“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.”
— Dr. Seuss
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Posts Tagged ‘creativity’
Can’t Be Serious All the Time
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, writing on December 23, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Bee Thoven
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, adoption, birthdays, creativity, history, inspiration, music, Thoughts on December 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Today is (probably*) Ludwig van Beethoven’s birthday, and it’s a date I note every year. That’s because it also happens to be my adoption date.
Like a lot of kids, mini me went through an early phase where I pronounced new words as they were spelled (like “Zay oose,” here’s hoping no Greek gods were paying attention). And so in some corner of my mind this German composer will always remain “Bee Thoven.”
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The 20 greatest Beethoven works of all time – Classic FM
Here’s where I admit that I find a lot of his work a little over the top, like he was angry at the piano or something. As my stepmother has been known to say, “Too many notes!” I still recognize brilliance when I hear it, and his approach is a lesson for creatives of all forms.
“To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.”
― Ludwig van Beethoven
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* Beethoven was baptized on December 17th in Bonn, Germany, making it likely that he was born the day before. Let’s just go with it, shall we?
Getting There
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on December 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I wrote a thing, didn’t like it. Wrote another thing, didn’t like that either. Thought for a bit. Went off and made a mini version of this cool anti-gravity tensegriity thing. Came back and wrote a couple of new bits but nothing feels right.
Some days are just like that. Must be time for a quote and a picture.
“So many things are possible just as long as you don’t know they’re impossible.”
― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
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Today Days
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, #JoniMitchell, climate change, creativity, hope, inspiration, music, Thoughts, Writers on December 9, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Some days you take a break from the avalanche of news and realize you’ve got Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi stuck in your head. The chorus can feel too true to remember that there are reasons to be cheerful and the world is not, in fact, on a one way trip to Ugh Town.
But other days? Like today days? With heartfelt respect to Ms. Mitchell,* you realize that the final lines of the song could be rewritten:
“They saved Paradise,
and took out the parking lot.”
And we’re just the people to do it.
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- How does one address someone with this level of accomplishment? Award-winner? Multi-Hall of Famer? Fellow Canadian? Doctor (she has three honorary doctorates)? I went with the title that, I hope, conveys fundamental respect across all arenas.
Gamgee the Wise
Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, inspiration, procrastination, Thoughts, Writers, writing on December 6, 2021| Leave a Comment »
“It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
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New Word of the Day
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, cookies, creativity, home, Thoughts on December 5, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Did I make any progress on writing projects today? I did not. Today was about baking and Formula One (Team Hamilton!).
I tested the first of several batches of sugar cookies. Today, brown-edge cookies. Very good, especially with cinnamon on top. Up tomorrow, my sister-in-law’s favorite sugar cookie recipe. The dough is chilling in the fridge now, and I hope for great things!
In completely unrelated news, I learned a new word today: procrastibake. 🙂
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When Sharing Isn’t Caring
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, drabble, Drabble Dabble Do, Fiction, inspiration, short stories, Thoughts, writing on December 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »
As mentioned the other day, I recently read a book starring interesting and complex retirees.* It got me thinking, and now I have a new drabble.
Enjoy!
When Sharing Isn’t Caring
There’s a lot to be said for the “sharing economy.”
My granddaughter DeeDee introduced me to the idea. Say, if you need to cleanup around the yard but don’t have all the tools. Because the neighbor is kicking up a fuss (and poor Mr. Kittikins), wasting Saturdays complaining about trees overhanging his fence.
And the things you can borrow these days!
Order up a tool here or there, pay a reasonable delivery fee and voila, the item comes right to your doorstep.
Like this nice policeman.
“Such terrible news about the neighbor. And no, officer, I don’t own an ax.”
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* Disclaimer: I also happen to be related to a number of interesting and complex individuals of a certain age, but they are in no way associated with mysteries or mayhem!
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How to Win by Losing
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, nanowrimo, sff, Thoughts, writing, yay on December 2, 2021| 2 Comments »
To Whom It May Concern,
Enclosed please find my NaNoWriMo after-action report. Please be advised that this AAR is a summary document of an ongoing project and may be reassessed upon future review.
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Project: NaNoWriMo 2021, Modified Edition (a.k.a. NaYes, a.k.a. NaNoFinMo)
Overview, or The NaNo Plan-Mo
- Goal, Part 1: Plan a story
- Did I do this? Yes!
- Goal, Part 2: Let’s just focus on Part 1, shall we?
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Analysis
Looking back, how did it go?
- After years of NaNo pantsing,* was planning the story a good idea? Yes, to a point. It got me out of being stuck mid-month, but then I went a little overboard and realized that I was probably planning myself into a corner. Backing off, making sure I had a solid foundation under the piece, getting inside the heads of my characters, that made the most sense. (And that wasn’t always easy. One of the characters is an alien space mouse.)
- Was I efficient? Not so much. Taking the word count pressure off was great in many ways, but also allowed me to spend too long vacillating about which awesome idea was the most awesome of all the awesomes. And then writing, backtracking, and writing some more. Not helpful.
- Was I creative? Yes. See the aforementioned space mouse.
- Did I accomplish more than a big fat zero? I did!
- I began the month writing countable words and considered putting out enough verbiage to qualify for the formal challenge. This option was rejected because 50,000 words to no apparent purpose? No thanks!
Notes on the process, using previous related posts and their goals as guides:
Yes, I took on the challenge. Go me.
No, I did not actually finish said story. And yes, I will expect this fact to be reflected in my end-of-year bonus package. No need to remind me.
I am happy to report that I fixed the stopping and restarting problem, picked one idea and rolled with it for the rest of the month.
About halfway through the month I decided that project parameters be damned, I really didn’t care about the word count. At all. What I wanted was a platform to act as a springboard for next steps. So that’s what I did.
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Recommendations & Action Items**
What would I change for next time?
- Skip the prep reading; it was helpful but now I’ve crossed it off my list.
- Go faster, not spend the whole month on one idea, develop more stories, spend more time noodling, more wandering the neighborhood thinking up fun stuff.
- I considered a reading hiatus but then all my library books arrived and I just didn’t want to, frankly. Probably would have helped, though!
- Make December the official followup month, where actual writing shall occur.
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In Conclusion!
Experimental or not, this year’s NaNoWriMo actually went pretty well. My main takeaway is not to stress very much. Or at all. I’m much more productive when I’m having fun.
Because I didn’t bother with the 50,000 words I didn’t count this NaNo as a “win” in the formal sense. I do count it as a win in the “getting things done my own dang way, thanks very much” sense, so yay.
I may be the only one in this particular race, but still. I win!
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* A guide to NaNoWriMo strategies, including pantsing. I suppose you could say I’m a “plantser” at this point, but really, that’s a pretty terrible word.
** I just wanted to say “action items” because it’s ridiculous and fun.
I’d Rather Be Baking
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, baking, cookies, creativity, home, learning@lunch, Thoughts on November 29, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I’m working today but I’d rather be baking. While in Montreal last week I picked up some sugar cookies. Mediocre, not good, stale cookies. They were, to put it mildly, a disappointment.
I hate disappointment. What do I like? Recipes that are satisfying, easy enough to make whenever I want, and showcase flavor rather than perfection. A little flash doesn’t go amiss, either.
We’re watching The Great Canadian Baking Show and I am reminded that there are so many interesting things out there to learn. So while I’m looking for the perfect sugar cookie recipe, I may also start building a list of essential* recipes and methods I don’t already know.
And then start baking.
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* My definition of essential will almost certainly differ from yours, but I’m aiming for techniques that can be used in a wide variety of recipes, help build flexibility into both recipes and bakers regardless of skill level, and eschew fiddly for fun. That said, how have I never made a pithivier? Also, buying puff pastry is absolutely acceptable in my book.
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Sunday Funday
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, murder and mayhem, Thoughts, woodturning, Writers on November 28, 2021| 2 Comments »
I’m heading into the workshop for the first time in ages. On the menu, bottle stoppers and finding the on switch for my lathe.
Later I’ll get back to reading The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. Murder, mayhem and complicated septua- and octogenarians come together in a touching, humorous and well-written package. What’s not to love?
If you’re interested, start with book one in the series: The Thursday Murder Club.
Delightful!
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