Creativity Tips: Stay in Touch

In a world filled with change, it's really important to stay in touch with your creative team. Even if it requires a bit of effort.

What brought this to mind? Mike Brown. Since we're not working together daily, we don't team up as much as we used to. This is unfortunate, because Mike inspires me to get off my tush.

At lunch recently, he told me I need a new phone for BlogHer. For some reason, he thinks a speaker at a social media conference should be able to access social media. From her phone. Hmmm. Probably not a bad concept.

So, my phone expert hubby is now researching and I will soon trade the reliable old phone for something that has email and Internet capabilities. By the time I hit BlogHer in August, maybe I'll even be comfortable with it.

Mike expects live Tweeting. I'm not sure he's that inspirational. Ya'll know how I feel about Twitter ...

You know you're a writer if ...

1. You hear an NPR reporter say, "brickmaking in Pakistan," and you think: Wow! That would be a great title for a book. "Brickmaking in Pakistan."
   


2. You notice grammatical errors on billboards.
   


3. You want to fix grammatical errors on billboards with red spray paint.
   


4. You hear the woman in front of you at Starbucks say, "no love lost," and you think: Wow! That would be a great title for a poem. "No Love Lost."
   


5. You think in copy. (If I need to explain this, subtract two from your final score.)
   


6. You think of Thomas Wolfe when someone says, "You can't go home again."
   


7. You understand literary references even when the people who make them don't.
   


8. You hear a child at a funeral say, "I have tears in my heart, but I just can't get them to my eyes," and you write that down immediately, because it's perfect.
   


9. You can write it down immediately, because you always carry a notebook and pen.
   


10. The notebook you always carry is a Moleskine. (You get two extra points for this. And you get three extra points if you notice that I just messed up the parallel structure of my numbering by not starting this with You ... )
    
    There is no special reason for this post. It just wrote itself in my head during a long drive in the rain last week. I think in copy. I think in headlines and paragraphs. I think in book titles.
    
    I think I'm not alone.

Happy Monday!

You all totally rock. The names and stories on Friday's Name the Monkey post made me happy, happy, happy.

So, you get a reward: a gold star and a giggle -- now there's a great start to the week! With all respect to George Carlin, please direct your attention to The Seven Words You Can't Say to a Sock Monkey. (And the voice reminds me of Richard Pryor ... who used to make me laugh until I cried.)

P.S. Thanks to the hubby for finding the link!

Friday Fun: Name the Monkey

This sock monkey cracks me up*. Lynn, my bestfriendinthewholeworldsincefourthgrade, uses it as her profile pic on Facebook. Yet another reason why I love her.

If you're looking for a creativity exercise today, name the monkey. I have a few names in mind, but I don't want to post them until I see what you have to say.

If you're not looking for a creativity exercise, just laugh at the monkey. And, speaking of laughter, it's time to keep Amber amused! Vicki sent this link and she recommends the Grow games.

Here's to a great weekend, filled with laughter!

*If this photo doesn't make you smile, you are working waaaaaaaaay too hard. You need the weekend. Take it.

Creative Inspiration: Dorothy Parker

One of the first poets I loved was Dorothy Parker. I even did a research paper on her in high school. While I have moved past my Rod McKuen period, I still love Dorothy Parker. I can quote her poems from memory ... including:

Indian Summer
In youth, it was a way I had
To do my best to please,
And change, with every passing lad,
To suit his theories.

But now I know the things I know,
And do the things I do;
And if you do not like me so,
To hell, my love, with you!

-----
I liked that when I was 17. Sorta scary, in retrospect. If you haven't read any of her work, I strongly suggest it. Wonderful poems, great short stories. And her Constant Reader book reviews for the New Yorker are classics.

Creativity Tips: Books Make a Difference

You know one of the best ways to get a creative boost is to read a good book. I'm betting you have a book close at hand right now. That's wonderful! And it's a joy you can help a child experience.

Check out this BlogHer post on Books Make a Difference. Leave a comment, and BlogHer and BookRenter will donate a book to a child in need -- we're talking up to 1,000 books.

1,000 kids. Reading. That's my kind of cause!

(Why have I posted an image of Cherry Ames, Student Nurse? Because the Cherry Ames series helped me realize women could have careers. Seriously. We're talking mid-'60s when I read them. I was eight. And very impressed with Cherry Ames.)

Creativity Tips: Don't Be Responsible

My 16-year-old daughter Mary recently got her first job -- she's a hostess at a local restaurant. Last night, she was scheduled to work from 4:30 - 9:30 p.m. She realized -- a little late in the game -- that if she worked that long, she wouldn't be able to study for finals.

"I'm going to call and tell them I can't come in," she said. "I'm going to tell them if I go to work, I'll fail all my finals."

Now, it was almost 3:30 p.m. when she had this revelation. My gut reaction was, "You're doomed. They'll fire you." But, I didn't say that. I didn't tell her to suck it up and go to work -- or yell at her for not studying more over the weekend. I simply suggested she call the manager and explain that she couldn't make her shift and leave it at that -- no reasons, no excuses. Then I walked away.

You know what happened?

• The manager told her it was fine, as long as she found a replacement.
  
• She made a number of other calls -- and found a replacement.
  
• She came running down the stairs to tell me, big grin on her face. She's 16, folks. Running down the stairs to talk with me is a VERY BIG DEAL. Big grin? Also a VERY BIG DEAL.
  

What does this have to do with you and creativity? Simple. When you're on a creative team, there will be times when the "pups*" have a challenge. Maybe you can solve it. Maybe you can't. Doesn't matter.

Give them advice, if they ask. Then walk away. Let them handle it. We learn by doing. We learn by doing things wrong. We learn by fixing.

And here's the wonderful thing: When you hold someone responsible for their own actions, you give them the opportunity to take pride in the results.

* This is what I call my younger team members. It is not politically correct. But it is always said with love. Of course, they may use a female dog term for me the moment I turn my back ...