Many readers of The Artist’s Road enjoy curling up with a comfy blanket every Friday night to enjoy my weekly links on creativity and writing. But while they’re clicking away this Friday night I’ll be in rocking out in Baltimore to a band that is a writer’s delight — Rush. Take the lyrics to “Freewill,” for example. They contain the following word constructions — “celestial voice,” “victim of venomous fate,” “phantom fears,” and “Heaven’s unearthly estate.” Neil Peart is a philosopher and a poet.
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CREATIVITY
“7 Ways to Cultivate Your Creativity,” Ingrid Wickelgren, Scientific American: Click on this if you have some time to spare; it should probably be called “7 Fun Games to Force You to Think Outside the Box.”
“Dumping Mr. Perfect,” Cynthia Morris, Original Impulse: Ah, perfectionism, a demon all creatives must face down. On a side note, my wife has many nicknames for me, but Mr. Perfect isn’t one of them.
“The 5% Creativity Challenge,” Josh Linkner: Can you spare 5% of your time as a gift to your muse?
“Top 10 Ways to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing,” Whitson Gordon, lifehacker: A lot of us must have our creative juices frozen, because it seems I tweet this type of post every week. But it’s worth a read. I like the last one, “Know when to take time off.” How about right now?
“Kids, Creative Blocks, and Adult Creativity,” Mike Brown, Brainzooming: Do you carry a set of Crayola crayons with you at all times? Mike says you should. I used to, but that box of 64 felt uncomfortable in my pocket whenever I sat down.
“51 Reasons Why You Are a Creative,” Todd Schnick, Intrepid: Let’s face it, at least one of these applies to you, right? I have a 52nd reason I’m a creative — I can think of at least 147 ways to eat bacon.
WRITING
“When Writer’s Block is a Creativity Block,” Lisa Rivero, Writing Life: This is a post that easily could have gone into the category above. I like her use of a Cynthia Morris quote: “Creative people need to be ‘too much.'”
“5 Crippling Beliefs That Keep Writers Penniless and Mired in Mediocrity,” Jonathan Morrow, copyblogger: This post spoke to me as someone who has earned a living as a writer but has rarely had the luxury to wax poetic. It’s a bit long, but its wisdom will wake you up.
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Remember, as Neil Peart might say, any link you choose to click will cause you to rejoice; if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
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This is a terrific list. I’ll look forward to checking them out.
Thanks for your comment on my post at Good Blog is Hard to Find. I enjoy hearing about all the ways we writers collect information and inspiration!
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Thanks for the kind words and for stopping by!
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Thanks for including me in your roundup, Patrick! I’m sure your wife thinks you’re perfect, even if she doesn’t say so! 😉
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Of course, Cynthia!
As to my wife, if she does think I’m perfect, then she can’t be because her judgment is a bit off. 🙂
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Rush rocks! My personal favorite CD is “Signals”. It most spoke to me as a teen, and those songs tend to stick with me well, forever. But yes, they are known for not only great playing, but great lyrics as well. Love that!
RE: Bacon … when you were here, did you try the Bacon Maple Bars at Voodoo Doughnuts? People wait in line around the block for them (and their other wild and wacky doughnut creations). Seriously.
I think I qualified for about 49 of the 51 Ways. According to the writer, I guess I’m creative!
Thanks again for posting all these fine creative links. Have a great Easter weekend, be it filled with adoration for heavenly beings or watching cartoon bunnies poop jelly beans! (Or both!)
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I didn’t try the donuts place because you didn’t tell me about it! (gentle tease)
My favorite album is Moving Pictures, my favorite song of theirs is Red Barchetta.
Happy Easter weekend to you too!
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Had I known of your bacon obsession, I would have sent you for sure! 😉
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For next time you are in Portland: http://voodoodoughnut.com/menu.php
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Awesome group of links. Discovering some new websites and blogs to add to my list.
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I’m so glad! Thanks for the visit.
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