Archives for July, 2012
Persistence and Faith and Hard Work
"You begin to string words together like beads to tell a story."
Writer Anne Lamott continues, "You are desperate to communicate, to edify or entertain, to preserve moments of grace or joy or transcendence, to make real or imagined events come alive.
"But you cannot will this to happen. It is a matter of persistence and faith and hard work. So you might as well just go ahead and get started.”
From her book Bird...
Writer Anne Lamott continues, "You are desperate to communicate, to edify or entertain, to preserve moments of grace or joy or transcendence, to make real or imagined events come alive.
"But you cannot will this to happen. It is a matter of persistence and faith and hard work. So you might as well just go ahead and get started.”
From her book Bird...
Zoe Kazan on ‘Ruby Sparks’ and Creative Inspiration
Actor, playwright, and screenwriter Zoe Kazan was inspired in part to write her movie "Ruby Sparks" by the story which became the play and movie musical "My Fair Lady."
"I've always really been interested in the Pygmalion myth and both what it has to say about creativity and what it has to say about relationships between men and women," Kazan said in an interview.
"I'd been thinking about what I would want to do with that...
"I've always really been interested in the Pygmalion myth and both what it has to say about creativity and what it has to say about relationships between men and women," Kazan said in an interview.
"I'd been thinking about what I would want to do with that...
Creative? Introverted? Then You’re Probably Not Seen As A Leader
"People often avoid the uncomfortable uncertainty of novel solutions regardless of potential benefit."
That quote comes from the Forbes magazine article Managing The Psychological Bias Against Creativity by Todd Essig, who notes the situation where "You come up with a great new idea at work, or at home.
"Or a political leader actually tries something 'new and different' when faced with a previously intractable problem. But then, rather than grateful acceptance, or even a...
That quote comes from the Forbes magazine article Managing The Psychological Bias Against Creativity by Todd Essig, who notes the situation where "You come up with a great new idea at work, or at home.
"Or a political leader actually tries something 'new and different' when faced with a previously intractable problem. But then, rather than grateful acceptance, or even a...
Are Introverts More Creative?
Creativity researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi declared creative people, based on his extensive studies, are "Both extroverted and introverted, needing people and solitude equally."
[From my earlier post The Complexity of the Creative Personality.]
I'm not so sure how widely that applies.
As an introvert myself, I don't experience much urge to be extroverted.
And, I have been drawn to read and quote from the interviews of actors and other artists who say they are introverted, but they...
[From my earlier post The Complexity of the Creative Personality.]
I'm not so sure how widely that applies.
As an introvert myself, I don't experience much urge to be extroverted.
And, I have been drawn to read and quote from the interviews of actors and other artists who say they are introverted, but they...
Disparaging Pop Culture Creativity
Critics and reviewers can help us find more art to enjoy, and better appreciate the creative process behind it.
But some critics also discount and disparage forms of creative expression that do not match their personal tastes and values.
One critic I have really appreciated is Sister Wendy Beckett, known mostly as Sister Wendy, a nun from a British monastery, who shared her art history erudition in the PBS program Sister Wendy's American Collection, and was...
But some critics also discount and disparage forms of creative expression that do not match their personal tastes and values.
One critic I have really appreciated is Sister Wendy Beckett, known mostly as Sister Wendy, a nun from a British monastery, who shared her art history erudition in the PBS program Sister Wendy's American Collection, and was...
Creative Thinking and Disruptive Innovation
Do we need to invest exceptional levels of time and attention in becoming experts before we can make significant creative contributions?
One of the key ideas of author Malcolm Gladwell is that “outliers” on the upper end of intelligence, ability and achievement have engaged in about 10,000 concentrated hours of practice and study in a specific knowledge area.
From my post Outliers and developing exceptional abilities.
Malcolm Gladwell is author of Outliers: The...
One of the key ideas of author Malcolm Gladwell is that “outliers” on the upper end of intelligence, ability and achievement have engaged in about 10,000 concentrated hours of practice and study in a specific knowledge area.
From my post Outliers and developing exceptional abilities.
Malcolm Gladwell is author of Outliers: The...
Are We Losing Creative Thinking Ability?
Creative thinking is a vital element in healthy and growing people and cultures.
As The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity puts it, "We live in a society where those who do not creatively innovate risk failure in any of several domains of life."
The book adds that "Legendary thinkers throughout time, from Aristotle to Einstein, have pondered what it means to be creative.
"There are still debates, after more than six decades of intensive research,...
As The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity puts it, "We live in a society where those who do not creatively innovate risk failure in any of several domains of life."
The book adds that "Legendary thinkers throughout time, from Aristotle to Einstein, have pondered what it means to be creative.
"There are still debates, after more than six decades of intensive research,...
The Monkey Mind Disruption
Do you ever find yourself waylaid or compromised in your creative work on account of disrupting trains of thought and anxieties?
It happens to most of us.
Author and journalist Daniel Smith notes in an interview about his new book "Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety" that he has been writing professionally for more than a decade but has "always found the process to be singularly painful."
He added, "Writing this book had its crappy moments,...
It happens to most of us.
Author and journalist Daniel Smith notes in an interview about his new book "Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety" that he has been writing professionally for more than a decade but has "always found the process to be singularly painful."
He added, "Writing this book had its crappy moments,...
Procrastinating and Distracting Ourselves
“To begin…To begin…How to start? I’m hungry. I should get coffee. Coffee would help me think. Maybe I should write something first, then reward myself with coffee. Coffee and a muffin. So I need to establish the themes. Maybe a banana nut. That’s a...
