Last week, a student relatively new to my writing class, sent me an email before class asking for advice about how to create more vivid characters and voices.
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Last Saturday my husband and I dropped our 16-year-old daughter off at CalArtsfor a month-long program run by California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA). We helped her settle into her dorm room, toured the campus, and attended a barbeque and outdoor concert. But the most memorable part of the day was a brief, inspiring talk given by CSSSA’s director, Michael Fields. If his words resonated as deeply with the young thespians, dancers, musicians, visual artists, film and television students, animators, and writers as they did with me, those kids are going to have a great month! I’d like to share a few highlights I found relevant and inspiring.
She Writes, an international online organization serving over 20,000 writers, featured this post this week. They rank their “Top Content” from 1-20. This post has been in their #1 slot all week! I hope you find it helpful.
She Writes, an international online organization serving over 20,000 writers, featured this post last week. It was #4 on their “Top Content” rating, which lists their top 20 posts.
Last week, while in Claremont, California, visited Buddhamouse Emporium, a shop that carries imported ritual objects, art, music, and books. I was drawn to an oblong, polished stone.
A few weeks ago, while shopping at JoAnn’s fabric and crafts store, a sewing box at the check out counter caught my eye. I can use that, I thought, but had no idea why. Except for the basics, I don’t sew. My mom, an excellent seamstress, taught me how, but I don’t enjoy it, so I take my mending to the cleaners instead. I had no clue why this sewing box called my name; I bought it having no idea what purpose it might serve.
Spring is here and several of my writing clients (and I) are cleaning house—literally and figuratively. Spring is a time of renewal, budding life—and fresh ideas! It is a time to honor yourself and what you want. Getting rid of what you no longer use, need, or love creates opportunities for growth and for new experiences, and allows you to receive whatever is ready to come through you and take shape in the world. Clutter clearing creates both physical and psychological space, as well as clarity and focus.
Seven Tips for Creative Self-expression
1. Engage in your creative work/play every day, even if it’s only for fifteen or twenty minutes. Give yourself over to it. Have fun. Imagine, dare, and dream! On Valentine’s Day I awakened wanting to give myself love, but I wasn’t sure how. A yoga class would be a great start, I thought. I chose a restorative class since life has been hectic, and halfway through the class I relaxed so deeply that I felt like a different person. Why is it so hard to slow down? I wondered. My life is filled with doing. I don’t give myself enough time to just be. My mind’s default setting clings to the past or races ahead to the future. It does not often enough dwell upon or delight in the present moment, where opportunities for love and joy are most readily available.
Writing a book is one thing; publishing it is another. The publishing world is changing and opportunities abound, but authors these days have to be publicists, speakers, social media experts, entrepreneurs, advocates, and experts. Even fiction and creative nonfiction writers have to show up as authorities in their fields. This is called “positioning.” Have you thought about how will you position yourself and your work?
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