“We are born an empty bookshelf. Life is what we fill it with.”
― Felicia Day
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Posts Tagged ‘creativity’
Filling the Shelf
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, Thoughts on October 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »
A Very Brief Snippet
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, Writers, writing on September 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »
For whatever reason, today I have nothing. I have an extensive folder filled with potentially fun links, ideas, quotes, etc. but none of them are catching my eye. So instead, here’s the first line for a little story I started a few days ago. It’s sitting open on my desktop, waiting for me to have time and bandwidth. I hope I get to it soon because I think it’s going to be entertaining.
You ever watch a movie where the bad guy is up on stage, monologuing for all he’s worth, and then look behind him at the B-team and wonder, “What the hell are they thinking?”
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My Pain, Your Gain
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, #ImperfectButStillTrying, creativity, perfectionism, Thoughts, with apologies on September 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »
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!
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Everyday Magic
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, art, creativity, inspiration, practice, Thoughts, Writers, writing on September 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »
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.
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Advice for Writers, or Anyone, Really
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, inner monologue, Thoughts, Writers, writing on September 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Don’t talk to yourself like someone you hate.
— Arthur Brooks
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As Long As You Start
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on September 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“It is never too late to do anything in life.”
— Momofuku Ando
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The Hunt is On!
Posted in Entertainment, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Canada, creativity, inspiration, mystery, Thoughts, treasure hunt on September 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Are you a fan of puzzles, or mysteries, secrets or treasure? Then perhaps you will be interested to hear about the latest in a tradition of hidden treasure games like The Secret:
A $1 million treasure hunt is underway in Canadian wilderness | Popular Science
An actual treasure chest filled with around $1 million in gold coins is hidden somewhere in Canada. However, the mystery isn’t tied to a centuries’ old pirate bounty or unsolved bank heist, however. These riches were instead intentionally hidden by a mining consortium to celebrate the country’s “rich mining heritage and spirit of adventure.”
The clues are presented in the form of a 13-stanza poem. Have I already asked AI for its opinion on this poem? Maybe. Is it fun that one of the top contenders for the secret stash spot is a place I go to on the regular? It is! And while I doubt that I’ll spend much more time on this, it’s an entertaining idea.
(Speaking of entertaining, I expect that Josh Gates, TV host, explorer, and aficionado of similar puzzle/treasure hunts, will be doing a show on this at some point.)
Because this game is sponsored by a Canadian mining company, the winner will have to be a Canadian citizen to claim the prize.* Sorry (not sorry)!
You have until the end of 2026 to find it.
If nothing else, it’s a fun boost for poetry and a good excuse to get out in nature (explore responsibly, folks!).
Regardless, the hunt is on!
* Although what’s to stop someone from finding it, enlisting a Canadian to cash in the prize, then becoming enmeshed in a sea of ever-shifting lies and betrayals as each party battles to claim the full amount, opening up endless avenues for dramatic retellings and fictionalized accounts? Why, nothing!
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Let’s Begin
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers on September 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
― Mother Theresa
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From Macaroni to Mona Lisa
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, art, creativity, history, inspiration, painting, Renaissance, Thoughts, Writers, writing on September 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »
One of the best ways to understand art and think about developing your own abilities is to study those who came before. That applies to writers, musicians, painters and more. I’m going to go out on a pretty short limb and say that every master crafter out there had a “see Spot run” or “macaroni and string” phase.
The problem is that we don’t see that, we see their masterpieces. And that can be inspiring but also discouraging. How did they make the leap from macaroni to the Mona Lisa*?
That’s an excellent if somewhat off-base question. Because for most artists, that transition isn’t a leap at all. It’s more of a journey, and anyone can go on one of those. (Consider how often you hear someone being called an overnight success, and they laugh and say, “Yeah, but it took years.”)
Here’s an example from the art world.
Raphael is now considered one of the three great masters from the High Renaissance. (Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo being the other two, so he had a high bar to reach. My point is that he didn’t start out at the top.)
Where did he begin, how did he improve, and what lessons does his progress give to aspiring artists out there?
How Raphael Became A Master – YouTube
This video provides an in-depth look at the what, when and how of it all. Hopefully it can also provide some encouragement to anyone working to improve, regardless of their art form.
And while it’s true that talent helps and that there are child prodigies out there (looking at you, Mozart!), most who achieve excellence do it exactly the way you are doing it: setting goals, studying what works, and practice, practice, practice.
* A note on the title: I know that the Mona Lisa was Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, and Raphael painted a lot of Madonnas, but given that titling this piece “From Macaroni to Madonna” seemed more likely to evoke ’80s pop music rather than classical art, I went with this instead. (Although to be honest, I’m feeling a little bad about this decision and may change it later!)
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How to Grow
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, bravery, creativity, persistence, Thoughts, Writers, writing on September 5, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.”
— Mary Tyler Moore
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