Category Archives for Articles
Practical Creativity: Staying Productive and Inspired Through the Holidays
Ah, the holidays. Whatever your personal beliefs, this time of year is full of nothing but magic, joy, and celebration—all of which will spark your creativity and reward you with a bounty of inspiration.
Or so we tell ourselves.
More often than not, this season is stressful, hectic, jam-packed, and full of endless obligations. (Seriously, how do I need to send so many Christmas cards? Who even are these people?) It’s easy to miss out on the wonder of this time, and even easier to let your own creative projects and goals fall by the wayside.
Never fear; we’re here with five simple tips to keep your creativity and inspiration alive this festive season—and maybe bring a little holiday magic to your productivity and workflow.
Embracing Non-Fiction: 3 Reasons Why I Read on Writing
I have read at least 30 books for each year I have been alive. And that’s just a conservative estimate.
Some people drink. Others party.
I read.
Reading is my escape from the world when things get tough. It also happens to be my most enjoyable pastime. This is something I have been doing since I was a young girl struggling to grasp the English language, and I do not see myself giving it up anytime soon.
And yet, despite constantly reading books for as long as I have been literate (which is as far back as I can remember), it’s only in the past two years that I have truly embraced nonfiction. Prior to that, 99.9 percent of all the books that I read were fiction.
So what changed?
What To Do When Someone Else Writes About Your Idea
You have an idea! That’s great. It’s the start of a beautiful journey where you research and write your way to an expert level of awesomeness.
You jot down some notes, think about people you want to interview, and maybe even make an outline.
And then you open up your favorite newspaper, blog, or magazine: Right there, in shining block letters, is your awesome idea in print.
We’ve all experienced this feeling of despair, seeing someone else write about our idea. Especially if you were so sure that your idea was original. You might feel like you can’t ever write about that idea because someone else got to it first.
The Optimal Soundtrack for Creative Tasks
I open my laptop, ready to get to work on the next item on my to-do list. But before I launch into anything, I immediately turn on some music.
Not just any music, though; lately, I’ve been getting my best work done when I’m playing a smooth, “New York” jazz compilation that I found on YouTube. You know, the kind of background music you hear in a coffee shop or a restaurant, with no words — just a bit of saxophone, jazzy piano tunes, and slow drums.
If you asked me what I was listening to a month ago, though, I would’ve told you it was one of my favorite indie rock albums, the ones I’ve listened to so many times that I’m not even listening for the words anymore.