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Stop, Yield, Go to Flow

Flow Found in Stop, Yield, Go

Stop to prep before writing.
Getting prepped to write gives yoiu the chance to see the big picture of a project and to get it right before you write.

The stop, yield, go signal helps vehicles negotiate highways and creatives handle flow. How? As the saying goes, it’s all about timing. Creatives can take a tip from everyday street light fixtures to time their energy and materials organization. This act alone maximizes the potential for ongoing fluid writing experiences. Ever wonder about the tri-colored traffic light’s history? Why were all three needed anyway? See more here to find out: https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/artifacts/three-signal-traffic-light

Stop in the Name of Love

Just as Diana Ross and the Supremes crooned, sometime creatives need to stop in the name of (self-) love for best results. Valid reasons to stop writing include:

  • lacking the data needed to write a report – like statistics
  • finding a person to help fact-check public opinions and their root sources
  • trying to rush putting materials together with an artificial deadline
  • needing interviews to flesh out an article
  • seeking additional physical experiences prior to creating a plot, character, or setting

Furthermore, it is smart to hold off writing when exhausted. Do some mundane office tasks. Take a nap. Or break a lull with these tips posted earlier: https://wewriteitright.com/playtime-helps-adults-enter-flow/

 When to Yield to Flow

Pre-writing helps build flow.
Holy Batman, Robin! Take time to pre-write to get into flow.

So, rested creatives work better. Makes sense. And, preparing facts, figures, and additional media supports creativity, too. However, what if there is a nagging feeling that something else is missing. Here is when warm ups work wonders!

Take time for pre-writing exercises helps to avoid jitters that lead to creative block. Set a timer for 15 minutes. Then, go! If you need a prompt to start, try:

  • what I mean to say is…
  • the resources I still need to create this piece include…
  • the person(s) I can ask for help is (are)…
  • one day I will look back on this and say…
  • the thing that is holding me back is…
  • one more thing…

When It’s Time to Go

Green means go to flow!
When you get the proverbial green light, then go to flow!

The materials are collected. Check. And, the research is complete. Yes? All the nervous angst got thrown down into a spiral notepad. Finally, it’s time to create. If the product is formal, go with an outline, notecards, and other graphic organizers. It ensures accuracy. With a piece that is creative, simply work with circled words or phrases from the quick write during warm ups. The flow will show, because it is time to go.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

 

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KISS Your Way to Flow

KISS Literary Worries Goodbye

KISS is keep it simple silly.
Keep it simple silly. Get in and get out. Get that job done!

Keep it simple silly to KISS your way to flow. Make sense, yes? First, employ active voice rather than passive. Limiting prepositional phrases tightens text. Next, keep the writing brief. It will be remembered, because it is refreshingly on task. Finally, take time to polish your writing. Whether it is a blog post or a status report. Leave time for it to set, then check it before you hit the send or publish keys.

Active, Brief, and Polished

Using the active voice is smart. It gets the job done. Ambiguity shows up less so readers stay focused. Also, the use of active voice will score higher SEO ratings than passive voice does.

Be brief. Keeping things short helps busy employees or clients read an email or letter to the end. We’ve covered brevity in this blog. See more here: How Many Words Do I Need?

Polishing prose is important. Make sure you look for commonly confused words, such as their, there, and they’re. Correct any confusing wording before sending the work out. It separates you from those who do not take their writing seriously. Here are some easy ways to proofread: https://wewriteitright.com/the-3-best-ways-to-proofread-a-document/

Your Turn

Take any writing you do and KiSS it. Review it for active voice and brevity. Then, polish that baby up. You will feel great sending out your work, because you’ve added value to it. And, your readers will feel that compassion and will enjoy reading it to the end.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

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Mermaid Inspired Self-Care Routine Creates Flow

Balance leads to flow.
Move into flow as a mermaid through balance

Mermaid Swims Towards Flow

To increase creative flow, make like a mermaid. Remember Ariel, the beloved Disney princess? Her father, King Neptune ruled the under water world in the animated feature, The Little Mermaid. Creatives can take several cues from Ariel and her sister mermaids to swim towards flow. First, they can sing for pleasure. Any song that feels good fills the bill. Second, these creatures of sea folklore provide random acts to protect and guide sailors. Finally, they rest in the sun on rocks to restore themselves. We, too, could employ these tools to feel more creative.

Sing a Song for Pleasure

I honestly think my mother is part mermaid, because she loves to sing Patti Page’s Mockingbird Hill. As long as she’s surveying her kingdom from her windowsill – whether folding clothes or making dinner – things are swell. Everyone knows that as long as she is singing that all is well in her world. Not familiar with the 1951 classic? Check out the video with lyrics here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7zrMzVNYwo

Provide Secret Kind Acts

Ariel saved Prince Eric from drowning after his shipwreck. We, too, can offer to assist others who may need some guidance to get their business sea legs. Help entrepreneurs engage more clients through referrals. Make donations to scholarships for college students. There are always ways for even the busiest creatives to lend a hand.

Find a Rock and Rest

Sunning yourself at a sunny office corner or on a patio is restorative. Find ways even in traffic to be grateful for the pleasantness that nature brings.

Your Turn

Take a trip to the children’s library. Look through stacks to find The Little Mermaid. Check out the book or video and spend time enjoying the images it stirs.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

 

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Art Stroll Refreshens Flow

Find Flow with an Art Walk

Art finds flow.
Sign of the times. We can see ourselves reflected in the world we choose to live in and find flow.

Sometimes flow is found when we view art as symbols. This notion is worth considering for a few reasons. First, art helps to open up our minds to our desires. Next, art helps us to see others who are not so different from us. Finally, art let’s our imagination take flight. We can get all of this – and more – on an art stroll. Take it at noon, or even as an afternoon alternative to a long coffee break. It can invigorate our creative flow by refreshing our senses.

Consider the Possibilities

Woman drawn on building is graced with ivy creating her hair.

When we look to see beyond our own noses, there may be artistic representations of people who remind us of ourselves. Then, the magic such as a mural carries us to flow through the plants that grow around it. They become part of the art. Such symbols bring us creative flow through the openness of the image. For example, this mural of a woman whose hair is composed of ivy.

Sometimes we need to simply imagine all of the good flow around us for it to appear.

 

Then, we may pass by another mural of John Lennon. The title of his song Imagine is painted along side of his ghostly half-face. There are times when we all feel like we are in two places at the same time. And, too, we can all imagine what is not draw on stone.

We can imagine peace and love.

And, as the song goes, it’s easy if you try.

Your Turn

Take an art walk and soak up the images you view. Then, get out your journal and write for 15 minutes about any topic that comes up in your mind. Note the time and date that you start and stop the entry. Then, go back to it later and see if a poem, essay, or piece of flash fiction arises from the experience.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

 

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Early Morning Walk Boosts Flow

Early morning walks increase flow.
Here comes the sun. Take a walk with that Beatle tune to grow flow at dawn.

Encounter Flow with Walk at Dawn

Taking a morning walk is part of my daily self-care routine. Wailing helps me to focus. First, it improves my attention on my surroundings. Then, the joy I find spills over into what I am trying to achieve with business, which includes much writing. Finally, it helps me process my life in general. Moreover, I look to experts on creativity for a continual source of inspiration. Let’s take a look at two of them below.

How Experts Walk Towards Creativity

Creativity expert, Julia Cameron’s diamond-like fire is found in her creativity. Her brilliance flares in her work. She is a playwright, poet, movie critic, composer, and fiction writer. Furthermore, she a forerunner in creative awakening. One of the tools of The Artist Way, a self-paced or group 12-week course created by Cameron, is a daily morning walk. Cameron believes that walking is half of a communication set. First, she advises her readers and students to write three stream-of-conscious pages by hand. She coined the practice, Morning Pages.  Then, she says to take the walk. Here’s why: The first asks questions or renders prayers to God. Then, the other allows us to receive directions and flashes of insight, she explains in The Artist Way. Cameron appeared yesterday in The New York Times. There she discussed her take on living a creative life. See the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/02/style/julia-cameron-the-artists-way.html

Another expert on creativity is my friend, Kelly Dumar. She, like Cameron, is a multi-facet jewel of a literary artist. She’s a playwright, fiction writer, author, poet, lecturer, and creative workshop leader. And, a fine and caring friend. She frequently encourages me and many others to write daily. In her daily blog, #NewThisDay Writing from my Photo Stream Daily Blog, Kelly gives her readers ponderings of family life, travel, and work through the prism of her nature photography. These photos are shot during her morning walks – often with her faithful dogs, Charlie and Suzi. She leads a full and busy schedule, which is anchored in her ritual of early morning walks. To see more of her intriguing work and learn about her workshop schedule, look here: http://www.kellydumar.com/blog

Your Turn

Make a commitment to walk this week. Whether it is first thing in the morning, as recommended above, or at different times of the day. Try a variety of routes. If you need inspiration to get started, see this week’s blog posts for cityscapes, beach strolls, and walks in the woods. You never know what you might find when you actively seek creative flow.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa