Build Your Ultimate Creative Toolbox

Build Your Ultimate Creative Toolbox

Many creative people have their creative toolbox that they keep on hand. They pull stuff, and tips and tricks right out of it. It’s like having a magicians magic hat. The key to a Great Toolbox is to include in it the things that will keep your creative soul going even in those times where you feel stuck or are feeling blah and uncreative.

Let’s start with what I keep in mine.

For inspiration, I have many Artful Blogger, Artful Journalling, and Where Women Create magazines, all produced by the Stampington Company. I love flipping the pages and seeing the beautiful pictures and sharing in others creative adventures. It is my hope one day to be in one of those magazines myself. It inspires and motivates me when I feel stuck or lost on what to do.ultimate toolbox 1

My favorite creative tool is my laptop. It is a MacBook Pro that is nearly four years old. Since I am first and foremost a writer, I find it essential for working on fiction, moving my poems from the written page to being saved and edited, and where I create my affirmation cards. I also use it for collecting my photos. I will give you a secret, I have about 22,000 pictures. NOT KIDDING. I always find reasons to use ones I thought I would never use especially in designing mini stories and affirmation cards. It is also where I create my stationary, my cards, and anything else that strikes me.
Pick your favorite tool! What is it? Keep it in good condition. If it’s something that gets used often, like a sketch book or journal, do you keep a back up so you always have one. My daughter keeps two or three around the house so she can just grab one.

Now onto some more practical, hands on stuff. Even writers need a little something out of scope of traditional writing to feed the creative soul. Here is what I highly recommend and what I keep for creative tools.

  1. Watercolor Paints: you can go to the dollar store and get the watercolor kits or you can go to Joanns and for ten bucks get the watercolor tubes. I use them for creating backgrounds, just playing when my mind has been so full of words, I need something that doesn’t require too much language processing.
  2. Pens, markers, pencils: I will admit to being an office supply junkie. I am fully addicted to new pens and pencils. I love makers, gel pens, colored pencils, Papermate Flair pens, and my fave are Pentel RSVP pens in purple. They just make writing, drawing, doodling so much more fun and interesting. Sometimes, it helps me to brainstorm in different colors to see patterns.
  3. Paper or Card Stock: A writer needs paper, whether hand writing or printing from a computer. If you want to make little notes or cards with writing or doodles, it helps to have sturdier card stock around and a good pair of scissors.ultimate toolbox 3
  4. Another thing that the paper is good for is making Word tiles. Inspired by Susan Wooldridge’s poem crazy. She creates word tiles and has her students draw out so many words and they have to create a poem. But I have also used them to inspire photos, or doodling or messages to friends. I think of word tiles as a great way to get out of stuckness because you have to work within the confines of the words you picked, it brings out the creative self.
  5. Tactile: A great toolbox as something wth texture that you can play with, touch in between or during projects. There is something about the switching of the cerebral writing, organizing to something that is just about touch. It changes our posture, calls on different parts of the brain, creates flow through other avenues. especially when stressed or up against a deadline, having some tactile object like play-dough or clay or even different types of fabric can re-direct us.
  6. TIME! Make sure that you give yourself time to use the tools in your toolbox. Our creative expression is of great importance. Even if you have a job and work forty hours a week, it is essential to our health that we take time for creative expression. I have said before, Brene’ Brown, a well know mental health writer, says that “UNUSED creative expression is NOT benign.” It will manifest itself in agitation, frustration, anger, guilt. A host of negative feelings that eat away at our self-esteem. So being creative helps you be a better you.
  7. Miscellaneous: 1) Music: I know for me when I am working on certain projects I have specific music that I listen to that creates the mood and environment that I want, especially if I am writing and I want to tune out the noise. 2) Add some acrylic paint as well. The colors are brighter and you get different results by blending. It is just a different than watercolors but fun. 3) Ribbons and stickers. These are just bits of whimsy to add to your toolbox. Maybe you only use them once in a while. I love using my own stickers to decorate packages when I send out orders. 4) Glue. All kinds but at least a good glue stick and a reliable craft glue, like Aleene’s tacky Glue. 5) A Journal. Whether you are a writer or an artist, a photographer or florist, keep a journal. They are great in offering us a chance to reflect. Maybe you just have a project journal. That’s ok. Its just another handy dandy tool for your box.

ultimate toolbox 2

Simple 5 Minute Creative Play Activities

Simple 5 Minute Creative Play Activities

Instead of a ten minute exercise today, I am giving some quick ideas that you can do in a five minute break. If all you have is a ten minute break, then you might only have just five minutes to do something creative or to play. Here are four great go-to ideas for a five minute play break.

  1. Play Dough: I keep a small container of play dough around for goofing around with. Sometimes if my anxiety is high or I am stressed this little ball of dough is perfect for squeezing and stretching and oozing through fingers. Since it is such a tactile play tool, it really helps when I have limited time.
  2. Watercolors: Easy to set up and easy to use. You don’t need a lot of space, money or materials to paint a quick sunrise or the ocean. Sometimes it is just as relaxing to simple play and swirl the colors around on the page, creating an abstract of some sort. I have done that and turned into backgrounds for taking pictures of affirmations and such.
  3. Coloring: Adult coloring books are all the rage right now. Get on board. You can even pick them up at most dollar stores now. You can even free coloring pages online. Go to Pinterest and type in coloring pages. Oodles of links will pop up. Get your Color On!
  4. Building Blocks, Legos: If you don’t have access to these things because you are a grown-up, after all, then build with what you do have. Just make sure it’s play. My friends’ son likes to use miscellaneous things to build like pen boxes, books, keys or just what he has on hand to build with. There is something about blocks and legos that remind us we have amazing imaginations. If you do have them, what can you build in 5 minutes? Can you use all the blocks?

Here you go, four really simple creative play tools that you can do in just five minutes. Have a grand Tuesday! Don’t forget to play!

10 Must Read Books for Creatives

10 Must Read Books for Creatives

*This post contains affiliate links.

Every creative person has their favorite books they go go when they are stuck in a rut or need a little inspiration. Books become like trusty friends that you can turn to when you need a fresh perspective or need to be reminded of something you have forgotten. The list below is compiled of books or authors that I have come back to time and time again. They are some of my favorites. A few have worn covers and tattered pages while others have been replaced because I felt compelled to hand them off to someone who needed them. A few I keep on my Nook tablet with favorite passages tagged so I can go back over them again. This list is a great beginning creative souls list. Happy Reading!

  1. Creativity for Life by Eric Maisel: Eric Maisel is a creativity coach in southern California. He works with artists to help unblock creative walls. In Creativity for Life,  he provides examples of how he coached some of his clients and then asks the reader to participate in finding their creative goals with exercises and questions at the end of each section.
  2. The Artist Way by Julia Cameron: This is a must go-to for a beginning artist. The Artist Way is the first in a series of books meant to connect the artist with their spiritual nature to be in their art more authentically. I have read and re-read this book many times when I needed an artist pick me up. She incorporates many exercises to help the creative soul along.
  3. Billy Collins (any of his poetry books): My favorite is Sailing Around the Room and Other Poems. However, he has many and they are all great. His poetry is real and honest; he pulls from ordinary world around him to create his excellent writing. He is two-termed Poet Laureate of the U.S.
  4. Creating a Life Worth Living by Carol Lloyd: Carol Lloyd takes the creative person on down a path to discovering what they want from their passions. Each chapters asks the reader questions about their craft, the life they want, and other important details  so they may create their own lifestyle beyond society’s norm.
  5. A Creative Companion by SARK (or any SARK book): Another must read for the creative being. A quick read, SARK inspires with her bright colors and handwritten pages. This a fun and lively reminder for the artist to slow-down, open their eyes, and see the world around them with their creative soul.
  6. poemcrazy by Susan Woolridge: A great book to read on poetry. This takes all the mystique out of poetry and breaks it down into the idea that anyone is capable of writing poetry. It is manner of learning the skills. Susan Woolridge does just that in this delightful, easy to read book.
  7. Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg: A “bible” of writing culture. Natalie Goldberg talks about getting to the bones in writing. A zen teacher, artist and writer, she incorporates her teachings through examples in her book. A lot of insightful information for the creative person.
  8. The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guilbreau: Here is the non-conformists BOOK! If you do not want the standard 9-5 every day lifestyle then this is the book for you. Chris tells you his story and how he went from dropping out of college to the entrepreneur that he is today. He has also been to every country in the world and incorporates some of his genius traveling hacks in this book and on his website.
  9. The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp: Twyla Tharp got to where she is by one thing: she made her creative outlet a daily habit. She practices her creativity every day. It is woven through out her book that even when one feels as though they cannot create, they should continue the habit of creating to stay conscious of their art. She is a no-nonsense writer with many excellent ideas.
  10. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
    A must have writers book. Anne Lamott dives into the creative side of writing but this book is also a great guideline for other creative beings. The philosophy of “bird by bird” is a concept that can be applied to any creative project that may seem overwhelming.

 

 

Jim Steinberg: Following the Scent of Story

On a writing retreat a year and a half ago in a place called the Lost Coast, on the Mattole River, I met writer, Jim Steinberg, author of two short story collections and the novel, Boundaries. Jim is a quiet man with a friendly disposition. He is warm and welcoming and was always up early writing away, drinking coffee with one or two of us early birds. This last year at the retreat,
as we were chatting while I was laying out all the breakfast stuff, he said to me that he was just going to have his coffee. “Breakfast is a social affair,” he told me.
That to me, sums him up well; friendly, thoughtful of others around him, and when writing, his nose is to the keyboard, following the scent of his story line by line, scene by scene.
Why do YOU write? What motivates or inspires you to write?

I write to scratch itches. I feel the impulse rising from within, wanting attention, so I want to scratch it. I follow impulses telling me there is a story that is waiting.
In my writing, I follow the words of Richard Ford, author of Independence Day, “I want everything I write to be useful.” My writing is serious fiction; I want to say something useful to my readers. I want to connect to them.

Writing is how I communicate with the world, like a long-term conversation between writer and reader. In writing, it is my hopes that I may also inspire others to have the grist to be creative and find their story.

As a teacher, I was getting by but knew it would to learn more about storytelling. I enrolled in a summer institute at Humboldt State University: the Redwood Writing project for teachers who teach writing.

During the course, I fell in love with writing stories. Eventually I turned one assignment into a work of fiction that now appears in my second short story collection: Last Night At The Vista Cafe, Stories.

2) In discussing “the genesis of a story” you said it is something “seeking a place of greater repose?”

a) What does this mean to you?
b) How do you begin?
c) What is it to “follow your nose?”

When I am responding to an impulse, it is a chance to visit, or revisit, memories. In this way, I settle them. I put them to rest within me, in a better relationship, making my peace with whatever emotional or psychological aspect that came to the surface. I pull the essence of the failed marriage or relationships, childhood experiences, or from mediation experiences, to spring into the fictional story. It never looks the same as the real experience, and the fiction does not rely on the actual account, but the greater truth that needed to be settled, is allowed to be expressed and peace made.

Let me give an example of “following my nose.” In my short story collection Filling up in Cumby and Other Stories, there is one titled “Highway 47.” It began as a story of a man unhappy in his marriage about to get stuck on a highway in a snowstorm. Inside a cafe, a young boy sets the table for the man. His mother owns the restaurant. The mother reluctantly offers up her hide-a-bed, and the story turns toward two strangers deciding whether they are going to have an affair. However, the story takes a turn when he begins talking to the child, who had no father, during the evening. The friendship that develops between the man and the child, rather than the dreamed about affair, becomes more important for the man than what he was dreaming of.

Character, setting, a conflicted situation, or the emotions from real life become a springboard into entirely fictional people and storylines. I want to give free rein to my imagination. A once famous writer, I forget who, said “write your stories as if everyone has been dead for one hundred years. Good advice for discovering the emotional truth of a story. I find the emotional truth by pulling the fiction from my imagination.
This is what I mean by following my nose. I allow the characters to determine and change the path of the story. It’s their story.

If you ask how I begin, I sit at the keyboard with my impulse, start writing and see what comes. I don’t outline, write a synopsis or do character sketches. I give the story the room to breath as it needs to.

My novel Boundaries is a blending of two stories that decided they needed to be the same book. They are incidents from from two different experiences. The first was a law case I had when practicing law in the 1970’s in Colorado Springs, working for a legal service that served impoverished clients. The second was a chance encounter I with a woman I met in a restaurant on the north coast of California during unusual circumstances in the 1980’s. The client in the first experience was very powerful and influenced me greatly in the case and in my practice. The woman in the restaurant really got my attention. I combined them into a single character. In doing so, I created a story about a lawyer and a client having a very unusual relationship.

3) Please tell me a bit about your video series on your blog. 

There are twelve videos in total. Ideally one comes out each week but son has graciously been helping me during his free time, so we do our best to get them out. They are conversations between myself and poet Bob Davis. They are conversations on what it means to be human, meant to bring the writer and reader together on the same conversation. We talk about the genesis of story, writing to explore the story, revision, and allowing the story to happen. Here is the list of topics:

1. Genesis Of A Story
2. More On Genesis Of A Story
3. Take A Ride On Your Work
4. I Love The Exploration
5. A Theme Discovered: “Highway 47” – (a short story)
6. A Theme Discovered: “Uncle Eno’s Bad Day” – (a short story)
7. Always Fiction, Always True: “An Apple Totem” (a short story)
8. Genesis Again: “Boundaries,” A Novel
9. A Crystal Memory
10. Revision
11. Reading Stories Aloud
12. Writing Or Reading? What Do You Prefer?
4) What kind of conversations would you ideally like to have with writers and readers?
What are your favorite topics of discussion with other writers and with readers?

I want to create a virtual salon or cafe for writers and readers to discuss fiction in the same way you may sit in a coffee shop with a writers group or a readers group and discuss topics related to story. Writers and readers are all storytellers, and we can give and take from one another in a conversation that includes both. I want conversations about the flesh and bones and bumps and scars that I think serious stories should include.

5) What is it for the story to have “real flesh and bones with bumps and scars?”

It is to examine what really hurts people. I write about characters who struggle with misfortune and difficult experiences. For example, characters who dwell on a moral edge, making the wrong choices for perhaps honorable reasons. I stay away from stereotypes, writing instead from the perspective that not everything is pretty. I want to expose their wounds to the reader, allowing them to watch how the character deals with them. It is my hope that readers will see the characters with an “unconditional positive regard”, keeping them open to compassion and empathy towards the character.

6) Tell me a bit a you next novel, Third Floor.

Third Floor is the story of fraternal twins, Rachel and Joseph. It begins when they are seven years old. There are issues between the two parents, and in an effort to escape the nighttime fights, Rachel creates a retreat on the third floor. One night Joseph joins her when he discovers she isn’t in her room. They continue to hide out there. Rachel is very strong, and Joseph relies on her strength. I am hoping to tell it in seven-year increments, but in following my nose, that may change. Eventually the twins will be separated and will come together when their father is ill. At least that’s what I expect thus far. I never know for sure! To know the rest, you will have to wait until it is published next year.

7) What is your favorite, no holding back meal, and where is one place in the world you would like to travel to?

Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and molasses and green beans. That’s comfort food for me.

Once I wanted to travel to Kiev or Lithuania where my family is from, but now I want to go to the Scottish Highlands. It’s a landscape with a history that fascinates me.

 

coffee with Jim on the SquareJim Steinberg has been a lawyer, blacksmith, middle school teacher of English and Social Studies, college teacher of Criminal Justice, hippie, and director of basic law enforcement training at a community college. He now divides most of his time between his loved work as a mediator (thirteen years in a small private practice in his home and in tribal courts in Northern California) and his greatest love of the last two decades, writing fiction. He has published one novel, “Boundaries,” and two short story collections: “Filling Up In Cumby And Other Stories,” and “Last Night At The Vista Cafe, Stories.” His current project is a second novel – “The Third Floor,” a story about twins, a brother and a sister.

Jim’s stories have appeared in Clapboard House, The Greensboro Review, The New Renaissance, Sensations Magazine, Cities and Roads, The Lone Wolf Review, The Bishop’s House Review, Voices From Home – A North Carolina Prose Anthology, and Best Of Clapboard House. He writes his stories to scratch the itches that rise up from within him, to answer the impulses that ask him to visit and lay them in greater repose. When these impulses arise, he finds himself at the beginnings of trails he knows he will follow with minimal planning and no synopsis, plot, timeline, or character description. He jumps right in and finds the stories, making each a discovery for him, the first reader.

Jim is a Fellow of the Redwood Writing Project of Humboldt State University and a founding member of the Lost Coast Writers’ Retreat, a week-long gathering on the Mattole River on the remote Northcoast of California. For the last fourteen years he has described this time in a close knit writers’ community as his best week of every year. He believes that writing stories is the best way he can get his hands around experience. He believes that the world would be a better place if everyone wrote stories because they all have them, and they are all worth passing on.

You can talk with Jim about writing stories on his blog: “Follow Your Nose Fiction, A Blog About Writing By A Guy Who Writes.”

Fired: My Inner Critic

Most of us have heard the voice in our head.

Not the one that tells us how successful we will be, or how beautiful our creations are, but the other one.

The one that tells us, “Don’t bother painting, nobody will see” or “nobody likes what you write”, or “that blog is much better than yours”. Some days it is easy to ignore it, or turn it down so it becomes like static whispering.
On other days, for me, on the days, I am about to put a deep amount of passion into my project, the voice gets louder and louder. It is more persistent. There is no “shushing” it. If I let it, that voice will keep me from creating.
That’s when I decided to FIRE THE VOICE! (for me, it is an old bald man, wearing a sweater vest and glasses)
Here is the dismissal poem I gave to my inner critic:

Firing My Inner Critic

“I’m letting you go.
I’m saying good-bye to your harsh tones and your sandpaper words
that scrape away
the soft parts of my heart.
I’m turning away,
Leaving you standing with your arms crossed and
frown lines on your face
and tapping your foot.
Its not working for me
to have you shred my skin away and
expose the broken bones beneath
while
you hide under the bed
inside your glass house.
I’m letting you go.
I’m saying good-bye
before I pick up stones and
you and I are the same.”

He packed up his briefcase, rather reluctantly, walked out the door.
He does pop in from time to time, unwelcome and uninvited, and I send him back on his way.
Somedays, though, I beckon him. I ask him to come sit with me while I edit. He guides me then, ever so kindly. The inner critic can do things that I cannot do. He tosses out my precious lines when they aren’t quite right; he moves paragraphs, and kills of characters for the sake of the story. These are his strengths.
He has been fired from permanent employment. Now, he is just a brief consultant.

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