Creativity Tips newsletter

The Newsletter of Lifespace Coaching ™
Volume 1, No. 1, March 19, 2004

Published every other Friday. To manage your subscription, see the end of this message.

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
>>Article: Finding the Time to Create:
A Four-Step Approach
>>What Do You Want to Read About?
>>Attend a Creativity Circle
>>SiteSeeing: Two Sparkling Literary Magazines
>>The Writing Prompt
>>Quotable Quote
>>Off the Bookshelf: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
>>Copyright and Subscribe/Unsubscribe

>> Article: Finding the Time to Create: A Four-Step Approach

What would it be like if you cleared your calendar for creative time? Do you find yourself procrastinating when you want to be creating?

My clients often ask me how to find time to do the creative work they love when they struggle with time spent on errands, work, etc.

Oftentimes, we struggle with a long to-do list and a feeling that we'll never accomplish everything. Who says you must complete the list today? What would happen if you chose two items to accomplish and then did your creative work? What would happen if you took a "day off" from your to-do list and engaged in your creative work right away?

Sometimes our mind tempts us away from our creative work, and sometimes the refrigerator tempts us! Here are some questions to ask yourself and to keep you on your creative track:

1. What do you need to do in order to put creativity first?

2. What does it cost you not to put creativity first?

3. What possibilities for action are open to you now?

4. What kinds of requests to your loved ones would help support your desire to create?

Write me deborah@lifespacecoach.com and let me know how these questions helped you. I'll include your stories in a future issue of Creativity Tips.

>>Attend a Creativity Circle

Join fellow artists/creators for a free interactive monthly forum focused on what it means to create. This group will delve into all aspects of the creative process from inception and intention of your work to creative ways to authentically market your product. Our intention for the group is to engage in an open-ended conversation about creativity. Together, we'll explore possibilities for allowing our creative spirit to thrive. See a sample topics list below:

What does it mean to learn?
Where does your soul live in your work?
Can you imagine a life beyond the one you're currently living?
How big is that life and how can we move towards it?
How can we answer our creative call AND make a living?
How can we use art in socially responsible ways?
How do the moods that we live with, work with, love with influence the work we create?
If learning is not only mental and emotional, but also physical, how can we use our bodies as conduits for learning and inspiration?

Using music, poetry, dance, visual art, coaching, we will engage in an exploration around creativity, building upon our individual dreams and goals from the power of the collective.

Space is limited to 15 participants each month. Please either email info@lifespacecoach.com or call (301.559.2296) to RSVP.

"Each day has a moment of eternity waiting for you." William Blake

>>SiteSeeing: Two Sparkling Literary Magazines

Blackbird: A beautifully designed online journal. The bios are just as interesting as the writing.

One Story: This little journal publishes--you guessed it!-- one story in every issue. Visit http://www.one-story.com. I'm a big fan of this magazine and save every issue. Due to its lightweight format, you can tuck this mag away in your bag for reading in waiting rooms or trains.

>>The Writing Prompt

Challenge yourself creatively. Even if you don't consider yourself a writer, you might surprise yourself with this fun experiment!

Write the names of ten different animals. Select one at random and read what animal you've chosen. Now imagine you have the consciousness of that animal. What do you have to say? What concerns you? How do you see the world? Freewrite for ten minutes.

I gave this prompt to a creative writing workshop and the resulting work amazed me.

>>Quotable Quote

"Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?...Your playing small does not serve the world." -- Marianne Williamson

>>Off the Bookshelf: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

I was up into the wee hours reading this book. The author immediately lets you know that people survive the hostage situation that happens within the first few pages. That tactic allowed me to focus on the friendships and bonds forming between the hostages and between hostages and terrorists. These "terrorists" don't seem inhuman; one has shingles, one is missing fingers, and several are young enough to be children of the hostages. All of those details humanize them for the reader. How easy it would have been for Patchett to create a bloody scene, yet she amazes with her ability to keep a seemingly static situation full of action. The dreamy tone of her writing lulls the reader into the peaceful life that forms for the people in captivity until the jarring, and still surprising, conclusion.

>>Copyright and Subscribe/Unsubscribe

>>Please forward Creativity Tips to your friends. If you do so, please include the entire newsletter along with copyright information.

>>Copyright (c) Lifespace Coaching ™ 2004. All rights reserved.

>>To manage your subscription, visit http://www.lifespacecoach.com.

Contact:
Lifespace Coaching
Deborah Ager
P.O. Box 5824
Hyattsville, MD 20782
301-559-2296
http://www.lifespacecoach.com