blogs.

On those days, bloggers either don’t publish a post, or they dig through their drafts and quickly do an edit.

Today’s Lesson

Last week I was intrigued by the title of one of Chase March’s posts. It was titled “Nothing”.

I clicked on the post (from my reader), and sure enough, except for the title, the page was blank.

My first thought was, “hmmm, this is an interesting concept”

And my second thought was, “how would the search engines index this page?”

Being a loyal reader of Chase’s blog, I stared at that blank screen thinking “how can I leave a comment on this?”

After several minutes of contemplation, I wrote:

Hi Chase,

I sit here and wonder how I can respond to “nothing”, and realize it leaves my options open.

I’ve had days when my mind felt closed to creativity, however, I never thought of posting a blank screen.

For your originality, I salute you.

Today’s Assignment

A trip to Chase’s blog post is a good exercise in creativity. See it here. Let your creativity run wild, and leave him a comment based on how the blank page inspired you.

What do you do on days when you feel you have nothing to share?

Have you ever thought of posting a blank screen?

Photo Credit: oskay’s photostream