Barcode Boulevard: Photo & Story

He feared the asking, she the telling. No rider in memory had ever dared the boulevard on this the night of the low moon. At least no rider had ever returned to tell the tale. Would they be the first? Legend be damned, they were the best. Still, they rode — hard and fast. Neither [...]

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When Writing Is Like Good Sex…

When your inner critic nags you to get busy writing too early it ruins the experience. It’s premature — like thinking of sexual foreplay as procrastination.
Jumping in the sack with your text editor too soon ignores your need for rumination and inspiration. Just as the anticipation of foreplay enriches sex, ruminating, playing and [...]

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Natural Writing: Leave The Garden Gate Open

Puppies, children and dragons don’t need permission to romp and play, only the freedom to be themselves. Natural writing is like the sound of little girls giggling in their pillow and blanket house.
Natural writing is a warm bakery filled with tantalizing aromas, baking bread, chocolate cakes and plates piled high with cookies. Natural writing is [...]

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How Make-believe And Play Enhance Writing

Make-believe is “Imaginative intellectual play” (WordNet database — Princeton University). Invite your dragon to play, to help rediscover your childhood imagination, and watch your writing come alive.

Take a peek into Emily’s imaginative world. She was a real princess that day. Emily and her friends weren’t simply pretending, they were princesses. Logical? Not for these six [...]

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When Pro Writers are Blocked, What Do They Do?

They sit down to write, but they might open a can of cat food first. Complaining about writer’s block is like looking at the cat food dish and complaining that it’s empty. Of course it’s empty — you have to fill it. When you have deadlines and commitments, not writing isn’t an option. You don’t [...]

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Don’t Write: Free Your Imagination Instead

Let’s play a game and change the name. Instead of saying I’m going to sit down to write, say I’m going to sit here for awhile and let my imagination run. I’m going to daydream or muse or whatever you want to call it. While I’m sitting here, I might pick up a pen or [...]

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Musings: On The Tao of Writing

Writing is difficult? Writing is easy? Yes it is.
“Easy gives rise to difficult … resonance harmonizes sound, after follows before.” — Lau Tzu
When the vessel is empty, fill it to overflowing. When the vessel is overflowing, distill the essence. — McD
Western thought is either/or, an artificial duality that, when focused on one aspect of some [...]

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Creativity & The Zen of Good Enough

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The squirrel is alert, frozen and waiting. He (or she) is single minded and focused on the moment. Is this Zen? Maybe, but I came across this photo while browsing my collection and decided to “sneak” it in because I like it.
So what is the Zen of good [...]

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Relax and Ruminate: Your Dragon Will Thank You

Sometimes doing nothing is the best way to boost your productivity. Ruminating isn’t the same as procrastinating. When you ruminate, you relax and allow the moment to carry you. Call it daydreaming, ruminating, musing… the words don’t matter. You’re not denying reality, you’re giving in to genuine reality and opening the lines of communication with [...]

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Poke Yourself When Your Dragon’s Draggin’

Trying to get the words out by brute force is like pounding on a bottle of cold ketchup. It never works. Warm up with some fun and the words will pour out faster than you can type. Follow Julia’s example and be silly. Bet you can’t look at this picture without smiling. Go ahead, poke [...]

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