Friday, January 26, 2018

#BookReview -- This Is How It Always Is

What's your family's secret?

We all have secrets. Every person, every family. And we protect those secrets -- until, one day, we don't.

In Laurie Frankel's beautifully crafted This Is How It Always Is, the core secret is about a child's gender identity. Frankel is well-versed in the topic. She is raising a transgender child. But, as her experience and this novel reveal, who we are goes far beyond our gender.

This Is How It Always Is takes us inside an enduring love story and an evolving fairy tale. We travel along with Rosie and Penn and their family as they move from one state to another, one country to another, in search of ... well, read it and find out.

As you read, you'll come across phrases that make you say: Yep. I know exactly what she means. For example:
"Rosie's number-one concern was: what would make Claude happy?
Penn's number-one concern was: what would make Claude happy?
But happy is harder than it sounds."

Happy is harder than it sounds. Parenting is harder than it sounds. Love is harder than it sounds. But deciding to read this book? That's easy.

I give it Four Bookmarks. Which is like Four Stars out of a Five Star review, only booky. Five Bookmarks, FYI, has to be up there with Little Women.

(And big thanks to Shanna for giving me the book!)


Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Fabulous Phrases: Walt Whitman


Monday, January 22, 2018

#MondayMotivation -- I'm the Captain Now

Happy Monday! Let's start the week with a quick reminder. No matter what's happening in your life, no matter how you're faring with resolutions, no matter where you work or who you work with or what's on that unending "to do" list --- you are the boss of you.

No one is holding you hostage. Your choices shape your future. You steer the boat.

So say it with me, loud and proud: I'm the captain now!


Friday, January 19, 2018

Friday Fun: What's Wrong with this Picture?


OK, the problem isn't with the picture. It's in the headline. I'll wait while you see it.

La di da di da ...

Ok, good! You and I are as one on this. Chris Evans may be a fine actor, but ... can he really transform into Meryl Streep or Mila Kunis? Sentence structure, peeps. It matters.

Monday, January 15, 2018

Creativity Exercise: I Have a Dream

Do you have a dream? Of course you do. We all do. Now, you might not have shared it with anyone. It's completely possible you haven't even verbalized it clearly to yourself. 

Today, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we're going to change that. Pull out a clean sheet of paper, copy the lines below, and fill in the blanks.

For the world
I have a dream that one day ...

For my country
I have a dream that my ...

For myself
I have a dream that ...

If you want to share your responses, terrific. I'm always delighted to hear from you. But, this is an exercise for you -- an exercise to move you closer to your dreams. Happy Monday!


P.S. Do you know why Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech is a classic? I outlined my theory in this 2013 post. It's a good post. Click and read.*

*I have many faults. False humility has never been one of them.

Friday, January 12, 2018

Friday Fun: Play with Canva

Kate recently introduced me to Canva -- super cool, very fun. (Hmmm. Do the adjectives describe Kate? Or Canva? Poor sentence structure, but the truth either way.)

But I digress. Canva makes creativity easy. I made this postcard in about a minute. For free. Seriously. One minute. No money. Go play!

Perhaps the little mustache is supposed to make you think of Groucho.
Or, perhaps, I was too lazy to search for another little icon. 

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Creativity Exercise: Intentionally Left Blank

When Tom received his new Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance card this year, the mailing piece had room for two cards. Since he only received one, the other card said:

As Tom expected, this makes me insane. Why? First of all, the card is not blank, is it? Printing this copy on the plastic makes it intentionally not blank.

Far more importantly, why would BCBS (and all the other companies that do this) waste such a perfectly wonderful opportunity? That white space -- the blank card, the blank page -- is a ready-made canvas for eye-catching, brand-building copy.

It could be a simple thank you message, or a mini-billboard, or a funny joke, or a brain twister, or a fortune cookie line, or ... you tell me.

No, seriously. You tell me. Let your mind intentionally go blank. Then, fill it with fun creative ideas for this card. Go!




Friday, January 5, 2018

Friday Fun: Ethel Merman

I know, I know, I know. I have aged myself 5,000 years simply by mentioning Ethel Merman.

I don't care. They just don't make 'em like Ethel Merman anymore. I double-dog dare you to watch this clip of her and the Sesame Street gang without grinning.

(Do I sound any younger now that I mentioned Sesame Street? No? Oh well ...)

She always reminds me of my grandmother.
Big personality, wholehearted, big smile.
God rest both their souls. 
If you're not familiar with Ethel Merman, check this out. Fascinating woman. And as you read this quote, keep in mind that she died in 1984:

I believe in asserting myself, but only for things that are important. Anybody who's worth her salt has to fight for her rights once in a while or get shoved around.

Or, as we say these days: #TimesUp

Happy weekend!

Thursday, January 4, 2018

#Creative Critic: New books and California Typewriter

According to Stephen King, "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that."

I'm certainly not going to argue with Stephen King. I am going to find time to read more this year, and I'm off to a good start with this holiday gift collection:


I'm well into This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel and I love it -- I'll post a review when I'm done. I may tackle the Tom Hanks collection next.

Speaking of Tom Hanks, he's adorable. That is not a review. That's a fact. And if you haven't watched him and all the other typewriter fanatics in California Typewriter, you should. Really interesting documentary, with perspectives from Hanks, David McCullough, Sam Shepard, John Mayer and others. Many of their comments re: creativity, tactile feedback, the freedom of the instant, etc., made me sit up straighter and say, "Exactly! I know exactly what he means!"

Hmmmm. He. Were they all guys in this documentary? Now that I think of it, there was one quick female typewriter poet clip ... and then ... hmmm. Yeah. Heavy on the guys. Nevertheless, I think you'd enjoy the documentary.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my book.


Tuesday, January 2, 2018

#Creativity Tips: Focus. But first ...

Is it wrong to talk about focus in a blog post that deals with three completely different topics? Hmmm. Yes. Probably. And yet ...

Let's start with the non-focus topics. First, my friend Deb A. sent a lovely response to the "just say you're welcome when someone says thank you" rant. According to one of her buddies, in South Africa the typical response is my pleasure. Isn't that terrific? It even takes care of that guilt some people feel when they're on the receiving end of a favor. You know who you are.

Next, as of early last night, the blog post on New Year's resolutions had 4022 hits and the number keeps climbing. Not that I'm counting. (Google is counting. I'm kvelling.) That makes it the most immediately popular post in our 10-year history of the Creative Instigation blog. No greater gift for a writer than a reader, so this was a lovely way to wrap up 2017 and welcome 2018! It's also a reminder that you just never know when something wonderful will happen.

The most wonderful part of that is sending repeated readership update texts to Kate and Mary and Tyler, telling them to show me some respect. And, of course, having a valid reason to use the smiley face emoji with the cool sunglasses.

Now, for the focus part of this rambling post. Some of my creative buddies (I'm looking at you, Leslie Adams), choose a word for the year -- something to use as a guidepost. I haven't done it in the past, but this morning, a word came to me: Focus.

One of my challenges is that I have a million interests. Right now, for example, I have dozens of unfinished craft projects I could pick up, I just started relearning calligraphy, I'm in the middle of reading a book, I'm in the middle of writing a book, and I have a new recipe for cinnamon rolls almost ready to pop in the oven. We won't even mention the hidden object computer game I'm playing or the iPad solitaire addiction. We definitely won't mention the housework. Or the work work.

In other words, I'm scattered.

So, this year, I'm going to focus on focus! I may even pay attention to the people around me, rather than my phone. (Stop laughing. It's possible.)

If there's a topic you'd like me to focus on in the blog, just let me know! I always love to hear from you. Here's to a happy day!


P.S. I have not tasted these cinnamon rolls yet, so hang on ... I'll give a thumbs up or down in a later post.

Monday, January 1, 2018

The #Creative Type: New Year, New Ideas


Please let me know if the image is too hard to read ... it may be easier once I get the ribbon flipped over, and type with the black ink. Life. Creativity. Typing. It's all a process.