10 Ways for Lightening to Strike you with Creativity

Don't wait for it. Got make lightening happen!!! What inspires you? Tweet us @thirstyfishinfo or comment below...

clipped from www.dontheideaguy.com Waiting for inspiration? Puh-leeeze! You may as well wait for lightning to strike. 1. Read more stuff Magazines, books, blogs, cereal boxes... it doesn't really matter (at least at the beginning) what you read -- just that you're reading at all. Just 15 to 20 minutes every morning and every evening is enough to feed your brain with enough new ideas to make you more strikeable. To increase the quality of ideas your reading generates, increase the quality of the writers you are reading. 2. If you have to watch TV, watch some good shows 3. Go see great speakers 4. Collect quotes 5. Listening to music 6. Play word games 7. Visit museums 8. Find heroes 9. Express yourself -- journal, sketch, paint 10. Radar up! There's a book titled "Personal Brilliance" in which the author lists four catalysts for creativity: Awareness, Creativity, Focus, and Initiative.

I can go for the "no drugs" idea but no television? Hmmmm. What do you do to boost your creativity? Tweet us @thirstyfishinfo

clipped from www.jpb.com 10 Steps for Boosting Creativity 1. Listen to music by Johann Sebastian Bach.   Brainstorm. 3. Always carry a small notebook and a pen or pencil around with you. 4. If you're stuck for an idea, open a dictionary, randomly select a word and then try to formulate ideas incorporating this word. 5. Define your problem. 6. If you can't think, go for a walk. 7. Don't watch TV. 8. Don't do drugs. 9. Read as much as you can about everything possible. 10.

What is your contemplation for this Holiday Season?

I love the daily meditations of Friar Richard Rohr. He asks: "During this Advent how can I bring the gift of contemplation into my life?"

What's your answer? Tweet me @thirstyfishinfo or comment...

clipped from www.cacradicalgrace.org Question of the Day: During this Advent how can I bring the gift of contemplation into my life? When it comes to the gift of contemplation, every major religion in the world has come to very similar conclusions.  Every religion—Hinduism, Buddhism, the eastern religions—all agree, but each in its own way, that finally we are called to a transformed consciousness, a new mind or being “born again” a second time in some way. Each religion has different words for it, and probably different experiences, but somehow they all point to union with God.  Religion is about union.  Somehow to live in conscious union with God is what it means to be “saved.”  To live in that union is to experience and enjoy the Great Connection.  When world religions become mature, we will have a new history, no longer based on competition, rivalry, cultures or warfare, but on people who are actually transformed. Adapted from Preparing For Christmas, pp. 60-61

How do you get more subscribers to your email list?

I love copywriting ideas because it gives you a feeling of control over your blog/website. I am not sure I get the kind of results these "gurus" say they do but I know it has made a significant difference. What are some of your copywriting tricks? Do tell by tweeting us @thirstyfishinfo or comment below...

Join our creative writing blog at http://creativity-writer.blogspot.com/

clipped from www.copyblogger.com How did you get 6,000 subscribers in 10 months? 1. Make it easy and obvious As I’ve said before in more detail, make your subscription options prominent, offer an email alternative to RSS, and ask for the subscription, preferably at the bottom of each post. 2. Be laser focused focusing on a particular topic 3. Offer a bribe a free ebook, report, e-course or audio series. 4. Use viral ebooks 5. Dedicated subscription landing page 6. Become a guest blogger 7. Start a podcast 8. Post in forums 9. Networking 10. Cross-promotional deals Find a blogger that publishes related, but non-competitive content. Work out a deal where you both promote each other in your RSS feeds, using Feedvertising. If one blog has way more subscribers than the other, work out a ratio deal.

What are you creative habits?

I am not sure which of the 8 habits listed in the article below I have more trouble with...but I think it might "welcoming problems." What are you habits to keep the creative juices flowing? Which of the 8 below do you have the most trouble with? Tweet or comment!

clipped from www.creativity-portal.com Here are habits of living that all creative people have fostered in themselves: Ask Questions What if? Why? Why not? How? How many of the world’s great inventions or artworks would never have happened if their creators hadn’t asked. Embrace Change It’s happening, whether you like it or not. Might as well love it. Don’t Pre-judge Discernment is important — but only at the end. Let the beginning be a field of open possibility. Look on the Bright Side Does being creative make you positive? Or being positive make you creative? Contrary to popular opinion, the research says: both. Welcome Problems Creative people see problems as natural and normal — they’re drawn to them, wanting to fix them, to “make” a solution. Confront Challenge Becoming more creative means stepping out of your comfort zone — aka your stagnation pool — and s-t-r-r-r-e-t-c-h-ing yourself. Stick at It Successful creatives are all agreed: resilience and persistence were more important to their success than talent. Be Flexible

Who has encouraged you recently?

I rediscovered the web site Spirituality and Health. It is a great resource of information and spirituality building tools. This quote from their Daily Spirit Boosters really struck me. Who encourages you? Who have you encouraged? Share by tweeting us a reply! Pls RT.

clipped from www.spirituality-health.com Encourage More "Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize." --Elizabeth Harrison

11 Most Common Writing Mistakes

I will be the first to admit that I am not that great at grammar. This sentence probably isn't correct. The rise of email, text messaging and status updates hasn't helped either. That doesn't mean it isn't important to write as correctly as possible. Check out these 11 common mistakes to help get or keep you on track with your writing.

clipped from saleshq.monster.com Avoid these 11 mistakes and get the job, make the sale, and write better! Constipated Clauses If it “goes without saying” then don’t say it. If it doesn’t, in fact, go without saying, then don’t say it does. “Obviously, the sky is blue.” Putting the “obviously” doesn’t suddenly make the statement insightful. Comma Vomit An example of correct comma use: “The game was over, and the crowd began to leave.” The game and the crowd are different subjects and the clauses are independent. The crowd could still be leaving regardless of what is happening with the game. The Death of Adverbs Once upon a time, the English language had a way to modify both nouns and verbs. Adjectives did the trick on the former and adverbs on the latter. You didn’t just have to walk, you could walk quickly! Less vs. Fewer Etc. Etc. Etc. Etc. Etc. Etc. Prevarication Junction The Affect-Effect Divide Then≠Than None is. i.e. is not e.g. is not i.e. Could of Scan any document or business e-mail you write and make sure it’s correct

One Word. One Image. Meditation.

I am a big fan of flash fiction, Haikus, six word poems - anything short and meditative - is appealing to me. You can't get more simple and single than Spencer Burkes concept of "monotation."

clipped from monotation.com MONOTATION one image, one word, meditation A daily visual meditation with one word to create space for personal reflection. Taken by Spencer Burke on his iPhone on the road - This is a on growing collection. Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 My desire is to encourage people to take a moment each day to reflect, center and meditate - using a simple image with one word to evoke understanding, love, self-refection, creativity, celebration, integration... Daily Image posted on website, RSS feed and tweeted to subscribers. Some images are available for personal use on a variety of products (journals, note cards, prints and wearables) at http://www.zazzle.com/MONOTATION*

5 Ways to Grow as an Artisit

clipped from painting.about.com So how would a Cassatt or a Henri or Picasso approach painting differently than we do today? How might this heartfelt fear of others controlling our painting process impact our self-understanding as artists? Here are five possible answers: 1. Making a successful picture is not the goal. 2. The painting process is always a beginning. 3. Ignore non-artist authorities. 4. Get into a prolonged creative process. 5. Furnish the world with your beauty, let the world see, touch and feel who you are. The life of Franz Schubert may suggest a model. He was so into the process of creating music that each of his new efforts was but an opportunity for little Franzel to become more Schubert. So, he would compose the work, let it go and move on. His students would then find the work, practice it and perform it for him afterwards, whereupon Schubert is reported to have said, “My, that is lovely. Who wrote it?” This is the way to make art. Move in the direction of the greatest pleasure and excitement.

Does Organization = Success?

When we attribute a reason to someones success we tend to say they are extremely talented and creative, right? This is most likely true but it leaves out a very important reality: Organization or discipline. People who are successful work very hard! They stick to it and have many failures over time but they stay organized and disciplined.

In the article below, Scott Belsky, founder of Behance.com and the99percent.com talks about how to achieve breakthrough with both creativity and organization.

clipped from the99percent.com Scott Belsky: Creativity x Organization = Impact As creatives, we often tend to dismiss organization as a necessity—or even to relish our own disorder. Yet Behance's research on particularly productive creatives indicates that organization is a key ingredient in making ideas happen. Founder Scott Belsky outlines how organization can magnify your creative impact. About Scott Belsky Scott believes that the greatest breakthroughs across all industries are a result of creative people and teams that are especially productive. As such, he has committed his professional life to helping organize creative individuals, teams, and networks.

Faith in your writing ability

There are lot of reasons why we shouldn't write or why we won't be successful. There are many starving artists in the world. We have to have faith in our ability and write daily no matter what the outcome...simply because we believe in ourselves.

How you do you use faith (religious or otherwise) in your writing discipline? Click the comment link or tweet us a reply!

clipped from www.creativity-portal.com Faith in oneself can be a tricky thing. We all have voices inside our head telling us that our writing is not good enough, that our story has already been told better by someone else, that we’d be better off getting up from our desk and going to the gym instead of hammering away at the same sentence for another hour. Those voices will never go away. Friends of mine who are very accomplished writers — winners of big prizes and big paychecks — say, in fact, that they only get louder. I think the difference is that more seasoned writers find a way to live with these voices. They recognize the doubt as being a familiar thing, and they don’t let it get in their way. I love a poem by Richard Wilbur called Source, and keep it by my computer to remind me what to do when the voices of doubt get too loud. This poem speaks to this reality — that no matter how grand or powerful you are, you still must take a leap of faith to tap into your creative source:

Writers Prompt: Write an opening line for this picture

How would you start a story using the picture below as inspiration?

clipped from www.fuelyourwriting.com Maud didn’t realize that ‘doing the locomotion’ meant you were only supposed to go forward. Give us your best 1-2 line opener!

Unleash Your INNER WRITING WIZARD!

You have heard of the inner child, right? Now it is time to unleash your inner writing wizard with the helpful advice of Valery Satterwhite...read the entire article for great inspiration:

clipped from www.creativity-portal.com An Interview with Valery Satterwhite, Empowering the Wizard Within Q: When and how did you first discover your own Inner Wizard™? A: I discovered my Inner Wizard at a very young age. It spoke to me all the time, inspiring me and expressing what my heart longed for. I struggled in life because I didn’t honor and listen to this voice of my intuition and truth. Instead, I followed advice and direction from others and, in doing so, gave up my authenticity and personal power. I gave up my dream of being a dancer, gave up on allowing myself to express my truth. I lost touch with what inspired me, what gave me energy, what expressed my very soul. Q: What led you to start empowering and expressing your Inner Wizard’s desires, and how do you facilitate this process in others? In that moment a calm, powerful, knowing voice within me said “You can live the creative and delicious life you dream of, and mentor others to do the same.” clipped from www.creativity-portal.com Please visit www.InnerWizard.com

Music can inspire your writing...ask the Beatles

clipped from www.fuelyourwriting.com What can we, as writers, learn from the music of The Beatles? Quite a lot, honestly. But I’ll break it down into five simple elements for us all. It’s not news that all types of art influence others. For me, films play a big part in giving me ideas for stories. Heck, Girl With a Pearl Earring was written from a painting with no story—so someone made one up. Music can also influence us in many ways. It creates mood; lyrics can spring ideas in our heads. And, as I’ll lay out, the ethics of a good band—and good writers—can be a great help. #1  Hard Work and Perseverance #2  Passion and Curiosity #3  Respect – For Yourself and Others #4 Ubiquitousness and Universality #5 Esteem and Influence Music has influenced me in so many ways I cannot even begin to list them.  Learn from the best to be the best, yet don’t imitate. Use what you see and make it your own and your writing will shine. I truly believe that. Now, get to writing something grand!