how-to

Good News During My Most Difficult Year

Lynette M Burrows

This year has been beyond difficult. But once in a while something wonderful comes along. I am supremely happy to share that a dear friend recommended me to the Writers in the Storm (WITS) team. And they invited me to join them! So there is good news during my most difficult year. It is my honor and pleasure to let you know that my first WITS blog post is on that site today! I’ve shared a portion of it here, but if you’re interested in learning more, please go to the Writers in the Storm blog (link at the end of the excerpt). If you’re unfamiliar with the WITS blog, it is a blog created in 2010 by a group of seasoned writers. Its focus is on writing craft and inspiration. And has been in the Writer’s Digest list of top 101 blogs for writers many times. Want to know more? Visit their about page. Turn Your Weaknesses Into Strengths There are writers whose characters jump off the page to live in your head. Lyrical writers can make music on the page that goes straight to your heart. And writers of intricate plots with twists and turns that thrill and […]

Undo the Brainwashing: Be Creative

Lynette M Burrows

Do you confuse being creative with being original? You might confuse being original with being unique. And do you think there’s no way you can be creative because your life is so ordinary? Society has brainwashed you. Undo the brainwashing: Be creative. Definitions According to Merriam-Webster creative means one is marked by the ability or power to create : given to creating, having the quality of something created rather than imitated. Original means the source or cause from which something arises; that from which a copy, reproduction, or translation is made; a work composed firsthand; a person of fresh initiative or inventive capacity; or a unique or eccentric person. It’s easy to see why original and creative get confused. If one is the source or cause from which something arises that thing is an original created by someone who is creative.  A creative person can create something original (never having been in existence before). But a creative person can also “create” a variation on something in existence. “To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.”  — Kurt Vonnegut Contemplate Sometimes creativity needs rest, solitude, and meditation. Give your creativity time.   If you have […]

3 Ways You Can Be More Creative

Lynette M Burrows

You still think you aren’t creative or you aren’t creative enough? Even after you read “You Don’t Have to be an Artist?” Hint: everyone is creative. But, you may be out of practice. Creativity needs to be practiced, repeated, made a habit. Here are 3 ways you can be more creative. Change Your Approach You feel stymied. Blunted. Perhaps you feel you’ve used up all your creativity. If your creative self has spent time in a deep, dark hole you need to change your approach. Don’t expect it to spring out of the hole and work on demand. Think about it. Would you expect a mistreated dog or cat to let you waltz up to it and pet it without getting scratched or bit? Of course, you wouldn’t. You’d try coaxing the animal out. You’d re-establish trust and show it that you would be gentle. Treat your creative self gently. Don’t allow negative self-talk. At least recognize and stop the negative self-talk. Creativity seems to make us all nervous. Watch this TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert about the fear we have around creativity. Look for the ways you are creative and give yourself a pep talk. You fixed that thing-a-bob […]