When we were younger our romantic job was to draw people in, form a unit, protect it. Now that we are older our romantic job is to make room for those we love to be who they are where ever they may be.
This popped out of Navé the other day and a lot of people seemed to like it. Hope you do too.
This has to be one of my all time favorite TED talks. Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love talks about nurturing creativity and success. It’s well worth watching.
One of the things I found most interesting was that this best selling book was written after she took a year off. Hummmm…do you think there might be a connection? I think so. I am a firm believer in the power of down time. Taking time to rest and regroup allows our creative ideas to perk. I know for me it all comes out better when I have plenty of fritter and float time.
Enjoy!
Here’s another creative writing exercise from James Navé’s Writing…From the Imaginative Storm to the Creative Form.
1. Like a detective at a crime scene, investigate your environment and list 25 things that strike you.
2. Use some or all the things on your list to build a piece of writing.
3. For example…
• Old brown steps lead to the dark basement where bicycles and kayaks hang from hooks.
• Cherry and oak logs burn in the wood stove.
• Ice overhangs on the gutters.
• A dozen small stuffed bears sit on an oak shelf.
Please share your experiences below.
Photo Credit: topfer
A great video from Navé on performance…how to perform even when it’s reading what you write.
A couple of days ago, I was standing on the subway platform at Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn. The electronic sign above the tracks announced the train’s arrival in two minutes.
Since, I’d been thinking that performing naked made the difference between an exciting public reading/presentation and a boring one, I decided to synchronize the recording of my thoughts with the arrival of the train.
Enjoy!
Here’s another creative writing exercise for you…
1. Think of a place you know very well like the inside of your car, office, or home.
2. Spend a few minutes remembering all the details you possibly can.
3. Now take ten minutes and write about what you don’t remember. Begin with “I don’t remember…”
For example…
I don’t remember how many steps there are up to my third floor apartment on Union Street in Brooklyn. I don’t remember what I left on the desk beside the door. I don’t remember how many shirts I left in the laundry bag to be washed or what the name of the mystery book is I left on the bedside table. I don’t remember how many people came to the New Year’s eve Party.
Please share you experiences in the comments.
Photo Credit: engindeniz
We’ve got some creative writing exercises for you as we gear up to teach Writing…From the Imaginative Storm to the Creative Form.
So here you go with Creative Writing Exercise #1…
Pay Attention to the Details
1. Choose an object and examine it closely for fifteen minutes.
2. Take ten minutes and describe what you saw.
3. Describe it again. Take ten minutes.
4. Before you describe it a third time…
• Clearly imagine his or her face.
• Remember the best times you’ve spent together.
• Why do you love this person most.
Now, describe the scene a third time. While writing think about the person you’ve just imagined, but never mention them in the your description. Take ten minutes.
5. Compare the the three descriptions.
What was your experience with this exercise? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Best,
P.S. Navé has been developing and teaching Writing…From the Imaginative Storm to the Creative Form for 20 years. The next class begins February 8 via telephone conference call. Check it out.
Photo Credit: jirard
“Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of operating.”
~John Cleese
Then John Cleese goes about telling you exactly how to operate creatively.
I love, love, love this video. Yes it’s 36 minutes but so very worth watching.
Highlights…
• The importance of play for its own sake.
• Open vs closed modes and how to cultivate open mode as it’s essential for creativity.
• Curiosity for its own sake.
• Setting boundaries of time and space.
• Tolerating the discomfort of sitting with an unsolved problem.
• The value of indecision.
• Any drivel may lead to a breakthrough.
• The importance of humor.
John Cleese – a lecture on Creativity from janalleman on Vimeo.
Sound familiar? Yes, Navé and I talk about these things. Julia Cameron talks about these things. Every successful working artist will tell you these things.
…but no one says it like John Cleese.
My recommendation would be to watch this video at least once a week (daily would be even better) until you have internalized the message and are practicing it. It’s that good!
P.S. The “sorting through paper clips” reference is about 15 minutes in.
Two articles I read this morning got me to thinking about new trends that are emerging and the huge opportunity these new trends offer for creative entrepreneurs, artists, writers, filmmakers, and just about anyone doing any kind of creative work.
The articles I read…
In Fight Over Piracy Bills, New Economy Rises Against Old
Publishing Chicken: Who’s Gonna Blink First?
Let me know what you think.
Another Navé video in which he talks about individuality, choices and commitment.
Enjoy!
I was surprised by many of the names on this list. Well known authors who began by self publishing their work…including Julia Cameron (maybe you’ve heard of her?). And that’s not all…e.e. cummings, T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, Charles Darrow and Ben Franklin, to name a few of the self published authors on the list.
With the new technology available today self publishing is becoming the preferred way to publish. Even 10 years ago we still needed the gatekeepers to get books published. Now anyone can publish quickly and easily. Yes there’s a learning curve, but the pay off in creative control and increased income is well worth it.
So now to the hard part…you still need to write the book.
P.S. In addition to self publishing my own book on grief, I also help new authors navigate the process of publishing and marketing their own books.
Need some help? Contact me at susan (at) susanfuller (dot) com
