Feb

13

That Brilliant Flash of . . . Consistency?

February 13, 2007 | 1 Comment

[-practically mperfect-]

by Nancy S.M. Waldman
You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star.
Friedrich Nietzsche said that and I - with quite a bit of creative chaos in my life - completely understand what he means. Chaos - if we tone it down to a buzz of unrestrained energetic activity - […]

Feb

12

An Imaginary Deadline

February 12, 2007 | 1 Comment

[-tip, practices-]

simple
practices
have
profound
impacts

Most of us tend to work better and - more importantly, finish! - if we have a deadline. If you don’t have a *real* one, try this as a mental trick.
Seek out a real world or an online individual or group. Set imaginary, but realistic, deadlines for yourselves and […]

Feb

12

Inspiration and Exhalation

February 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[-inspiration-]
Inspiration means to inhale, to breathe in. It was chosen as the theme of the first Practically Creative Quarterly because this project is the result of inspiration brought on by my recent exploration of webdesign.
Learning something new always energizes and leaves me with a delightful side effect: an urge to revisit and expand […]

Feb

12

The Studio Muse Experiment

February 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[-inspiration, process-]
by Suze Corte
Inspiration? I am often and easily inspired! What to do with that inspired feeling-how to put it to creative uses-is another matter entirely. As an artist, teacher and creative junkie, I dread the times when something seems to get stuck in my creative machinery, jamming up the works somewhere between inspired concept […]

Feb

12

Growing Inspiration

February 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[-inspiration, practices-]

While we all love the feeling of being suddenly and unexpectedly filled with inspiration, people working in creative fields, can’t wait around for those moments. There’s too much work to be done. Luckily, there are ways of cultivating inspiration.

To grow inspiration you need to:

Clear a plot - make a special space where […]

Feb

11

PCQuills - a writing exercise

February 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[-exercise, writing-]
If you’re having trouble getting started in fiction or need a helpful exercise, try this:
ONE TRUE MEMORY/TWO LIES

Choose one real childhood memory.
Make up a lie that relates to that true incident.
If you think of them as lies instead of ‘using your imagination’ it won’t throw you into a creative crisis of […]

Feb

11

The Everyday Self-Review

February 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment

by Nancy S.M. Waldman
Julia Cameron, who wrote The Artist’s Way, calls this practice “Morning Pages.” Her recommendation is three hand-written pages of journaling FIRST THING every morning. It’s a great discipline and truly works to get the gears of creativity in motion. The idea is to write whatever comes out … free associating, without censoring […]

Feb

11

The Stray Puppy

February 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment

-essay, inspiration-

by guest essayist, Quinn D. Corte
Inspiration follows all of us around like a stray puppy, barking excitedly at the quirkiest times, begging us to come and play. Whether we notice her depends on our willingness to embrace creativity.
That gentle scratching of a familiar paw on my jeans has made me who I am. For […]

Feb

11

MetAphorism - Desktop Short-cuts

February 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[-metAphorism, r-mindfulness-]

metAphorism is a word I coined to mean a simple, everyday thing, concept or event that points us in the direction of a deeper lesson.

metaphor - figure of speech giving an implicit comparison: this is that.
aphorism - concise statement of a truth or opinion.

by Nancy Waldman
The metAphorism
Desktop Short-cuts
The lesson
Knowing short-cuts to access […]

Feb

10

Hocus - Focus

February 10, 2007 | 3 Comments

[-r-mind, perception, exercise-]
by Nancy S. M. Waldman

If, when you try to create, you find yourself full of doubts about your abilities, you are by definition, NOT in a state of R-mindfulness. The R-mindful brain is not worried about wasting time. It’s not worried about lack of talent. It’s not worried about product. In fact, it’s […]

keep looking »