Tag Archives: creativity

When Creativity is a Struggle

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This past year has not been a very productive one for me, as far as producing books goes. At this time last year, I’d hoped to have the second book in The Light-Whisperers of Kalevala trilogy published, or at the very least in the final stages of editing and formatting. As it stands now, I’m still wading through the first draft. 

Book writing, and creativity in general, has been a challenge for me this year. The day after Christmas last year, my family moved my elderly father into a nursing home. His Alzheimer’s made it unsafe – for him and my mom – to care for him at home. While dealing with that transition, several other members of my family had various unrelated health challenges during the first part of the year. Then in the summer I put my house up for sale. Autumn brought more changes as my father passed away and I moved into a new place that, while safe and comfortable, wasn’t quite move-in ready and thus required some time-consuming work. Other smaller things also happened this year that were surprising drains on mental energy. 

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What is Art, Really?

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What is art? It can be a hard question to define, especially in today’s world of AI generated art. One of the definitions given by Merriam-Webster is “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects.” 

I don’t want this blog to dissolve into a rant (or argument in the comments) about the pros and cons of AI in the world of writing and visual art. I will say that I support it as a tool—just like other computer-aided art programs that came before, and computer-aided editing tools like spell check. But just like any carpenter or handyman will tell you, one tool is not enough—and no one particular tool is better than all the others. A range of tools, and the skill and knowledge to use them well, gives the handyman/artist the best opportunity to create an excellent final product. 

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When You’re Hit with a Shiny New Idea

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Most of us creative types are often working on at least two projects at any given time.

So what do you do when you’re going along as planned, making headway (or not) on your current creative projects, and a Shiny New Idea hits you out of the blue?

The way I see it, you can handle this one of three ways:

File it away for later

Whether your Shiny New Idea is just the vaguest form of a concept or a full-blown Idea, write it down. You’ll never bring your Idea to fruition – now or later – if you don’t first write it down. And no, you won’t remember it later. Writing it down and filing it away is a good way to a) remember the Idea when the first Shininess has worn off, and b) let it cool before you interrupt all your current projects to work on it. Continue reading →

It’s Never Too Late to Get Organized

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Just a quick post today, and one that is mostly me preaching to myself.

Do you ever have detailed plans and goals that you’re working towards, and then you get distracted or derailed? A lot of different things can pull you away from pursuing your goals. In my case, over the past few months, I uprooted my life and moved across the country, bought a house, had family come visit right after I’d moved in, and so on. Yes, that’s just an excuse, I suppose, but at any rate, I’ve fallen a bit behind on my writing goals for the past few months. Continue reading →