Creativity

There’s a lot of things I could say about the Lego Movie (2014). It’s a perfect representation of the hero’s journey, pulled so closely from contemporary remixes (Tron, the Matrix) to seem like every movie at once. The hero, like all good heroes, is young and untested. Foolish, an outcast, alone. His motivation is merely to make friends and be …

    You can do anything. There is no limit to your glorious creative potential.   However, making things that other people like and that benefit other people are much more likely to bring esteem, financial security, comfort and happiness. Most creative people passionately buy into the idea that “True Art” is never made to please others – but you …

Most creativity experts today agree that creativity is not something you’re born with; it’s something you do. Anybody can be creative. This is a pleasant, inspiring, modern and democratic view – but it flies in the face of nearly 3000 years of scholarly study of creativity, psychology and human nature. In this post I’m going to share some research that …

You are being called to greater things, feel stifled in the mundane and boring roles society has carved out for you, and want a grand adventure. You want to follow your passion but somehow make enough money to survive on. If you start talking with people about all your ideas, you’ll inevitably come across three kinds of people, and their …

For the last few days I’ve been hitting 5000+ words a day writing fiction. It’s exciting to think what that kind of habit will mean if I keep it up for a few months. But there are times my brain hits a wall and I get stuck. This is probably especially true because the book I’m focusing on right now …

This year will be my third WDS (Word Domination Summit – a meetup for people living unconventionally). I wrote this post just before last year’s conference, and had a lot of people tell me they’d read it before coming and it had set their mind at ease. So I’m updating it and reposting it for 2015, in hopes it will do …

I spent the day at the Budapest Book Fair listening to Jonathan Franzen talk about birds and writing, and making jokes that nobody laughed at because they were waiting for the translation to come through their headphones. I jotted down a few pearls of wisdom that should be useful to writers everywhere. #1. Writing is an experience, not a performance This …

I spent the last few days driving around France looking at chateaux and castles for sale. I rarely have that much time for reflection and introspection. It may have been due to the dismal weather or the fact that the French landscape is totally dead in March, but I find myself dealing with disappointment and doubt. The properties I came …

I got sucked into a novel yesterday, which I rarely do. The writing is great. Opening sentence: “In strewn banners that lay like streamers from a longago parade the sun’s fading seraphim rays gleamed onto the hood of the old Ford and ribboned the steel with the meek orange of a June tomato straining at the vine.” But it’s not …

Bestselling horror writers James Thorn asked for some design feedback on a logo he’s making. Something kind of scary, like this one from American Horror Story. This was his first attempt:   Not bad, I can see what he’s going for. In general, bevel and inner shadow should be avoided. They look cool and 3D, but they’re old-fashioned now – …