Patience. What does that word mean to you? To me, it is taking a deep breath and persisting—often uphill—with faith that I will get there in the end. It’s a habit and a state of mind, and it requires a lot of practice. Fortunately, as writers, the practice comes whether we want it or not.
Tag: #inspiration
The science of creativity
I came across an article in the journal of Urban Forestry & Urban Greening that got me thinking about how we can enhance our creativity. This particular article interviewed seventeen Danish creative professionals in an effort to determine whether nature has the capacity to enhance creativity. Spoiler: it does. But in my experience, so does standing in the shower.
The warm embrace of rejection
Most of us have been regularly rejected since we were young children. Even if only temporarily, I’ve been rejected by friends, family, co-workers, bosses, pets (why does that hurt the most?), strangers, peers, acquaintances, intimate partners, kids. It’s part of life. Some times hurt more than others, and some feel more personal than others. But we move on—unless we’re hoping for that second-chance romance HEA, right?
Taking the cliché out of Pavlov
The writer’s competitor is no longer other writers. It is social media. The poorly written opinions on Reddit can hook a reader quicker than the first five sentences of your carefully written literary fiction.
Finding inspiration from nothing
What happens when inspiration is MIA? I’m not talking about traditional writer’s block. It’s more the sense of ennui that can lead you to an unhealthy relationship with Netflix. You’ve written the first draft, and then you get stuck. Or maybe your new project has lost its lustre halfway through.
Conflict as inspiration
How much personal conflict is in your daily life? Conflict in this example is when two (or more) people want different things.