Original Impulse Blog

Creating as High Play

{A note about the photos: I invite you to view them as abstract images, rather than shots from the Radiohead concert I attended in June, 2008 in Milan. It helps to squint and think of them as a visual expression of how it feels to create. You may also think of this as activating R-directed thinking rather than L-directed thinking.}

I’ve been writing for over 16 years now, writing and sharing the writing life with others. Everything I experience, everything I hear and read, confirms that writing can be invigorating, empowering, and that it is good, challenging work.

But there was always an ineffable quality to writing as well. And now, I suspect I know what that is.

Songs to Help You Love Your Creativity

I love music, but sometimes the lyrics are too romantic. (Mostly I feel this when experiencing testosterone burn, which occurs after a bad encounter with a man.)

I want to croon along with the love songs, I do. One day, I made the mental shift of thinking of the addressee in the songs as my Muse. I liked the idea that the songs could help me tap my creative juju, just by thinking of and respecting my relationship with my creativity.

So I compiled this playlist of some of my favorite songs that evoke love for my art. Enjoy listening, and hopefully you'll be inspired to make your own playlist!

Space Out and Increase Your Readership

Plenty of space in the Swiss countryside, as seen by train

Writers of the blogosphere, it’s time to space out a bit. No, I don’t mean drift away from the computer and wander around either in mind or body.

I mean get some space in your words.

Leave white space to make reading online easier.

When I teach the Blog Triage class with Alyson Stanfield, I have to remind students that online publishing needs to look very different than publishing on paper.

Paragraphs need to be much shorter. We crave more white space that makes us want to stay rather than flee when we see a block of text.

When people read online, they’re likely to start by scanning, rather than settling in to read your blog post. Make it easy for them to stay with these tips.

•    Try to keep your paragraphs to two sentences or less. That’s right, two.

•    Make sure to vary your sentence structure, alternating short and long sentences.

•    Use bold to emphasize points you want to make clear.

•    Use a larger font than you think you need.

I can almost guarantee your visitors will stay on your blog longer if you make these simple style changes.

While this change may seem simple, it’s not always easy to implement. I’ve been working on this for months and sometimes I forget to space out.


There’s a lot more to say about writing and posting great blog entries. If you want the whole shebang, sign up for the upcoming Blog Triage class, beginning April 7th.

There’s also more to say about the need for space in our creativity, our work, our relationships. I’ll just leave you with a coaching question:

Where else can you use space in your life this week, and what will you do to get it?

February - Love Your Creativity This Month

I’ve always felt that February is the bleakest month. Summer seems far away, and if Valentine’s comes and you don’t have a sweetie, things can seem bleak.

But it doesn’t have to be that bleak. February is also a great time to develop a love affair with your creativity that can last throughout the year.

For February, I’ve created some fun stuff – mostly freebies - to make it easier for you to love your authentic creative expression.

Sending big love to your creative process from Cinque Terre, which I love!

Creating doesn’t have to be a struggle

My mission is to help you connect with your creativity – your essential vitality – with more joy and ease.

As a writer for over 16 years, I know that creating isn’t always joyful or easy. Making anything requires hard work, dedication and focus.

But this is the secret: it can be a lot easier, and you get to decide how much of a struggle it will be.

You can shrug off struggle, avoidance and guilt over not creating any time. You can take control over that voice that suggests that you’re not good enough, don’t have anything to say, and oh, how convenient, you don’t really have time to create anyway.

Don’t rob yourself of the joy

When we create, we tap the wellspring of our vitality and that usually feels really, really good. After I write or play in my illustrated journal, I am infused with joy and satisfaction. You bet I don’t make excuses and avoid the thrill that I generate myself!

My work here is to offer new perspectives and simple tools that allow you to reach that joyful place more often.

You won’t want to miss the fun stuff I’ll share with you here to make February the month where you really fall in love with your creativity.

Subscribe today for either RSS feeds or email updates. And today is the last day to sign up for February's Free Write Fling - write every day for 15 minutes with your writing tribe!

You're going to love creating as much as I love 'plank' pose in yoga!

 

Free Writing Will Revolutionize Your Writing

I couldn't find an image in my archives to reflect how free writing will revolutionize your life. But this Portuguese coast shot was exciting.

In the writing workshops I lead, students rave about the power of the free writing method. I use free writing for everything I write, including my novel, all my e-books and every blog post you read here.

How can such a simple method revolutionize your writing? In a free write, all you do is put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and write without stop for a set period of time, say 10 minutes.

What comes out is part of the mystery of writing – unpredictable, fresh and timely. Free writing is a way to explore your mind and to see how words coalesce from your brain.

If you haven't tried free writing, you are making any writing project way more difficult than it needs to be. Students and clients have reported that both personal and professional writing are much more enjoyable using the free write method.

I believe it's the number one key to writing well, and that taking up the practice will revolutionize your writing. Here's how.