Happy holidays, all! Here’s a Christmas Eve treat, it’s this week’s tasty Creativity Tweets of the Week! Below are links I tweeted this week on creativity, inspiration, writing and also self-employment and freelancing (because I just started out on a full-time freelance career myself). Enjoy!

CREATIVITY

• “The Inner Demon that Trumps Them All,” Sue Mitchell, Your Business Your Self: That demon? Perfectionism. I’ve learned the hard way I need to fight that; it’s a challenge for many creatives.
• “‘Fess Up and Rise Up,” Charlotte Rains Dixon: Here’s what I’ll ‘fess up — I love this post! Whatever you dream to do creatively, make it real by confessing it to the universe.
• “10 Ways to Boost Creativity,” Steve Tomak, BNET: A useful post for the artistic creative or any manager looking to inspire creativity in the work environment.
• “Go Ahead, Watch Funny Videos,” Douglas Eby, Psychological Science: I’ve linked to Douglas again this week. In this post he gives us permission to sneak in a little levity in our day, because putting ourselves in a good mood helps us to think creatively.
  

INSPIRATION

• “Writer Discovered While Waitressing,” Milli Thornton, Fear of Writing: This post reminds us that we must always be open to opportunity.
• “A Look at Self-Actualization,” theavkid, Design/Multimedia/Creativity: This post from 2008 looks at the highest tier of Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs, the level to which we all aspire, the level that maximizes not just our creativity but our interactions with humanity.
• “Mari Pfeiffer,” Marilyn Maciel, La Salonniere: Inspiring freelance creative Mari Pfeiffer in an engaging Q&A shares some practical advice, particularly on videography.

WRITING

• “The Art of Creative Writing Goals,” Mallory Snow, StorieStorm: Takeaways: Set goals you can reach, and be prepared to change them if needed.
• “Why I Want You to Blog,” C. Hope Clark: The opening of the post by this author and editor says it all: “Are you writing daily? No? Then blog.”

SELF-EMPLOYMENT/FREELANCING

• “The Life of a Stay-at-Home Writer,” Jamee Rae the Writer, Newsvine.com: Jamee shares 5 key motivational tips, with #1 being “self-motivation.”
• “Six Character Traits Needed for Freelancing,” Daniel Pintilie, Freelance Folder: Number 6, “Resilience,” notes with all honesty that the life of a freelancer isn’t easy. But note this point the author makes: “If somebody is very creative, fun, and spirited, then it is a complete mistake to choose to be an employee.”
• “Rules for Working with Freelance Clients,” Walker Thornton, A Page of My Own: Be sure to ask questions so you know exactly what is expected.

Finally, in the spirit of the season, you might want to read this excerpt from Simple Ways: Toward the Sacred by Gunilla Norris. A teaser:

“There are innumerable, small opportunities
to be helpful, attentive, or kind.
Taking up these opportunities,
would we not come to know that we are
a living part of the infinite story?

Have a happy holidays, and don’t miss out on a chance to enjoy such tweets in real time by following me on Twitter!