#relax Archives -

February 3, 2019 By Marisa Moks-Unger

Build a Blanket Fort for Flow

Blanket Creativity with Fort Fun

Sunday Funday fort fun — Try making a blanket fort, then chill in it to revive your creative flow. With acknowledgement to the folks at Thug Kitchen for the inspiration.

When was the last time you built a blanket fort? If you were in grade school, then you are in good company. Most adults do not start to do these playful things again until they have kids of their own. The wheel turns and the fun returns. Keep it simple. Use a few blankets, pillows, and a sofa or a couple chairs to drape them over to secure the structure. Then, decide on what you will do, too. Whether you binge watch a movie series like Harry Potter or set up for the Super Bowl, think of your entertainment. Also, you might even put a board game or a deck of cards in the middle of the tent and go media free for an afternoon. Finally, consider the fun snacks, or even a meal, you’d like to build along with that tent. All of this works out best if it is prepped the day before – or even that morning- so you can just have fun.

Prepping to Kick Back

In the very lively read, Thug Kitchen Party Grub, anonymous authors, M.H. and M.D., give street-smart guidelines for setting the scene: No matter how old you are, sometimes you just need to get in your pjs, and have a (vulgar word) movie marathon. Their suggested menu is vegan with names heavily peppered with swear words that will not be reproduced here. That being said, some of the foodie ideas spun for this jam include Chex-ish mix, a big veggie salad, sloppy joes, and fudge brownies or banana and coconut pops for dessert. If you are a sensitive type, just build the fort and crawl in it. However, if you can handle the R-rated dialogue, then check out more recipes at the Thug Kitchen website at https://www.thugkitchen.com/recipes

Your Turn

There is no journal writing today – unless you really want to do it. Best use your time and creativity to set up a blanket fort, grab your grub, and hang out with your friends. Recharge, relate, and rest. But most of all, have fun.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

January 16, 2019 By Marisa Moks-Unger

Unfold Your Creativity to Grow

Unfold Fear to Open Flow

Anyone can unfold the fears associated with creative work. Writing, painting, and dancing have their associated issues. How many people dread misspelling words? Or, spilling expensive oil paint? Or dropping a partner in a deep turn on the ballroom floor? The fastest way to squash fear is attending lectures, seminars, webinars, and other events. When creatives gather, fears begin to melt. Kindness is contagious and courage grows. Looking for a webinar series that enriches your writing practice.

Women writing is a safe venue relax into their creativity — Writing at conferences, retreats, and workshops unfolds creativity.

See Creases as Experiences

Dwelling on mistakes – or the creases found when unfolding – gets us nowhere fast. Instead, use pitfalls, pratfalls, and painful experiences as raw material. Build from them. Learn why the incident or issue occurred by free-writing in your journal. Then, when clarity begins to unfold, write from the lesson learned. Create poems, prose, paintings, or poses from the event. In doing so, you will be reframing the problem as a challenge. Moreover, sharing the knowledge you learned can help others identify and resolve their own fears.

Your Turn

Take out your journal. Write numbers 1-25 in a long column. As quickly as you can write every fear or problem that you recall. No one else will read this list, so be honest to help unfold and open. Then, reread it. Next to the item, write a resolution or solution that you can employ. The same resolution may be used repeatedly. If any answer involves attending a conference or webinar, check out the offerings of the International Women’s Writing Guild. There is a listing for in-person and online events. See here: https://www.iwwg.org/events/

Here’s to growing your flow in 2019,

Marisa

Scrabble Words for Flow

Create a Word Bank from Scrabble

Word Lists from Scrabble — First play the game, then get writing from your curated word list.

Sunday afternoons find my husband, mother-in-law, and I playing Scrabble. This ritual helps us to pass the time during the pandemic. The games usually run one to two hours. We have taken these games to a new level by anticipating them each week, then carefully crafting our word choices. It helps that all three of us are avid readers and come up with a variety of interesting diction.

Also, the game gets my mother-in-law’s mind off of the local paper’s with its teeming death notices of Covid-19 victims – most from local residential living facilities. And, she is now interested in the fact that I am using these word lists to write from professionally.

Next, free write for a few. Make a list of the words developed during the game. Then use the list as a springboard to write a creative piece using as many of the words as possible. Play with long and short lines. Add some rhymes. Look for alliteration. Give yourself about 10 minutes. See what images appear.

Then, select a genre or two to carry through. As a theme arises from the free write of the word list, follow the lead. Perhaps a poem rises up. Or, a one-act play. Or, both! Choose one genre knowing that you can come back and create more works from any single topic.

Now, it’s your turn! If you have a Scrabble game somewhere hidden in a hall closet, it is time to get it out and try your hand at this writing tactic. It employs procrastination by allowing you to blow off writing at first by playing a game. Then, you are rewarded for the time you invested in the game by writing a piece from the words you and others generated.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

TGIFF – Thank God It’s Friday Flow

Cliché Finds Flow on Friday

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