Each of us, from time to time, looks around the workaday work and thinks, “I should not be doing this. I was meant more something more or at least something else. I feel the call of the wild, the call of the pure, the art, if you will.” That’s the muse whispering in your earContinue reading “Make your escape plan”
Author Archives: WarrenBluhm
It’s going to be all right
(originally posted Feb. 6, 2017) It’s going to be all right. Everyone seems to be so agitated. Every day in the news and social media and everywhere we turn, someone is barking out another reason to be alarmed or horrified or, at least, offended. We live in ridiculous times. But it’s going to be allContinue reading “It’s going to be all right”
Intentional words
Intention in a poem or story is when your heart skips a beat or your breath is taken away or tears flow, and when the author is able to say, “Good. I meant to do that.” That’s intentional, that’s wonderful, that’s the author using words in a certain way. Intentional – wonderful – certain –Continue reading “Intentional words”
Use all your time
Wow, that was something you just created — meme worthy at least, maybe something timeless. What else you got? It’s easy to look at what you’ve just written and say, “There! Done! Mission accomplished!” and go back to life. But there are still hours in the day, or at least minutes in the creative timeContinue reading “Use all your time”
Do
Keep moving.Keep creating.Do. Forget the “or do not.”Just do.There is no “or.” Yes, there is no “try.”But once committed,there is no choice.
But is it done
“Don’t add a line,” he said. “It’s perfect.” “But …” “Nope. Minimal, mysterious, I’m compelled.” “Shouldn’t I —?” “Nope. You said your piece. Now move on.” “But what did I say?” “That’s for your audience to decide.” “You think this will have an audience?” “Don’t worry about that yet.” “When should I worry?” “Actually? Never.Continue reading “But is it done”
pulling out the stops
One day I stopped writing poemswhen I noticedpoets seldom get rich. One day I stopped writing songsbecause I figuredI’d never be a star. One day I woke upand realizedthose were silly reasons to stop.
Schedule a time to listen
The schedule is showing up every day. Ain’t that the truth? Show up willing to be a receptacle for the words calling you from out there, and you will hear them, sure as the breeze is bouncing those wind chimes around outside my window just now. The chimes are a constant metaphor for me, musicalContinue reading “Schedule a time to listen”
‘Steal Like An Artist’*
Honesty consists not in never stealing but in knowing where to stop in stealing, and how to make good use of what one does steal. It is only great proprietors who can steal well and wisely. A good stealer, a good user of what he takes, is ipso facto a good inventor. Two men canContinue reading “‘Steal Like An Artist’*”
Eagles fly like, well, eagles
I remember the first time I saw an eagle flying overhead at our retreat not far from the shores of Green Bay, a few years ago now. It was heart-stoppingly beautiful, that majestic bird fighting back against extinction and soaring along. Friday afternoon I sat down on the bench in Willow’s Field and looked upContinue reading “Eagles fly like, well, eagles”
