On Leap Year Day, surely there’s no excuse for not making that writing leap?

Posted on 29/02/2012 by inktuition

Leap Year Day feels special. Obviously, because it comes around once every four years. But less obviously, because I’ve decided to make THAT leap with my writing and do something brave.

Will making that leap leave me gasping for air – or feeling exhilarated? (pic credit: istockphoto.com/mikdam)

I guess what’s brave for one could be rather safe and ordinary for another. But I was inspired and encouraged by the comments my post ‘why can’t I come out of my writing shell?‘ prompted – especially from the wonderful Fiercely Yours – that I am going to take the plunge and leave my nagging inner critic trailing in the wake of my new-found, authentically driven creativity.

Instead of strangling every thought, every Continue reading →

Why can’t I come out of my writing shell?

Posted on 28/02/2012 by inktuition

How can I crack open my shell to reveal the pearls within? (pic credit: istockphoto.com/Kasiam)

Ask any writer – a real writer – why he or she writes, and they’ll reply that they’re born to do it. It’s their destiny, and it’s a dream that they’re not prepared to let go.

I’m one of them, but I’ll only admit to that in writerly circles. While I make a living from writing – from journalism, commercial writing and copywriting – I’m kind of shy about the fact that I harbour ambitions to be an author. Of a novel. Preferably in print, displayed prominently in the front window of Continue reading →

Creative writing to help soldiers deal with trauma

Posted on 23/12/2011 by inktuition

Soldiers suffering severe physical and psychological after-effects of war are to benefit from expressive writing workshops to help process and transcend their trauma.

The use of creative writing as therapy will be core to the Operation Homecoming programme to help heal service members at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland who have been affected by traumatic brain injuries and psychological health conditions. Continue reading →

catch your creativity by letting it go

Posted on 12/08/2011 by inktuition

I’ve often wondered how people can do ‘structured’ creative thinking and come up with ideas on demand, because I find that my inspiration comes when I least expect it and when I’m nowhere near a pen to write things down – like when I’m driving, washing my hair, or brushing my teeth.

If someone demanded a brilliant idea from me at knifepoint I doubt I’d be able to deliver, because creative thought somehow deserts me when I’m under pressure.

Yet this is the way the creative brain is meant to work, according to an article New Insights on the Creative Brain in Psychology Today.

The secret to creativity is not thinking and thinking and forcing a thought to emerge, but to Continue reading →

is a ‘drunk diary’ a creative way of silencing the inner critic?

Posted on 09/08/2011 by inktuition

Can booze let loose the juices of creativity?

I admit my first reaction to hearing about singer-of-the-moment Adele writing her soaraway successful album 21 while under the influence of booze was one of disbelief: firstly, that someone so talented needs to drink (the shadow of Amy Winehouse loomed large in my mind), and secondly, that she could so coolly and publicly admit to it.

Except when I read beyond The Sun headline of ‘Booze helps Adele write songs‘, I realised there was more to it than just downing a bottle of wine and churning out indulgently booze-fuelled lyrics.

What it turns out the singer had done was bypass her inner critic – with all its angst and murderous intentions towards a newly born idea, thought or tune – with the anaesthetising effects of alcohol. Without that switch into another part of herself, the bitter-sweet unexpectedness of her number-one songs may never have Continue reading →

Holidays boost creativity, says psychologist

Posted on 04/08/2011 by inktuition

As I sail to the end of my holiday, and reflect on just how productive I’ve been with my writing, thinking, creating and planning, I discover that holidays are brilliant for boosting creativity.

Writing in the August 2011 issue of The Psychologist, Christian Jarrett’s article Wish you were here? examines the psychology of holidays. He says that creativity can emerge when ‘unshackled from the constraints of work and stress’ – in spite of all the frustration that can occur when getting ready to go on holiday.

The only challenge is that this boost to creativity is only temporary, and the effect quickly fades once we return home and are swept back into the quotidian demands on our time in what’s called the ‘fade-out’ effect. Thankfully, however, scientists are working on how to extend that post-holiday glow.

I fully intend to extend mine once I get back home.

soul symbolism: horses in dreams

Posted on 02/08/2011 by inktuition

I’m in the relaxed, peaceful surroundings of the Norfolk Broads, on a comfortable enough boat, enjoying calming scenery and invigorating fresh air, and taking advantage of precious early nights.

Except something happens to my inner world when all is calm outside: my creative imagination takes over in my dreams – and not just its benign aspects, either. In fact, I’ve noticed that when all my physical, mental and emotional needs are taken care of during the day, and I’ve got nothing to worry about at all, then all my fears creep out while I’m asleep.

The dream I had last night let all my anxieties out of their trap, and Continue reading →

a counter-intuitive cure for writer’s block

Posted on 26/03/2011 by inktuition

Is inspiration all a writer needs...?

Writer’s block is never something that has plagued me. I make a living as a writer and editor, and a deadline makes writers’s block a bit of a joke; there’s no time for such narcissistic indulgences.

Which is why I was intrigued by a story in The New Yorker, brought to my attention by the wonderful The Daily Post, about how a psychotherapist cured a screenwriter from writer’s block. The method, as I understand it, involved Continue reading →

True creativity means focusing on your target audience (what writers have known for years…)

Posted on 20/03/2011 by inktuition

New research has proven what writers have known for years: devising ideas to entertain and delight your audience is what stimulates one’s creativity. Don’t just focus on what’s interesting to you personally, as that might just fail to engage the interest of people who might want to buy and read what you’ve written.

Apparently, bearing in mind how someone will benefit from your idea can help you Continue reading →

giving myself permission to be imperfect improves my creative writing

Posted on 13/03/2011 by inktuition

I attended a creative writing class recently, facilitated as part of a community project – the idea being that people could come along and have fun writing stories and poems. In other words, this process helped give people the ability to articulate what could otherwise not be said, and the opportunity to express in an oblique way what was going on for them. What emerged was some powerful writing with strong symbolic resonance.

Since studying for an MA in creative writing, I’ve approached my prose as something that has to be ‘perfect’: I carefully craft each word as if each one might be judged and found wanting. What was so liberating about this creative writing class was that Continue reading →

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