Is it Friday already? Well, that means it’s time for Creativity Tweets of the Week! Seven days’ worth of nutrition tweeted by me during the week and collected for your perusing pleasure.

CREATIVITY

• “Idina Menzel on Embracing Your Uniqueness,” Douglas Eby, PsychCentral: The star of “Wicked” discusses her own approach to creativity and says: ““When you’re an artist usually you have to take risks and usually you have to put yourself on the line and go against the grain in order to be great and unique.”
• “Why Your Creativity Feels as Barren as a Tree in Winter,” Dan Goodwin, A Big Creative Yes: First, let’s hope this finds you at a time when your creativity is abloom. If not, this post provides some wisdom. One lesson — it’s on you to get those blossoms budding again.
• “Do We Need to Be Crazy To Be Creative?” Douglas Eby: Yes, a bit. That’s my take, anyway. A touch of mania encourages ideas and the pursuit of them that others would overlook or dismiss. But we need a bit of sane left-brain to actually manifest that creativity. Douglas has a great take of his own here, and I like that he cites Eric Maisel, who has some great insights on this sensitive but important topic. (Note, this is my second Eby post this week.)
• “Top 10 Creativity Myths,” Maria Trautmann, Creative Bliss: Maria’s back with another top 10 list (eat your heart out, David Letterman). I particularly like #10, reminding us that there are many technologies that can help us express our creativity, they do not in themselves suddenly make us more creative.
• “A Box? Or a Spaceship? What Makes Kids Creative,”Sue Shellenbarger, Wall Street Journal: While I continually take issue with the meme presented early in this story — that creativity is on the decline in the U.S. — I loudly proclaim that we could all be doing more to ensure creativity is a central focus in our educational system across all disciplines, and a central aspect of life in our homes. (Even if it’s creating crustacean Christmas displays!)

INSPIRATION

• “Life=Risk,” BluefishTV.com, edited by Maynor Gonzalez: An inspiring 1 minute and 19 second video highlighting successes who were first panned.
• “The Price of Dreams,” Marcus Hades, guest post on Fear of Writing: A moving first-person account of someone who grew up struggling with English who is now writing because “I dream to be a person who affects people’s lives for the good.”
• “Brain Only Fully ‘Matures’ in Middle Age, Claims Neuroscientist,” Richard Alleyne, The Telegraph (UK): Why is this inspirational? Because so many creatives don’t begin actively pursuing their creative dreams until later in life. And I’m one of them!

WRITING

• “Writer, Interrupted,” Nichole Bernier, Beyond the Margins: A great post on balancing life’s many responsibilities and staying inspired for the 99.999% of writers who actually have other responsibilities as well.
• “So You Want to Write a Book?” Dr. Jennifer Howard: Then do it! Actually, Dr. Howard offers far more wisdom than that. I like this passage: “My belief is that writing a book illuminates parts of ourselves that we wouldn’t see otherwise.  The process can provide an access to our greatness, our wisdom, our strengths in new and wondrous ways.  And, did I mention, it can be painful?”
• “The Slush Pile Slump Syndrome,” Jody Hedlund: I’m not sure this “syndrome” is in the DSM-IV, but it is sure real to any writer who has sent his or her creative child off into the cold world and is now nervously watching that clock.

Thanks again for spending part of your Friday here with me. Feel free to receive links like these in real time via Twitter!