Recent Articles
On being a starving artist
I don’t remember where it happened, exactly. It was years ago, but it chased me for too, too long. Someone, somewhere, told me that to be an artist, to chase the writing dream that flapped in my heart, I would end up poor and penniless. It’s not unusual to meet the...
On the ideal circumstances in the life of a creative
Lack of sleep is not my friend. Not even close. There is a new baby in our home who needs feeding about every three hours, and that has meant lost sleep and lost time and lost clarity of mind. Just the other day I caught myself writing words in my morning pages and...
On rest in the life of a creative
I just had a baby. The birth of our newest boy, Asher Ruben, coincided with the rest week I carved out for my creative world back at the beginning of the year, so for the week he was born, I stared into the eyes of a newborn instead of the lines of a to-do list. It...
Constraints in creativity–are they a good thing?
Several years ago I began a project with a photographer friend who every week sent me a picture, and I would write exactly 40 words about it—some condensed make-believe situation that I could “see” in the picture. I pinned a 15-minute time constraint on the creative...
Routine equals productivity in the creative life
I’ve written before about the importance of creating a box for ourselves. Creatives need the box, because they need routine, a rhythm that invites creativity in, every single day. So every morning I wake up at the same time, and I engage in the same rhythm. 1. Write...
What making-money pressure does to creativity
The husband and I recently had a discussion that bordered an argument about money and time and taking care of our family. I have known for a while about my job ending, but I’ve been dragging my heels in looking for something to replace my income, not just because I am...
Setting goals in our creative pursuits is highly valuable
It’s become a tradition every year for me to spend the week before the old year is finished and the week after the new year has come working out goals and projects I plan to pursue in the 365 days of possibility before me. Goal setting helps me focus better on what it...
Write a GREAT Book Even When Your Time is Limited
