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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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TGIFF – Thank God It’s Friday Flow

Cliché Finds Flow on Friday

Grow flow on Friday with gratitude.

Congratulations, you’ve made it to Friday. And, at the workweek’s end, there is time to find flow. But, where do you go to find flow? First, realize that flow can happen anywhere at anytime. Need proof? Look at this past post on finding flow in a card and party goods store. Simply click right here: https://wewriteitright.com/visit-flow-in-a-party-goods-shop/

How Gratitude Leads the Way

Use grateful eyes to take in the world around you. Then, instead of planning to hit the bars and clubs when the clock strikes 5:00 PM, other options present themselves during these times of pandemic. Why not take a virtual tour a museum? Or, take a walk or bike ride through a park? Or, spend an hour working on a poem, and essay, or a blog post. When you are grateful for the options you have – even if you are working from home amid shutdowns – then that is enough.

Your Turn

Playtime creates greater flow.
Spirographs, Etch-a-Sketch, and Slinkys are just a few ways to re-enter flow through playtime. What was your favorite activity as a child? When was the last time you tried it as an adult?

Think back to grade school, junior high, or middle school. Think about the electives that you took that helped round out your schedule. Did you take dance or music classes? Weight training? Or, perhaps, like me, you did candle making. Whatever it might be, try to reunite your lost teen with your adult self. Take time to write, dance, sing, paint, or play with your Spirograph!  You’ll be glad you did!

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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Pool Play Splashes into Flow

Find Flow While Swimming in Pool

Pool play adds to flow.
Take time to play in the pool to splash into creative flow.

Playing in a backyard or public swimming pool creates flow. There are many ways that taking a dip can increase creativity. First, water is refreshing. The tank’s temperature stimulates the senses. Secondly, jumping in the water engages the brain in spontaneous play. It clears the brain’s cobwebs when writing all day. Finally, moving the body releases fear, tension, and anxiety that builds during a work day.

The Games People Play

Remember childhood pool games? Two favorites are Marco Polo and Dive for Coins (or weighted rods). Perhaps seeing who could hold their breath the longest found its way into your swim memories, too? Writers need bodily experiences to create literary bodies such as plays, short stories, and poems. Even yelling Cowabunga! during a cannonball is enough to enter flow. Looking for some ideas to get the party going? Check out blogger Laurie Turk’s post on 20 Fun Swimming Pool Games here: https://tipjunkie.com/fun-swimming-pool-games-for-kids/

Play incxreases flow.
Get into flow with a coin toss or round of Marco Polo!

Your Turn

Enjoy an swim. Find a  a public pool such as the YMCA or YWCA. Or, jump in a private pool. Play in whatever way feels authentic to you. When you get done, take out your journal and record the experience. Hopefully, it goes swimmingly!

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

 

 

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Squeeze Juicy Ideas to Create Greater Flow

Creative Compression Creates Juicy Flow

Squueeze joy out of life to create more flow.
Squeeze creative flow out of everyday actions to enjoy more productivity.

Getting juicy ideas for creative projects is easy during citrus season. Yesterday, my husband and I took our visiting relatives to Davidson’s Jelly and Jam Factory in Dundee, Florida. While the workers were on display making and packaging the delectable offerings, there were also a direct ship section. There customers can either send or grab-and-go whatever fruit is currently in season. The honeybells, named for both their sweet taste and their globed shape, were piled in displays for purchase.. We got a quarter-bushel to enjoy. And to send to loved ones up North. Interested in learning more about Davidson’s? Look here: https://www.davidsonofdundee.com/

Where to Find Inspiration’s Fruit

Inspiration is everywhere to compress into art. Look at produce, such as the crate of honeybells in the photo above. What ideas do they bring up? How can ideas be extracted – or inspiration squeezed – to help creativity? Perhaps sketch produce or write a haiku about the citrus bin. Also, I looked at the names of the jams, jellies, and candies. The term delicacies really says so much about the ways common candy can convey richness in life. Think about the way these products are made. The fruit juice and sometimes rind are slowly cooked down until it creates a given product. Creatives, too, write, then edit, and rewrite, until their product has jelled into a poem or flash fiction piece. Anything that tugs an emotional response is ripe for the picking to use for creative flow.

Your Turn

Every region is known for some kind of product or service. Take yourself on an excursion near home – Julia Cameron coined these Artist’s Dates. Notice a bagel bakery or a chocolate factory. Enter and take in the aroma, which may lead to some childhood memories. Jot them down quickly in a journal. Play with the words and phrases that bubble up. Then try to use them in a short form like a haiku or sonnet. Or, perhaps they might find their way into a chapter of a novel you are writing. Finally, treat yourself to a bagel, piece of chocolate, or other confection as part of your creative exploration. Eat it slowly to bring out the greatest satisfaction in the event.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa