Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

I try to push back against perfectionism here, encouraging you to do your best but to also push ahead and just get things done.

I try to follow those guidelines in my own creative work, but it doesn’t always happen that way.

Case in point: I’ve been working on a card for a friend, and was all set to make her something fun. Then I came up with another idea. And then another. And then her birthday came and went and I was still working out my plan.

No problem, my cards are often late and it’s just an excuse to extend the celebration.

Well, this time, it’s possible that the card will be Very late.

It’s finally almost done and I’m feeling pretty good about it. Except.

Canada Post workers walk off the job after government demands reforms | CBC News

Whoops.

So this card, which would have been just fine if perhaps not perfect (what is?) will now be Very Very Late. Perhaps it will arrive in time for Canadian Thanksgiving? American Thanksgiving? Christmas?

Well, that’ll learn me.

In case you needed another example of the downsides of perfectionism or a reason to just Get On With It, here it is.

Hoping that my pain will be your gain!

* * * 

Read Full Post »

Whether you want to draw, write, or some other creativity, this is pretty good advice.

The Artist Who Couldn’t Draw | The Kid Should See This

Roger didn’t like his drawings. He didn’t feel that he had any drawing talent. But then a girl named Zoe moved next door and handed him a magic black pen.

The lesson? Sometimes it helps to take things literally.

* * *

Read Full Post »

Yes, the wind blows colder now, teasing the last summer petals from their stems.

But oh, the sky!

“It was the golden time of year. Every day the leaves grew brighter, the air sharper, the grass more brilliant. The sunsets seemed to expand and melt and stretch for hours, and the brick façades glowed pink, and everything got bluer. How many perfect autumns did a person get?”

— Elif Batuman

* * *

Read Full Post »

Don’t talk to yourself like someone you hate.

— Arthur Brooks

* * *

Read Full Post »

I like the data-driven articles from The Pudding, which include fun topics, great graphics and easy-to-digest research.

And hey, here’s one by Alvin Chang about science fiction!

Who killed the world?

I analyzed the top 200 sci-fi films and tv shows every decade from the 1950s to present day. What I found was that sci-fi narratives from yesteryear were quite different from today’s stories….

Sci-fi is an amazing genre.

It helps us explore our feelings about the unknown, the future, and the possible. It lets us imagine “what if” scenarios, and then build out rich worlds that our minds can occupy. It depicts dystopias we should fend off and utopias we should seek – and it teases us with the scintillating possibility that humans may actually be able to build the world we want.

But over the last few generations, it’s been harder for us to imagine this better world – and our sci-fi reflects that.

And while that may be so, sci-fi is also a critical part of highlighting society’s important problems. That’s the first step to finding a fix.

* * *

Read Full Post »

“It is never too late to do anything in life.”

— Momofuku Ando

* * *

Read Full Post »

“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

* * *

Read Full Post »

“Awful first drafts are fine—Agree with this. If you don’t finish something, you’ll never get in the game. Just quell the voice in your head that says “Are you kidding? No one is going to want to read this drivel” and keep on going.”

― Jamie Freveletti

* * *

Read Full Post »

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”

― Mother Theresa

* * *

Read Full Post »

Poor Monday. It gets a bad rap not because of what it is, but what we have made it. The first day of another round of school or work, forced to carry the weight of expectations, regrets and often just plain exhaustion.

It’s not Monday’s fault, it’s ours.

How can we do better?

By making sure that we are doing our best to stay sensible, as in balanced but also as in aware. For me, that usually means going outside.

I’m an introverted reader/writer type, so you know I think that being inside is great. There are comfy chairs and cuddly kitties and good books inside. There are mugs of hot chocolate and fun recipes and cake inside. But I always enjoy those things more when I’ve been out in nature.

This weekend Mr Man and I discovered two new hiking spots and had a great time out in the woods.

We had dinner with friends. They gave me a fun new mug that captured a lot of what I wanted to say about the weekend.

Sometimes it’s okay to take time off. And sometimes a break is more helpful than trying to power through and keep working.

Just because you can doesn’t always mean you should.

So I try to take a little time when possible, even if it’s a quick walk after lunch or remembering something transformative, like looking up at the stars and realizing that someone out there may be looking up at me too, or standing on the edge of a live volcano (Hawaiian, not Icelandic; stay safe, people!).

Then when I head back to work, even on a Monday, I’m better for it.

* * *

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »