Negative experiences can be found in any creative's toolbox. But to use these tools effectively, they need to be hewed and honed through a time of personal reflection. The other day I found out my little sister had died. I didn't know her very well - she was my half-sister and lived all the way … Continue reading Using the Pain
Author: Kristen Miller
Writer. Animator. Mom.
Creation
Being creative is like playing God. You create something from nothing. You bring into being something from the ethos that didn't exist before your mind and hands touched the materials of creation and made it so. But creation doesn't happen in a vacuum. Things come into being because of all the influences you've faced in … Continue reading Creation
Hope
It's difficult to put ourselves into our work. Lay ourselves bare. To bleed for our pages. Peeling back the cracked and crusted over scabs and scars to reveal the putrid gaping wounds underneath. Dipping our pen into the blood and using it as ink on the page. It's difficult to relive those moments of pain. … Continue reading Hope
Gone Fishing
I didn't write blog posts for the end of last week. Why, you may ask. Well, I guess I didn't feel like it. I lost my drive on Thursday and Friday. I lost my focus, lost my determination. I lost my sense of purpose. I think that happens to everyone eventually. Some days you just … Continue reading Gone Fishing
Monsters In the Closet
I've hit a 'tender' spot in my novel. A spot that deals with personal issues that are hard to write about. The Monsters. So instead of writing about them, I've deviated from my WIP to another story. I've PROCRASTINATED to the Nth degree. The short story is good - well it will be good, once … Continue reading Monsters In the Closet
Blech
They can't all be easy days. Some of them are going to suck. That's just the nature of the biz. If it were easy everyone would be doing it. There are going to be days when no matter what comes out, it's going to be the worst thing ever created, ever. Today was one of … Continue reading Blech
Daily Plans
I chose to do things differently today. I chose to dedicate more time to work on my short story in the morning and to 'blow off' this blog until later in the night. Essentially using this blog as a recap of the day. Rhythm The most important take away of the day is that I'm … Continue reading Daily Plans
Now What?
You've finished your huge project, the one that's kept you up at night for months. It's all done, wrapped up and delivered. And in the echos of the free time you suddenly now have the question reverberates "Now what?" All the adrenaline is gone and with it the excitement that was coursing through your veins … Continue reading Now What?
Mood Shift
We all have emotional good days and bad. It's part of being human. Sometimes we need that for our creative work, sometimes that actually works against us. Permeate Your mood will permeate whatever you're working on. And because our moods can shift from day to day, we have to be careful. If you're frustrated, it … Continue reading Mood Shift
Creative Life Advice
There are a lot of ‘self-help’ books out there. Most give generic life advice to ‘normal’ kinds of people. But for creative types, the kind of people who live life a little bit differently, this generic advice doesn’t apply. Creatives need their own special words of wisdom in order to thrive in this strange world.
Things Are What You Make Of Them-LifeAdviceForCreatives by Adam J. Kurtz speaks the creative language very clearly. It inspired and motivated me to continue with my creative work, even though sometimes it can be rough on the psyche. When you’re working from the heart, there’s a lot of internal pressure to make things ‘perfect’, and this book helped sooth those rough thoughts into something more manageable.
An interesting physical characteristic of the book is that the pages are perforated so they can be removed and hung up for inspiration anywhere in your creative space. I…
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