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”
Category Archives: Creativity
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’*”
From ether to planet
Here are the heroes of time immemorialLocked in the struggle that lasts for all time;Here are the questions and some of the answersWaiting for someone to call them by name,Here in the vault tucked away in Elysian,Here in the hearts of the beings named poets,Not asking, but asking, and serving as pagesTo carry the messageContinue reading “From ether to planet”
The choice that unblocks the soul
Writer’s block is too many “what ifs.” Not “I don’t know what to write,” but “there are so many ways this could go, which way do I want to go? I want to try them all, but I have to pick one, and which way is the best?” So many potential twists and turns, soContinue reading “The choice that unblocks the soul”
