--===The Artist's Magazine - Creativity Corner===--

_Self-Expression: Protect Your Words From Your Censor_

Honor yourself by exercising honesty and courage in every journal entry.
From the column in Personal Journaling February 2002 by Michele Weldon.
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Writing freely and honoring your self-expression without reservation is nothing

less than revolutionary.
For centuries, advocates have fought in the courts and the streets for the right
of free expression. The bylaws of a free democracy demand an uncensored press
honest, factual account of what happened and not an official, propagandist twist
on history, spun to highlight or distort intentions, events and outcomes.
Yet, when we write in our own journals to express our feelings and recollections,
so many of us censor and inhibit our true thoughts from emerging on paper. The
entries we write are recordings of our own reported history. So why don't we
believe that telling the truth to ourselves in our journals is as critical as a
free press is to a democracy?
Perhaps it is because telling it like it is how we wish it is not so easy. Editing
our words to be more palatable is a much easier route. If the raw truth of what we
write about is less than ideal, we may not want to write it down out of shame or
fear because we would rather deny the specifics than confront them head-on.
If the truth is better than we expected and something worth celebrating, we may
not want to seem braggadocious or haughty if it is in the pages of a private
journal. We resist complimenting ourselves for fear perhaps of sounding too full
of ourselves or anxiety that the blessings will disappear just by acknowledging
them.

_Resist Revision_
So how do we avoid the tendency to rewrite our history in a less than completely
true light? The first step is to believe that what you know to be true is worth
salvaging. You honor yourself by placing your truth on paper. We need to believe
it is better to recapture honestly without revision the events that have shaped us.
You deserve your truth to be reported.
A woman attending one of the Writing To Save Your Life Workshops I offer
nationally told me she painstakingly wrote down her story of a complicated
childhood in a journal, then was afraid of how it sounded if only to herself or
those she allowed to read it. So she destroyed the journal and started over to make
it sound better.
I understand what she did, but I want to urge you not to do the same. Your life is
not a sitcom script that needs to fit the laugh tracks or have a certain pacing to
fit between the commercials. Your life is what it is; your feelings need to be
validated for you in the pages of a journal that is kept private. You own your
history. Do not assassinate your honesty.

_Write Without Fear_

The next step to banishing self-censorship is to simply steel yourself to put your
story on paper without fear of how it is written, how it will be received or who
it will affect. You need to get it out, whether it is quickly in marathon
journaling sessions or slowly one entry at a time.
Either way, getting your story out of your body and onto the paper will begin the
discovery and healing process. I know firsthand about the healing properties of
writing. I wrote about my own life in my first book, a creative nonfiction memoir,
*I Closed My Eyes* (Hazelden). As I wrote about my abusive marriage, so many parts
were excruciatingly difficult to examine. I could have manipulated the memoir to
make myself look better or to make it less painful to ponder. But I chose not to
betray my own life by revisiting it in a way that was what I believed to be
dishonest.
Even though I wrote expressly for publication and was paid for it, I was primarily
motivated to write to understand why I made the choices I did. And it was not
easy. None of us wants to relive a confusing past, but instead would prefer to
believe that if we rewrite it and mutate the facts and impressions, somehow it will
all be better. Just as in the movie *Wag the Dog*, when the political spinmeisters
manufacture current events to fit a campaign goal, we can choose to air-brush the
past and record it in a way that is more acceptable and better suits our goal to
make ourselves over into an ideal.
But what we are doing is cheating. It cheats us as writers not to write the truth.
It cheats us as individuals not to validate our lives as they really are. If you
cannot face immediately what you know you need to write about, then perhaps you
can approach it slowly, tackling one entry at a time, considering one piece of the
puzzle at a time. Perhaps write about what you saw one day, what you felt the next
or even what you heard the writing session after that. Take baby steps. Not every
one can leap into the cold water. Some of us have to wade into the cold lake an
inch at a time. But tell yourself that expressing your story without censorship is
necessary and beneficial.
Your story is your fingerprint, something only you can write, with only your
memories, insights, emotions and intellectual processes. If you disguise the
truth, dress it up and make it seem what it is not, then you have placed gloves on
your hands so you leave no fingerprints at all.
Take off your gloves. Give yourself permission to be a revolutionary. Consider the
entries in your personal journal a manifesto to your own history. And write.

_Journal Jolts_

7 creative things you can do to find sketching inspiration.

From the Sketchbook column in Personal Journaling August 2001 by Sandra Carpenter.

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For many of us, the hardest part of sketching is knowing what to sketch. To help
you get over your fear of what to draw, I give you seven sketch starters. These
describe places you can go and things you can do to get inspired. Begin using a
pencil or pen to record more than words in your journal.
_1. Go to an art museum._ Visiting an art museum is perhaps the ultimate creativity
booster for an artist or creative person. There, you can completely immerse
yourself in art, hang out with some of the greatest artists of all time and study
their work at your leisure.
However, I realize that going to a museum to sketch does carry with it a certain
amount of intimidation. To get over this, prepare yourself. Go armed with a small
sketchbook (smaller than 7 by 9 inches is preferable) and a few drawing pencils.
Kentucky artist Tina Tammaro recommends wandering around to get your bearings, and
then picking a room and spending some time in it. "Then find one painting to
concentrate on. Write down what comes to mind about the piece." For example, you
might notice the bright color scheme or, perhaps, the focal point#the main area of
the painting. (In a portrait painting, the focal point is often the person's
eyes.) You may also notice that the painting may change your mood, leaving you
feeling uplifted or even morose.
Once you've noted and written your impressions of the painting, "Next squint your
eyes to study the major shapes," says Tammaro. Make a few quick sketches outlining
these shapes. "This sketch doesn't need to look good. Instead, you should use this
exercise to slow down and discover what intrigues you the most about a painting,"
says Tammaro.
Some other things you can do to stoke your creative fires at the museum include
comparing two paintings to hone your analytical skills: How are the paintings
different? How are they similar? How did the artist create such bright colors in
one? Another option is to choose one thing to focus on at the museum and spend the
afternoon looking carefully at examples of just that. You might try just looking
at backgrounds or noticing what the center of interest is in each painting. Or you
could simply look at landscape paintings, ignoring everything else.
 _2. Take a drawing course._ For me, there's no better way to conquer a fear than
to get a little professional help, so to speak. I found that taking an evening
class in introductory figure drawing at a local art academy was a great way for me
to learn some basic art skills in an unintimidating environment. (An added benefit
was that I learned not only what art materials to use, but also what art materials
I enjoyed using.) Once you learn a few drawing techniques, such as gesture and
contour drawing, you'll feel more confident in drawing on your own.
_3. Spend time sitting in a caf�._ Check out the menu, the surroundings, the
people. There's a treasure trove of sketching possibilities at a caf� or
restaurant. One of the most fascinating ways to draw people is to observe them;
work from life. Thus sitting at a caf� or coffee shop and observing those around
you will provide you with endless fodder for your sketchbook. In his book The
Artist's Sketchbook (David & Charles, 2000), Albany Wiseman recommends that you
"ensconce yourself in a quiet spot where you're not too overlooked" a corner spot
is ideal. Order a beer or coffee as camouflage and survey the scene.
"Draw quickly and confidently, looking for broad shapes and lines that seem to sum
up a gesture or a movement. Make notes of details such as furniture and light
fittings; these will give the sketch a sense of place. I often include lettering,
which forms a significant part of the visual environment. It appears on shop
fronts, chalkboards, safety and directional signs, and menus, and because styles
change you will also find that it's generally an extremely good clue to location
and also to time."
_4. Take it outside._ Still another great source of drawing subjects for your
sketchbook is a garden. Be it in your own backyard or at a park, spending a little
time in nature will provide you with many options. For instance, you can trace
around the shape of a flower petal or leaf. Claudia Nice, author of several books
for artists, including *How to Keep a Sketchbook Journal* (North Light Books,
2001), recommends making prints. To do this, bring some watercolor paints with you
on your expedition. Choose the subject for your printing, such as a fern. Then
paint the fronds with the color of your choice. Blot the leaf gently on a paper
towel and then press it down onto your sketchbook page. You can also work with a
reverse process of this technique. Nice recommends choosing a flat, fairly stiff
object such as a fern to use as a stencil and secure it to your paper with tiny
pieces of tape. Next brush or sponge paint on and around the leaf. Let dry, then
remove the stencil.
_5. Sketch your mood._ Use colors. Go deeper. A visual journal is a way of freely
expressing thoughts and feelings in visual form while also including words. By
combining the two, you move beyond the limitations of our finite language into
pictures and symbols that can sometimes communicate deeper than words. Barbara
Ganim and Susan Fox, in their book Visual Journaling (Quest Books, 1999),
recommend that you write down your intention first when visual journaling: "That
statement might go something like 'My intention is to discover the inner source of
my feelings about my argument with my boss' or 'I wish to understand why seeing my
mother makes me anxious.'" Your next step is to quiet your mind. From there, try
drawing your emotional reaction to your statement. Try using different colors,
shapes and symbols to express your feelings about what you wrote.
_6. Create a collage._ Much like leaf printing, creating a collage is an easy way
to get your creative juices going. Remember using scissors, paste and scraps of
paper to create a collage in grade school? Well, collage isn't just for kids. In
addition to painting, artist Henri Matisse was also a master at collage. In the
later years of his life when he was too weak to stand at an easel, he turned to
scissors and paper to create his artistic visions. One of his most famous examples
is Beasts of the Sea, a collage he cut in memory of the South Seas, which he had
visited 20 years earlier. To try your own hand at collage, cut pieces of paper in
all different shapes and colors from magazines. Or pick up some of the different
Oriental rice papers and handmade papers at your local art or stationery store. All
these different paper types are great to use for collages.
_7. Scribble._ Scribbling is one of the best ways you can improve your drawing
skills says Greg Albert, drawing instructor and author of several art books,
including Basic Figure Drawing Techniques (North Light Books, 1994). To give it a
try, grab a large sheet of scrap paper and either a pencil or soft graphite stick.
Cover the paper with big swirls. Draw from your shoulder, not your wrist. Don't
stop your hand and don't lift the graphite from the paper. Make some tight curls,
then make some zigzags, loops and coils.
Give yourself permission to let go. Scribble until the page is dark with marks.
Gesture drawing capturing a subject's unique quality is similar to scribbling in
that you should never lose the loose, almost unrestrained quality of the pencil.
To take your scribbles one step further into gesture drawings, Albert recommends
you: Draw what your subject feels like or what it's doing. Don't stop the pencil,
and don't pick it up off the paper. Always draw the whole thing on the paper.
To begin scribbling, Albert says you can draw just about anything, including
stuffed animals, telephones, toasters and so on. The real secret to scribbling is
keep drawing and do as much of it as you can. Experience, not the finished
product, is the goal. With enough good experience, be it sketching, creating a
collage or making a leaf print, your sketchbook will soon become an expressive and
satisfying part of your artistic life.

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_Sandra Carpenter_ is the editor of *The Artist's Magazine*.

-==Traci's 6th List of Ten: Ten Prewriting Exercises for Personal Narratives==-

These prewriting exercises probably work best when combined with a more traditional
technique such as using the Journalist's Questions. The idea is to ask students to
think about the events that they narrate in a less typical way and then to use
those thoughts to develop their narratives.
These exercises can be useful after the students have begun drafting, since they
think about the details of the event that the writer can add to a working draft.
For instance, after scripting a section of the narrative, writers could work on
adding dialogue to their working drafts. Or after thinking about the decision
points in the series of events, they can add some details to their working drafts
on the reasons that the series of events occurred in the way that they did. The
exercises listed below include connections to the writer's working draft, but I'd
suggest cutting that part off when assigning the exercises, to help students focus
on invention rather than on thinking about how to use the material later. Once
they complete the exercise, I'd give them the follow-up application, focusing on
their working draft of the narrative itself.
Some of the exercises make for good class or small group discussion as well. If
students script pieces, they can read the scripts out loud, assigning one another
parts -- with the author of the script taking notes on places where the dialogue
is difficult or incorrect. Using this technique, writers can find places where
their attempt to capture the flow of a conversation is stilted or unrealistic.
Students also seem to enjoy sharing their writing on the event for a tabloid, an
interview or as a fable -- though the exercise can lead to giggling and noise.
Student writers can also benefit from sharing their list of decision points, since
classmates can often think of alternatives that the writers do not. By thinking
through all the possible alternatives, students are better able to think about the
significance of the events for the "So what?" details that they'll need in their
narratives.
1. Think of the different people involved in the event that you're narrating as
characters in a piece of literature. In the same way that you'd write a character
sketch for characters in a short story or play, write a paragraph on each of the
people involved in the event you're writing about. Once you've finished, compare
the details in your sketches to the details on the characters in your draft.
Revise your draft, based on the differences that you find.
2. Sketch out the events as blocks in a comic strip. Don't worry about the
artwork -- just use stick figures. What events would you focus on in your
sketches? What parts would you leave out? Comic strips don't show every single
event that occurs; they focus on the events that are necessary to the overall
message. Once you've sketched out your blocks, take a look at your working draft.
Are the blocks that you include in your comic strip included in the narrative? Are
they recognizable -- how do the blocks in your comic strip relate to the
organizational structure of your narrative? Are the ones that you've left out of
the comic strip included in the narrative -- if so, what do they add to your
overall purpose?
3. Write a version of the events in your narrative for a newspaper article.
Remember to include the answers to the journalist's questions (who? what? where?
when? why? how?). Focus on the facts as they occurred. Use an inverted pyramid
order -- begin with the facts and details that are most important to readers and
end with the facts that are less important. Once you've finished, compare the
article to your working draft. Have you included all the facts in your draft that
you included at the beginning of your newspaper article? Are the details that you
include toward the end of the article (the ones that are less important) included
in your working draft -- are they emphasized or subordinate? Think about what you
would want someone who read that newspaper article to know that isn't included in
the article itself. Are those points included in your narrative?
4. Outline the events that occur in your narrative. Identify the places where you
or others involved had to make a decision of some kind. For each decision point,
brainstorm on the alternatives that could have been pursued. What other options
were available? Once you've thought through the possibilities, examine the way that
you discuss the decisions in your draft -- do you include details on the
alternatives? How do these other options affect the way that you think about the
event now? Have you looked back at the event that you're writing about and thought,
"Gee, I wish I had done that differently"? Add some depth to your narrative by
fleshing out alternatives as well as how and when they became important.
5. Choose a time in your narrative when you and other characters are talking with
one another. Script out the conversation as an exchange in a play. Try to capture
the language in the style that would have actually been used. Make the dialogue
accurate to the event; don't worry if it's not Standard Written English (personal
conversations rarely are). Once you've scripted out your dialogue, move to your
working draft. How does the dialogue that you've written in your script compare to
the episode in your narrative? Can you add details from the script to your draft?
How would adding the dialogue affect the purpose of your narrative?
6. Describe the events that occurred for a different audience. How does your
narrative change if it is written for an older family member, someone interviewing
you for a job, a younger student, or someone you had never met before? What would
you leave out? What would you add? What would you describe in different language
and style? How would the points that you emphasize change? Once you've thought
about the differences, return to your working draft. Are the points that you DO
include right for your audience? Are there parts of your alternate version that can
be added to your working draft? As you revise, think about the details in the
narrative fit your audience in particular.
7. Reflect on the events as you recall them. Readers will want to know why you're
sharing the story. Your narrative needs to answer the question, "So what?" When
your readers get to the end of the story, you should have answered the question
for them. Draw a chart with three columns. Label the columns as follows:

Events | So What Do/Did I Think? | So What Do/Did Others Think?

-------|--------------------------|-----------------------------

Outline the major events in rows under the "Events" column; then, fill in the
spaces under the other columns for each of the major events. For each of the
columns, try to think about the "So What?" Explain why the event matters to you in
the second column, and why the event matters to others who are involved (directly
or indirectly) in the third column. Think about how the events mattered at the
time and how they matter now, looking back. Once you've finished filling in the
chart, move to your working draft. Are the "So what?" details that you included in
the chart clear in your draft? Are there details that you can add to make the
significance of the event understandable to your readers?
8. Think about the longevity of the event in your narrative. How will you
remember the event five years from now? ten years? twenty-five years? As you think
about the effect of the events in the narrative, you need to focus on how the
events will matter to you and your readers. What kind of staying power do the
events have? Brainstorm or freewrite a few paragraphs on why you think this event
will still matter in the future. Once you've written about the longevity and
enduring importance, move back to your working draft. When you talk about events is
their staying power clear to the reader? How do you communicate the enduring
qualities of the events in your narrative? What details from your brainstorming or
freewriting might you work into your draft?
9. Think about the details included in your narrative -- facts, sensory details,
and emotions. Draw a chart like this:

Facts | Sensory Details | Emotions

------|-----------------|----------

Then think about the facts that are important to your narrative, and fill in the
chart. Work to find at least ten important facts. For each, think about related
sensory details (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell), and consider the emotions
related to the facts (fear, pleasure, sadness, etc.). For instance, a fact in my
narrative might be "three fresh baked loaves of bread on the kitchen table." For
sensory detail, I'd write about the smell of fresh baked bread, the warmth of the
kitchen from the still hot stove, and the golden brown color of the bread. For
emotions, I'd write about how the loaves of bread gave me a happy feeling as I
remembered how my father always bakes bread for special holidays and how my
grandmother always baked us bread when we visited her. Once you've finished working
through the chart for the facts from your paper, move back to your working draft.
Are the sensory details and emotions that you included in the chart communicated in
your draft? Revise to add details, taking material from your chart whenever you
can.
10. Write an account of the events in your narrative for a fable, a tabloid, or a
television or radio interview. These options give you a lot of room for
creativity. What happens if the people involved in the events were animals and you
had to come up with a moral? If the events were reported in a tabloid paper, what
would be emphasized? Where would things be embellished? What would be left out?
Finally, if you were interviewed about the event, what would you include in your
story -- your answer depends on where you're being interviewed (by Barbara Walters
once you're rich and famous? on a talk show by Oprah? on a late night show by
David Letterman or Jay Leno?) Be sure to indicate where you're being interviewed.
Once you finish your alternate account of the events, move to your working draft.
Are there facts that you can add now that you've thought about the events in your
narrative from a different point of view? Are there facts that seem less
important? Can they be deleted? Did you add details and description to your account
that can be revised and added to your draft? What parts of your alternate version
wouldn't make any sense at all in your final draft of the narrative?

_GETTING IDEAS _

Condensed from Totoro Sensei's section 'Creativity and Inspiration'

[http://www.best.com/~serafica/creative.htm] ...

Following is a list of ideas to help you come up with creative ideas. This excerpt
was taken from "The Animation Book" by Kit Laybourne (pages 10-11)
-IDEA BOOK-

Purchase a large format (at least 11 by 14 inches) spiral-bound sketchbook with

large, white sheets of quality drawing paper. This book will become a home for
your ideas. Use it freely. Jot down anything that strikes out as even remotely
relevant...Plunk into your book images or quotations or recollections of any kind.
The large size of the pages is important because it will promote a comparison of
different ideas and visual elements. The absence of ruled lines forces you to
write about ideas in unfamiliar ways. The wire binding allows you to lay the book
flat for drawing. This kind of book also encourages the addition of odd materials-
clippings, postcards. doodles, collages and so on.
-WEIRD COMBINATIONS-
Search for comparison and analogies in all things. Carry around each day some
sort of provocative idea and try to combine it with experiences and observations
as the day proceeds. Pick just one object for, say five minutes and see how, if,
why and with what effect it does or does not combine with any other object or
environment or whatever. How does a toothbrush relate to the morning newspaper?
What is a toothache like?
-DREAM DIARY-
"In our dreams," Maslow writes, "we can be...more clever and wittier and bolder
and more original...with the lid taken off, with the controls taken off, the
repressions and defences taken off, we find generally more creativeness than
appears to the naked eye."
Write down your dreams just after you've awakened. You will find that your own
unconscious communication system is a terrific source of good ideas. With
practice, you'll have no trouble remembering dreams in rich and fruitful detail.
Try it. You'll like it. And it works.
-RECYCLING IDEAS-
When you come across an idea that is really attractive to you, jot it down. As
you later work over these ideas, you will select further and invariably infuse and
alter what you like in your own way.
-BRAINSTORMING-
The object of brainstorming is for a group of people to come up with as many
alternative solutions to a problem as they can. Quantity is valued. To brainstorm
well, everyone participating must spontaneously call out every idea that enters
into their heads. Allow no self-censorship. There is usually a time-limit, eg 5min.
Then ideas are evaluated. Ideas can combine in interesting ways and lead to
refinements and new directions.
-BACK BURNER-
Sometimes, the best way to solve a problem is to forget it. The mind's
subconscious will keep working at a problem even after the conscious portion of
the mind has gone to other concerns. So allow yourself time for ideas to simmer
and perk on the back burners of your mind.
-MIXING MEDIA-
A tremendous release of raw energy occurs when information packaged in one medium
is translated into another medium. A good place to look for ideas is within the
other arts.
-HANGING TOUGH-
When nothing else seems to work, try brute force. If you spend 20 minutes
everyday, 7 days a week, working in your idea book, the discipline of doing this
will get you through. Something worth pursuing will emerge. And eventually, a
pursuit of one kind or another will get you somewhere.

_You must trust yourself. All great artists have counted on such faith to get them
through the "dry spells". Virtue is its own reward. Keep working._

_Keeping a Creativity Journal__

_ Keeping a journal, not just a sketch journal, is a great idea. Choose a
comfortable size that you can carry with you at all times. Choose a good quality
paper, conducive to watermedia, pen and ink, marker or pencil for quick sketches
and writing.

Here are some tips for your journal:

 + Date your entries -- it's a handy reference for your life but will also help
you track your artistic development.
+ Write quotations on your pages that you find inspiring.
+ Use it to jot down ideas, titles for paintings, composition and any other
inspiration. By using one book, you can write these inspirations down and quickly
sketch the ideas -- or vice versa. I often find that I annotate quick sketches so
that I'll remember that momentary flash of brilliance.
+ Critique your work. Often when we've finished a piece we try to forget it as
quickly as possible as the self- doubts creep in. Analyze your work -- not
necessarily whether it's good or bad but the elements within in it, what you
learned and how you can take the work to the next level.
+ Keep track of technical aspects of your painting -- the palette you used,
specific color mixtures or how you achieved specific effects.
+ Keep track of details of your reference photos -- and specific reasons why a
scene attracted your attention in the first place such as the way the sunlight hit
an object, the colors or describe in detail those aspects that you want to
emphasis in your painting. Do a quick sketch.
+ Don't follow any particular rules for your journals -- paste in pictures,
clippings or whatever strikes your fancy that day.
+ Journals make the ultimate place to write your morning pages if you're
following The Artist Way or Vein of Gold programs.

_Pamper Your Creativity_

Take the phones off the hook and transform your house into a creativity day spa
with our guide to nurturing your artistic side.

By Loraine Crouch
"You have to acknowledge that you're worthy of time that's just for you and that
your art's worthy of this time," says artist Tera Leigh. "Otherwise you'll get
bogged down with the million other things you've got going." So, send your family
out for holiday shopping, unplug the TV and prepare for playtime. Forget about
deadlines and checking things off your to- do list. Relax and spend a day
experimenting and enjoying your creative energy. With the help of a few creativity
experts, I came up with an itinerary for a day dedicated to nurturing your muse.
Before you begin, be sure to plan ahead. The following suggestions will get you in
good shape for your creative exploration.
_Gather your tools._ Decide what you're going to do and gather the supplies you
need. Place them all together in a box. The last thing you want to do on your day
of indulgence is scour art stores for the right tools.
_Clean the house._ Don't let clutter distract you from the day's purpose. If you
wake up with at least a semiclean house, you're more likely to stick to your
plans.
_Kick everyone out._ Turn off the phones and make sure your family members or
roommates have somewhere else to be. Let them, as well as friends and co-workers,
know that you'll be unavailable for the day.
_Be reasonable._ This is the day you've set aside to explore your creativity; now's
not the time to paint the next Mona Lisa. Set goals for things you want to try
but not necessarily complete. "One of the biggest factors that stifles creativity
is expectations and assumptions about how things should turn out," says Leigh. "If
I just sit down and say, I'm going to have a creativity day and I'm going to
complete all of these things, that's not a creativity day, that's a workday."
Here are two ideas for your first hour at your creative "spa":

_9 a.m. Wake Up_

Rise and shine! Your day of creative indulgence is here. You can't play on an
empty stomach, so get up and make your way to the kitchen. But don't reach for
your bran flakes. Instead, feast on pizza or try some leftover chicken and rice.
Being creative means breaking out of your routine. So skip the cereal and try
waking up your mouth and your mind with a surprise. If the thought of pizza before
noon is too much, stick with traditional breakfast foods that are new to you.
Never eaten a papaya or mango? Now's your chance. In addition to experimenting with
new foods, creativity author Lynn Gordon recommends eating breakfast under the
table to start off the day looking at the world in a new way.

_9:30 a.m. Crank It Up_

After breakfast, steer clear of the dishes. Housework will consume your time and
get you off track if you let it. Instead, head for the living room and crank up
the stereo. Start out with a CD that always energizes you. Or perhaps there's
something more exotic than your usual road trip fare that's in order, like the
Gypsy Kings or mambo classics. (If you're feeling adventurous later, you might
delve into something you don't quite understand, like your teen's Limp Bizkit CD.)
Turn it up full blast and start tearing the cushions off the couch. Pull in the
chairs from the kitchen and grab some covers from the closet and build a fort.
That's right, a fort. Remember all those Saturday mornings when you tucked sheets
into the couch and draped them over anything that would stand still to create your
army base or wilderness headquarters? "I love regressive behavior," says Gordon.
"Getting back to a childlike sense of play is a great way to spark your
creativity."

*"We promise according to our hopes, and perform according to our fears."*
Fran�ois de La Rouchefoucauld

_Change One Thing_

� 2001 Nita Leland First, choose one subject or concept for your painting. Think
about how you usually paint such
a subject. But before you begin, change one thing. Here are some suggestions:

+ If you normally work horizontally, switch to the vertical.

+ If you usually work on rectangles, use an oval, circle or diamond.
+ If you usually paint on dry paper, paint wet-into-wet.
+ If you usually make hard edges, use soft edges.
+ If you usually paint small, paint large, or vice versa.
Here are some other ideas:

+ Change your horizon to extremely high or low.

+ Paint high key (light and bright) or low key (dark and moody) instead of full
contrast.
+ Emphasize calligraphic line instead of shape.
+ Emphasize color instead of value.
+ Emphasize pattern instead of shape.
+ Use repetition of one element, varying it with each repeat.
+ Limit yourself to one big brush instead of your usual assortment.
+ Change your usual subject by trading source material with someone else in
class.
+ Instead of painting what you _see _in the subject, paint what you _feel_ about
it.
+ Make an abstraction emphasizing shapes or colors instead of subject.
+ Make a simplified, stylized picture instead of a realistic one with details.
+ Paint upside down#both your source material and your support.
+ Paint without drawing.
+ Draw with your brush instead of a pencil.
+ Paint with your opposite hand holding your brush.
+ Paint with a brush in each hand.
Do several paintings of the same subject, changing one thing each time at the start
of the picture. Let each change suggest other changes, either in that or another
picture. Enjoy the process and don't worry about finishing a picture.
Changing your environment can make a big difference, too. Move your drawing table
to a different place in the room. Bring in a vase of fresh flowers. Or, simply
walk away from your work for awhile.
Janean Thompson writes: "I often take a mental break by simply walking away from a
project. I fix a cup of tea and sip it while sitting on a lawn chair, under a big
tree next to my studio. It is a commune with nature, a moment of quiet relaxation
and a "slate cleaning" for the clutter in my mind. When I go back to work, it is
with renewed clarity."

See *The Creative Artist* for a great variety of projects and ideas for change.

Here is a list of concepts, actions, thoughts and philosophies that have allowed me
to achieve. Consider them as
you seek to achieve:

_1. Love it or leave it_.

Life's too short not to love what you do. And hating what you do blocks all chance
for success. If you love it, you will love to work at it. If you hate what you do,
you will make every excuse in the universe why everything else in the world is
wrong except you.
_2. Remove destructive thought patterns if you want to move ahead_.
The biggest barriers to achievements are the ones you set in front of yourself.
Think "how to" instead of I can't."
_3. Prolong the thrill of last-minute work_.
It seems that lots of work gets done "at the last minute." Some people lament it,
some revel in it. I revel. You?
_4. Set appointments for your success_.
Use your day planner to write the deadline date for your achievements. The best
appointment you can make is with yourself. Take a look at your day planner right
now. How many appointments have you made to yourself? Answer: Not enough.
_5. Create one "success environment."_
A place where only positive things happen. A room. A desk. A chair. Have one space
in your life where you take achievement actions.
_6. Be aware of time_.
Too many people are "too busy" to achieve. The definition for "too busy" is "lame
excuse." Limping with a time shortage? Operate on yourself -- surgically remove
your TV remote. That will free hours. Unless you happen to be one of the fortunate
few that earns money by watching television re-runs.
_7. Be passionate in your endeavors_.
The passion for achievement is contagious, you light your own fire and will draw
more support from others by passing your fire to them.
_8. Want to be the best_.
Develop a personal mission that transcends your corporate mission. Know what you
are working for and why you are working for it. And resolve that money is not the
goal. Best is the goal.
_9. Find cheerleaders_.
It's easier and more fun when the crowd is behind you rooting for you to make it.
There are many people who want you to achieve. Find your cheerleaders, then earn
their cheers.
_10. Find mentors who have already done it, earn their respect, and heed their
advice_.
I have been blessed with mentors. My dad leads the list. But others have played a
major role with simple wisdom that is easy to miss if you're not listening. The
great Earl Pertnoy says, "Antennas up at all times." To capture an opportunity,
first you gotta see it. My antennas are always up. And the great Mel Green who one
day told me his secret of success, "Hard work makes luck." And since that day I've
been working as hard as I can, and luckier than anyone can imagine. Mentors take
pleasure in watching and helping you succeed. They inspire you to act at a higher
level. Who is inspiring you?
_11. Risk it_.
 A major element of achieving is risk. You have heard it said, "No risk, no
reward." I disagree. I say, "No risk, no nothing." In order to succeed you must
take risks. Achievers risk. Do you?
_12. Fall on your face_.
Risk can lead to failure. Failure is good. And a necessary learning tool of
achievement. Have you failed enough?
_13. Hang around other doers_.
People who "do," inspire others to achieve. People who watch television don't.
What did you watch last night? What did you achieve last night?
_14. Read about achievement_.
Study achievement and other successful achievers. Know their top qualities and
rate them against yours. The student factor is a critical part of your expertise.
To achieve, you must strive to be a notch ahead of everyone else. Who are you
ahead of?
_15. Ignore nay-sayers, idiots and zealots_.
And there are a lot of them. People who will try to discourage you, or try to get
you to become a non-achiever like they are. It's easy to spot these people.
They're drunk on the weekends. Want another beer or would you prefer a large glass
of success?
_16. Want it bad_.
This can best be described as the "burning desire" factor. Look at the people in
your life that are "on fire." You call them "achievers." They want it, and they
want it bad. In me there is always an inside fire blazing. How hot are you?
_17. Be aware of (and be ready for) divine intervention_.
You have a guardian angel. She is looking to see if you're working hard and paying
attention. She will present you with opportunities. It's not about praying, it's
about working your butt off and being a good person. And it's about being
positive, so that when the gift arrives, you recognize it. Do you believe?
_18. Start today_.
It's real easy to make an excuse to yourself. Putting off achievement is the
easiest way to fail. What are you putting off? Why?
_19. The biggest secret is: the daily dose of achievement_.
Take small achievement steps every day. I write every day for an hour. In eight
years I have 366 columns, 250 new column ideas, 500 seminars, and three published
books. Books are 90,000 words. I don't write books. I just write 1,000 words a
week for my column -- the book just shows up. Have you broken down big achievement
into small pieces?
_20. Feeding on past achievement_.
There is strength in the confidence bred by past achievement. Build on past
success. What have you achieved so far?
_21. Finish what you start_.
The habit of completion is one of the hardest to attain. That's why so few people
are achievers. Be known as a reliable person who gets the job done. Quit much?
_22. Plan to celebrate the same day you achieve_.
Reward yourself when you win and don't be stingy. Celebrate big -- it's you, baby.

_22.5 Think YES_.

You have a choice in the way you think. Becoming a "yes" thinker will lead to
auto-achievement. "You become what you think about." (Earl Nightingale) It's
amazing to me how many people think and talk in terms of NO. How do you think? How
do you talk?

You have already had the best lesson of your life in the book, "The Little Engine
That Could." It has been providing
the first lesson of positive attitude and achievement since it was written in 1937.
Go buy a copy.

The passion of today and the uncertainty of tomorrow keeps my fire lit on
"achievement level." I am a 53-year-old
orphan. I just became one last year. The gears inside my soul have been put in
permanent over-drive.

I have eliminated as much junk from my life as I can.

I don't complain about my fate -- I love my fate.

I value my time.

I believe in myself.

I have fun at what I do.

And I work at it everyday -- without fail.

I study positive attitude. I am more positive about my attitude today than I was
yesterday -- and it's been that way everyday for the past 25 years. The commitment
to building a positive attitude is the same as the commitment to achievement --
daily.