Category: creativity

Reinvention Quote of the Day–Put In Your Reps

COOL TEXT INSPIRATION

An excerpt from James Clear’s newsletter today:

Your 1st blog post will be bad, but your 1000th will be great.

Your 1st workout will be weak, but your 1000th will be strong.

Your 1st meditation will be scattered, but your 1000th will be focused.

Put in your reps.

***

And an article on…

The Neurological Benefits of Practice

 

A reminder to readers: This blog isn’t about my preaching to you as much as it is about me getting myself moving in the right direction.
My next post: My wife asks to see some of my recent work…Uh-ohhhh. How do I package all these various creative ventures…and misadventures?

How to Draw Yourself Out of a Creative Funk–New York Times article

faceless man with cloud over his head

Greetings fellow creators.

The title of this piece says it all.

Author and artist Malaka Gharib shares these tips:

  1. Set an Extremely Tight Deadline      She suggests a word count or a time limit.

  2. Take Advantage of How Little Time You Have.

  3. When You Don’t Know Where to Start, Look Around.     Okay, go ahead, call it ‘eavesdropping’ or ‘spying’. Hey, no malice intended. You’re just trying to be an artist!

  4. Draw On Your Memories (Or Just Draw Your Memories)     Think of how evocative the old family album can be. Tap the power of those photos in your mind.

 

 

Using Online Video for Prewriting

using online video for your prewriting title slide

Creative retirees, if you’re into writing and need a little boost to get your projects going, and keep them going, take a look at this short component of my prewriting course.

One item from the video: YouTube is just one source of online video available for prewriting. Pixabay and Pexels provide footage that can spur your imagination as well.

Screenshot 2019-08-08 at 12.20.55 PM

Here is the link to the video segment.

More creative reinvention tips for July 5

idea-cartoon guy

More suggestions from this list that I’ve shared on my Word Inventions blog .

From Leo Babauta of Zen Habits
[Note: The Zen Habits link alone should carry you through years of creative reinvention.]

  1. Get lots of rest. Overwork kills creativity.

  2. Don’t force it. Relax, play, it will start to flow.

  3. Allow your mind to wander. Allow distractions, when you’re looking for inspiration.

Do you have any tips to share?

A few creative reinvention tips for July 3

I’ve shared selections from this list on my Word Inventions blog .

Let’s see if any of these resonate with you.

From Jody Cleghorn of Write Anything. [This site is now closed, but the content remains online as an archive.]

  1. Make up the rules for what you want to produce.

  2. Try to write every day, even if just for a few minutes. [Substitute ‘paint’, ‘sculpt’, ‘cook’, for ‘write’.]

  3. Work on several projects. This keeps you energized and working creatively even when one project isn’t firing. [Good advice, but I’m guilty of taking this a little too far. Make it manageable.]

Revival for Retirees: Check this list.

grandfather with grandchild

I appreciated this article on LifeHack.com. Perfect for retirees.

20 Simple Ways To Fall In Love With Your Life Again

It not only gave me some new ideas on how to enjoy these years, but it reaffirmed the following:

#1 : Take a walk through the park speaks to my penchant for wandering.

#6: Learn how to bake. So much comfort and with a few of these skills, so many opportunities to not only fill your days, but to brighten someone else’s.

#7: Build something with your hands. To quote the author Grace Ghazarian: “There’s an innate need to create in all of us.”

#14: Try a new food. Oh yeah. Food is perhaps the easiest venue to an opportunity to ‘try new’.

And, on this Memorial Day 2019,
a hearty nod of gratitude to those who gave their lives so we can savor a life of freedom and opportunity.

U.S. Flag on Memorial Day