“ I should lose some weight.” No, you CAN lose some weight. If the benefits of losing weight are important to you, then that will be the right choice for you.
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“ I should lose some weight.” No, you CAN lose some weight. If the benefits of losing weight are important to you, then that will be the right choice for you.
August 17, 2009 in Time to Write | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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In the Journal of Experimental Psychology, Laurie R. Weingart and her colleagues published the results of a study that showed that conflict within a team working on a project can actually enhance performance. Here's the summary:
Teams of students from the disciplines of engineering, design and MBA programs were asked to collaborate on a product. The teams in which the participants had significant disagreements took longer to get going, but ultimately their outcomes were judged to be more creative or inspired than those of the teams on which the members all agreed right away. It seems that when thinking is challenged, better solutions appear.
The study also noted that for this result to take place the teams have to take everybody's viewpoint into account rather than just deferring to the most assertive member.
The lesson for individuals might include being sure that if you ask for feedback, don't go to people who you already know will agree with you. Seek out those who bring different viewpoints to the process and strengthen the work by taking their ideas on board.
(for more tips and techniques on how to be more creative and productive, sign up now for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to [email protected])
August 16, 2009 in Getting Ideas to Flow | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, coffee shops in New York are starting to discourage or even forbid the use of laptops during peak hours and reducing the number of electrical outlets available to customers. They found that too many people were nursing a cup of coffee for hours while writing the great American novel or screenplay.
Other places that I often recommend if you need a working space away from home include your local library, the lobbies of big businesses, large hotel lobbies, unpopular pubs, and airport chapels or meditation rooms (obviously behaving in a way that does not disrespect anybody else who is there--better for brainstorming than bashing away on a laptop).
For tips and techniques for being more creative and productive, subscribe now to my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to [email protected].
August 15, 2009 in The Writer's Life | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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There’s an interesting article about thriller writer Stephen White (who styles himself “the least well-known best-selling author”) in USA Today. He’s a psychologist who has written sixteen thrillers, the latest being “The Siege,” and he also happens to have MS.
(for tips on how to be more creative and productive, sign up for my Brainstorm e-bulletin by sending an email request to [email protected])
August 14, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Blake Snyder, scriptwriter and the author of the screenwriting manual “Save the Cat,” died recently apparently of a heart attack. His book was one of the most popular on the topic and although I never met him, a few times I showed up to teach at some conference or film school shortly after he’d presented his workshop and people had only good things to say about him.
(There's also information about writing scripts, novels, non-fiction books in my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon and other online and offline retailers.)
August 13, 2009 in Writing Characters | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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Boston.com features an article about songwriter and musician Joe Pernice, whose first novel, “It Feels So Good When I Stop,” has just been published by a division of the Penguin Group. As clever tie-in, Pernice’s record label (which he co-owns) is releasing a soundtrack album of him covering songs mentioned in the book.
(A marketing thought: even if you’re not a musician yourself, could you find an ambitious band to collaborate with on something like this, to jointly promote your work?]
August 12, 2009 in Marketing Your Book or Other Writing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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The other
day I mentioned that in a survey of how to break creative writing blocks,
listening to music came up high on the list. In Psychology Today, Amy Fries
wrote about the power of music to feed and steer your imagination. She writes,
“I know a
number of writers who listen to music while they write, but they're very
particular about what they select. For example, one friend prefers classical;
another, the familiar echoes of classic rock, the kind of music that's so
ingrained in your psyche you just slip right into it. In both cases, the music
helps them enter their creative
worlds. Once they're completely in the flow of writing, the music is relegated
to the background and they don't even notice it anymore. In that way, music
functions as a gentle ramp that helps glide them into their zone.”
Fries is the author of a book called “Daydreams at Work: Wake Up Your Creative Power.” She says, “[in the book] I talk about the case of a pro football player who listened to hard-driving rock before a game not just for the typical energy jolt it produced but because the music prompted him to fantasize about being a bad-ass rock star and that gave him the confidence, courage, and crazy arrogance required to stomp the opposition. Likewise, Lance Armstrong frequently tweets about the music he's listening to pre-race to help him get psyched up and after the race to help him calm down.”
(You can get more tips and techniques for being more creative and productive by subscribing to my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to [email protected])
August 11, 2009 in Getting Ideas to Flow | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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The site
Fuel Your Creativity.com did a survey of how their readers beat creative
blocks.
“The number
one response that we received in answer to the question, was to get away from
the project, mainly to get outside. With over half of the repliers agreeing
that this method served them with the most consistent and best results. Turn
your back on whatever it is you are working on, and break free into the
cleansing power of nature and let it refresh you as it washes over you.”
The second
choice was listening to music, and the third was just do something totally
unrelated to the project.
Other finalists include coffee, art, talking with friends and family, and surfing the web.
(You'll also find ways to be more creative and productive by subscribing to my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected].)
August 10, 2009 in Writer's block | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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The New York Times got some
reality show participants whose non-disclosure agreements had expired to tell
about what happened. Here are a few highlights—or should that be lowlights?
“If you
combine no sleep with alcohol and no food, emotions are going to run high and
people are going to be acting crazy,” said Erica Rose, a contestant that year. “
Mark
Andrejevic, author of “Reality TV: The Work of Being Watched,” added:
“The
bread and butter of reality television is to get people into a state where they
are tired, stressed and emotionally vulnerable, “That helps make them more
amenable to the goals of the producers and more easily manipulated.”
The
article reveals, “Phones, computers and periodicals are taken away before the
start of taping.
Next
step, waterboarding.
August 09, 2009 in Television | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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Joseph Finder is the author of the best-sellling thriller, “Powerplay.” In this video he talks about why he decided to write a series of novels (the first being “Vanished”) and how he did it without falling into the usual Private Eye or cops genre and how to make it rewarding to read them on their own (the video is about 5 minutes long).
August 08, 2009 in Writers to Admire | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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The other day I mentioned how useful it can be to
record stuff, and my newest bit of kit in this regard is a Mikey microphone
(from Blue Microphone) that fits onto my new iPod Classic. It makes it really
easy to record your own thoughts and interviews.
Confession: I already have a perfectly good (and
expensive) Edirol digital recorder but was not using it much because
the interface is kind of complicated. With the iPod it’s a matter of pressing a
few obvious buttons and that’s what made the sale.
If you’re looking for a way to record, you might
consider this approach (the Mikey works with most kinds of iPods).
(For tips and techniques for being more productive and creative, sign up now for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to [email protected])
August 07, 2009 in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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My friend Janice Day (pictured), whose new book I mentioned the other day (“How I Lost My Breast and Found Myself Getting It Off My Chest”) related a piece of advice given to her recently: Do less and record more.(update: "Getting It Off My Chest" is the actual title--that's the one to Google or type into Amazon if you want to find it.)
Meaning, if you’re a creative person, you can probably find ways to use most things that happen to you, if you take the time to record them—this could be in a journal, taking pictures, shooting video, talking into a tape recorder, etc.
In the bookreporter.com newsletter, Carol Fitzgerald mentioned how she equipped herself when going to the San Diego Comic Convention: “I perfected what I am calling the four-pocket system with my phone, BlackBerry, camera and wallet (with business cards/credit card/ID and cash for overpriced convention food) tucked into my jeans pockets. Thus, I was in ready mode for most of what happened on the floor.”
I think using these strategically is a great idea,
although the danger is that we may miss really experiencing what we’re
recording—like a man I once saw on the top deck of a London tourist bus
videoing everything and therefore seeing it only through a viewfinder. But if used wisely, these records can lead to greater inspiration, more resources to draw upon and, ultimately, greater income.
(Want tips and techniques for how to be more creative and productive? Sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin by sending an email request to [email protected])
August 06, 2009 in Writing methods | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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I did an interview recently with Janice Day, a UK author whose new book is “How I Lost My Breast and Found Myself Getting It Off My Chest.” Wait, don’t let the title scare you, because unlike a typical “misery lit” book, this account mixes the painful and the serious with many flashes of humor and wit (hmm, just like life…). (update: the official title is "Getting It Off My Chest"--that's the one to Google or type into the Amazon search window if you want to find it.)
It’s written in a quirky style that darts all over the place, from childhood memories, to doctors’ records, to sexy daydreams about the doctor, to the life of a modern Mum—in fact, it’s a lot like talking to Janice herself! If you've felt too constrained by typical structure, have a look at this book, it might help you free up your mind.
I’ll be using the interview in my new “Creativity Rocket” podcast—more about that when it’s ready. In the meantime, if you’re a writer who is considering writing about your own experiences, Janice’s book makes a great model, and if not you’ll still find it a terrific read (published by Old Street Publishing, UK).
(If you'd benefit from knowing ways to be more creative and productive, sign up now for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to [email protected])
August 05, 2009 in Writers to Admire | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Writing by hand isn’t dead, and a new breed of digital pens may help it survive.
Trendhunter magazine featured 45 unusual writing utensils, including several digital pens:
Digital pens – one example is the Nokia Digital Pen SU-1B (pictured).
You write on special note pads and the pen remembers everything you’ve written
(including diagrams and doodles) and allows you to download it all to your
computer via Bluetooth. Price is around $200 (£120).
Logitech has a version that writes on any paper and stores
the information on a self-contained Flash disk that can also hold music,
images, etc. (Logitechn io2).
The D-Scribe goes one step further—it converts your writing
into digital form that can be sent as either text messages or via a Bluetooth
connection to your phone.
One I find tempting is the Pulse Smartpen from LiveScribe.
The drawback is that you have to use special paper (and it’s kind of expensive)
but the advantage is that it’s also a digital audio recorder. The 1GB version
can hold up to 100 hours, the 2GB can hold 200 hours (less if you opt for the
higher quality setting).
If I do buy one it’ll be on my next trip to the US. In the
UK a Pro Pack (pen, notebooks,
etc.) is £185 (which is about $309), in the US it’s $239 but they don’t ship
outside the US.
(for tips on how to be more creative and productive, subscribe to my free Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to [email protected])
August 04, 2009 in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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Jeff Sexton, on his “futurenow” marketing blog, give some interesting examples of what he calls “frame switching” in stories and illustrates it with a commercial and also clips from “The Princess Bride.”
August 03, 2009 in Writing methods | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
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