Skip to content

Posts tagged ‘inspiration’

Nov 11

3 Comments

Inspire your inner artist

Writing is a solitary, sometimes lonely process—we tuck ourselves away physically and mentally in the name of our art. Because we’re used to spending time alone with white space and words, writers tend to be a bit introverted.

As an artist, I think it’s important to also seek community—not only with other writers but with different types of artists. Going outside our comfort zone can inspire us in new ways. Recently, I was so inspired.

I traveled to Seattle to see poet, author, graphic novelist, and lovely [British version (inside joke)] singer Neil Gaiman and singer, songwriter, piano and ukulele slayer Amanda Palmer (who just happen to be married to each other) in an astounding multidimensional performance. Gaiman read his poems and short stories. Palmer sang and played her own music.

Not only were the duo incredibly entertaining but watching them perform was like watching art being born in front of me. Something visceral and human and transcendent took place on stage. It was the kind of performance that leaves you trembling with aftershocks that you know you’ll be processing for months or, even, years.

At some basic level the experience transformed me as an artist. I feel more connected to my center and to my art. And maybe that’s what great art is meant to do, no matter what the medium—connect us to that which we’ve been missing and to that which we didn’t know we were missing.

To learn more about Amanda Palmer and hear samples of her songs click here.

For access to Neil Gaiman’s wonderful world of skullduggery click here.

What has inspired you recently?

Sep 30

Where do you find the music of opportunity and the sound of potential?

We all get bogged down by life sometimes: work, bills, the car dying (again), a friend’s unexpected illness. Life happens. Death is inevitable. It’s the in-between spaces where we make our life count.

On a daily basis, I try to never lose sight of why I do what I do. Why do I write? What am I passionate about? How can I contribute?

If we look closely, we can find the music of opportunity and the sound of potential in the most unexpected places—as in the life of musician Patrick Henry Hughes. Watch his video here:

Sep 20

1 Comment

Three ways to feed your muse: writing away procrastination, Part 3

Throughout history, artists have called their sources of inspiration many things: ego, God, muse, daemon, genius, angel, their higher-self, or as Edwin Land, American scientist and inventor once said, creativity is simply, “a brief cessation in stupidity.”

Most days I feel about as creative as a slug on a morphine drip.

I have to fight for my creativity. I have to force myself to stay in my chair and to stay writing. Some writers call it “bum glue”—writing something without getting up twenty times to stare longingly at the chocolate pudding inside the fridge.

Why is it so hard to stay focused? Usually there’s a reason.

Yes, I run my own business and I have a zillion busy things to do each day. And, trust me, I’ve used that excuse a zillion and a half times to avoid my writing. But why do I find so many excuses to avoid what I love to do most in the world? Mostly, I think, it comes down to fear.

Read more

Aug 23

6 Comments

Three ways to feed your muse: hunting down inspiration, Part 2

You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.  Jack London

Inspiration comes from many places. Sometimes, it’s a visual image—fog settling over the bay, a blue jay teetering on a phone wire, a dead leaf swirling on the wind. Sometimes, inspiration comes in the form of sound—a phrase overheard, the sound of water rushing over rocks, silence when the power goes out.  But too often, inspiration doesn’t just come out of the blue—I have to go hunting for it.

One of my favorite ways to find inspiration is to read the work of others—poetry, fiction, nonfiction. As a writer, we train ourselves while reading to have different levels of awareness running at the same time. Kind of like having multiple computer programs running at once.

On one level, we’re fully immersed in the story or poem, but on another level we’re noticing language, syntax, the arrangement of words, metaphors, rhythm. We notice how the author or poet uses concretes and abstractions, how she presents her characters or builds suspense.

As you read, notice if the piece grabs you. And, if it does, where does that happen? Be on the lookout for what inspires your muse.

Sometimes, an idea or inspiration will come in the form of one word. One wild word that sparks your muse into action. Read more

Aug 1

5 Comments

Three ways to feed your muse: muse juice, part 1

Ever feel as if your muse is sitting back, stuffing her face with Bon Bons while watching reruns of “True Blood”? How do you inspire her to get off her ever-widening rear end and get back to work?

Check out www.Ted.com, where you’ll find “riveting talks by remarkable people.” Or, as I affectionately call this website—muse juice.

One of my favorite inspirational talks is by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. In trying to answer the question, “Where does creativity come from?” she tells of the time she met American poet Ruth Stone who grew up in rural Virginia.

Sometimes, when Ruth was out working in the fields, she’d feel and hear a poem coming at her from over the landscape—like a “thunderous train of air” barreling down on her. She’d run like hell to the house to get paper and pencil so when the poem barreled through her she’d be ready. Sometimes, she’d almost miss it. During these times, she’d grab a pencil and reach out with her other hand and catch the poem by its tail, pulling it back to her. When this happened, the poem would come out on the page perfectly intact but backwards—the words written from the end of the poem to the beginning.

I love this story because it feels as if it could be true. Read more

Jun 14

3 Comments

Four ways to stimulate creativity & cure the writing blahs, part 4 of 4

Sometimes, I just don’t feel like writing.  Even after I read a poem, try to write a poem, or finish a timed write—sometimes, the words still don’t come.  What then?  It depends.  A nap might be in order, or maybe a walk. But often, participating in another type of creative activity is what will cure me.

Play the guitar or create a vision board.  One of my favorite ways to strum the strings of my unconscious is to do something creative that’s not related to writing—like learning to play the guitar.  (Emphasis on the word learning, here).  But it doesn’t have to be guitar or even music—pick anything, except writing, that moves your spirit and allows you to be creative:  painting, cooking, gardening, dancing, even cutting pictures from magazines to create a collage or vision board. Read more

Jun 13

2 Comments

Four ways to stimulate creativity & cure the writing blahs, part 3 of 4

Poetry is juicy. It gets things moving. Like music, it’s verbal and nonverbal at the same time. It resonates within and without. No matter what kind of writer you are, you can benefit from poetry’s ability to inspire creativity.  And not just by reading it…

Write a poem. If you’re stuck on your current project or just can’t get your creative mojo going, write a poem.  (If you’re a poet, try another form of writing—maybe a piece of flash fiction, an essay, or some haiku).  The idea is to write something different than what you’re used to. Writing poetry is like working a puzzle.  It jump-starts our brain’s synapses. Read more

Newer Entries »