Inspiration and balance

Creativity can't survive without these two elements. Not in any meaningful way for me, at least. And last year lacked one or both at various times.

Balance has long been a challenge. My drive to write is very strong, and I devote every spare moment to it. For the past few years, spare moments have been few and far between, but that's where inspiration evens out the scales again. And sometimes from the most surprising sources.

For instance, I received a catalog for women's clothing, and flipped open the cover. The introductory text gripped me. All about the Power of Intention, it said we all have great power within us - the power to do our best, to harness our strengths to become the most amazing versions of ourselves possible. That setting intentions and then striving for those goals can propel us toward what we most want in life.

Wow. I love it when words can act like a kick in the head. I needed that reminder. Not that I haven't been striving all along, but I think sometimes we can work against our intentions. At the end of 2012, I was experiencing burnout. I felt very scattered, trying to do too much. This year, I'm going to concentrate on the harnessing aspect to restore the joy that comes with doing what I love, and not just related to writing.

I made no real resolutions this year, but I hope to stick to this one. How about you - have you made any resolutions? Any tips on how to keep your resolve strong?

Around the blogosphere this week

Today I'm visiting with Deanna Jewel, who was kind enough to invite me to her blog to talk about my dark paranormal, Death Is A Bitch. I hope you can pop over and say hi.

Tomorrow, I'm back at Lorrie Struiff's blog, sharing a bit about the inspiration behind my Western historical, A Midwest Summer Night's Dream. Hope you'll visit me there.

I have another blog visit coming up on Sunday, but may not post here for the rest of the week. I have to travel out of town for a family funeral - the second loss within my family so far this year. Another reminder to make every day count.

And some good news....

Decadent Publishing released Dead to Rights in print! It's available through Amazon. I've already received my copies, and it's such a thrill. I love my Kindle, but it's wonderful to hold my own book in my hands. And I've always loved the cover, but it looks even more gorgeous in print!

Do you have grit?

Or, why love is the opposite of underwear.

In the video below, Jonah Lehrer (who, I believe, must be one of those voice-over announcers who talk faster than the ear can process) talks about the age-old idea of creativity. At 30+ minutes, it's long but interesting enough to keep your attention. (Unfortunately, Lehrer's grit was recently exposed as overly ambitious - he made up quotes for his Dylan book and his bestselling titles have been removed. Sad, all that work trashed, and for what? The quotes probably added little, if anything, to the overall work.)

Space and time

For most writers, space and time present the greatest challenges. For me, they're more like obstacles to hurdle, but that's another story. :)

One of my favorite creative people, John Cleese, shares his tips for fostering creativity in the videos below. If you don't have time to watch (though they're well worth the time), here are the five factors Cleese says you can work to your advantage:

1. Space - “You can’t become playful, and therefore creative, if you’re under your usual pressures.”

2. Time - “It’s not enough to create space; you have to create your space for a specific period of time.”

3. Time - “Giving your mind as long as possible to come up with something original” 

4. Confidence - “Nothing will stop you being creative so effectively as the fear of making a mistake"

5. Humor - “The main evolutionary significance of humor is that it gets us from the closed mode to the open mode quicker than anything else.”

And here's a longer version:

Inspiration and work ethic ride right next to each other

Those are the words of Jack White. Wise words. There are many more in this three-minute video, packed with great information writers can apply to their own work – basically, that success and “having it made” can kill your creativity. You get too comfortable with the way things are set up, and you have nothing to challenge you. So he manufactures his own tension in hundreds of little ways for his performances, and doing this forces him to create something new and different each time.

The same is true for writers. It’s wonderful to reach new plateaus and experience breakthroughs, but then what? You have to keep setting the bar higher and higher. And treat it like a job:

“Inspiration and work ethic — they ride right next to each other…. Not every day you’re gonna wake up and the clouds are gonna part and rays from heaven are gonna come down and you’re gonna write a song from it. Sometimes, you just get in there and just force yourself to work, and maybe something good will come out."