Tag: writing

The importance of capturing ideas and how that impacts your overall creativity

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Business in Rhyme, Write, create, innovate!

tharp

There is simply too much information out there. And we become forgetful.

And we mix, misplace ideas, dates, terms, names…It’s simply getting hard to

keep up with everything going on around us.

As a creative, in order to nurture your creativity you need to be more than just well organized and  tidy. You want to have all your ideas stored, in one place where you can access them anytime for some further inspiration or the continuation of the project that you put on hold.

Why is that important? Author Steven Johnson, in his book, “Where Good Ideas Come From” suggests that is of vital importance to have that one central storage point, because every time you go to that place where your previous ideas are collected – that encounter is likely to strike some additional inspiration. Further more, combining new ideas with your previous ones, will produce something completely different that you’ll probably like even more – and this is how new, exciting and creative things are born.

In this enlightening interview famous choreographer Twyla Tharp shares how she keeps her inspiration intact:

Plain old file boxes, like the ones that line shelves in lawyers’ offices. I write the project name on the box, and as the piece progresses, I fill it up with every item that went into the making of the dance.”

So what can you do to make your creative work even more creative?

  1. Assign that sacred creative place where will you put your ideas for any later reference and inspiration:

For many writers it is a computer, notebook or evernote: I for example like to put the articles I’m currently working on to be on my desktop so I can access them anytime. Once I’m finished, they are stored to a delegated folder, so my desktop is never crowded or messy.

pinknotebook

My creative corner and pink notebook 🙂

I always have with me this cute pink notebook as I still like to write by hand (sometimes I have a hard time to read what I wrote (I have a terrible handwriting), but persistence is what counts :))

No matter what’s the nature of your creative work you can design your own inspirational box, board, have that shelf or drawer to place all your favorite items and ideas.

  1. Develop your own system.

Once you have that special place, throw in some additional organizing – maybe using index cards, have folders you can arrange by dates or subjects… there are numerous options: it’s important to find the way that works best for you.

  1. Review your creative place from time to time: let out, to let in.

Now, as much as I like to be able to retrieve my ideas whenever I like, there is a hinder that we might get overwhelmed with too much collected stuff, items, papers, books, old hobbies we are not interested in anymore .. that actually can make us feel lost in times and bring additional confusion into our work.

In that case, I simply try to check in with myself – how do I feel about that particular idea or item: if it brings some bad emotions, memories, maybe it’s time to let it go and make room for something new to occupy that creative space. Honesty and looking really deep inside ourselves will tell us if particular idea is worthy of holding on to or not.

In such ways you have your ideas organized and accessible and you are not in danger of becoming a hoarder of trinkets and ‘maybe some day’ items.

How do you organize and store your ideas?

I had the happy idea that what I do not understand is more real than what I do,
and then the happier idea to buckle myself
into two blue velvet shoes.
I had the happy idea to polish the reflecting glass and say
hello to my own blue soul. Hello, blue soul. Hello.
 
It was my happiest idea.
Mary Szybist

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One simple, foolproof tactic that improves your writing dramatically

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Writer's creative bites

Sholem_Asch

There are many ways we can approach our writing. And if you are reading this, you are probably a writer who knows how writing is important: it’s how you communicate, how you record your ideas, memories, feelings, – you share who you are, and your knowledge.

But even more important it is how you build your world, your reality and the most deepest connection with your true self. It helps you sort out through the piles of information you absorb each day and you learn what you want and don’t want. It can be a remarkable foundation for our business and work as it gives us confidence and power to make an impact in a bigger, better, and more meaningful way.

Often in my posts you will recognize that I emphasize all these traits of writing and encourage you to just write – no matter what, how, where… These are free writing forms with only one goal in mind: tap into your own inspiration and creativity.

But today I will offer you a bit different approach that helped me immensely. Next time when you sit to write, bring intentionality to your writing. By that I mean to have more clear focus and understanding of what you want to write and why you want to write it.

When I’m writing, I always have three questions in the back of my mind:

  • Is what I want to say clear and understandable enough? My writing, for me to be satisfied with it, has to reflects who I truly am and transcend my message to the world in the right way. Some other questions regarding to this that can help you is to ask yourself: does it have the impact I want to create? Is this conveying the right drama, or humor? Is it thought provoking and what kind of value does it bring to my readers?
  • This second question turned out to be huge for me: Did I structure this for the best possible impact? When I was working on my PhD proposal, I remember I had an informal meeting with my mentor  and I came with a lot of papers, notes, ideas I collected somewhere during initial research..But the best advice she gave me then, is to make an outline, a backbone of my thesis which will guide me along the way of my writing. Why that became so important? Because it helps you set the boundaries in your research and writing – if you ‘spill yourself’ all over the place, without focus what information is important and what’s not – you will just get lost. It helps you to stay focused and on track. This is especially applicable to longer forms of writing –  no matter fiction or non-fiction.  Of course, you can edit and improve your initial outline as your work progresses and new ideas come into play, but it enables for your writing to get aligned with your values and contribution you want to achieve.
  • How can I improve this? With all my current knowledge and view on the subject I try to improve what I wrote, usually by simplifying it. I reread what I wrote for several times – not looking so much for punctuation errors or typos, but to make sure I’m satisfied with everything I’ve written.  I need to distance myself for a couple of hours or I leave it ‘marinate’ over night and that gives me the best perspective on my writing.

You become a better writer by focusing on the task at hand and recognizing what’s not working for you.  You are not satisfied with your descriptions or narrations? Well, dive into those and only by practice and persistence you will improve your weak points in writing.

These three questions enable me to strategize my writing, stay true to my self, my core values and share my knowledge in such way  that it has a valuable impact. So next time, in your writing try to answer those questions and observe how that influences your writing. You might be surprised with the results 🙂

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Senseless

by Maja Todorovic, posted in My personal rhyme - from time to time

My friend calls it ‘tabula rasa’.

My mother says it’s when

young bull silently bleats

at a colorful display.

 

For me, it’s when every reason

bleeds with frustration –

senseless and unmoving,

your lonely parts

seek validation.

Purpose is given or found?

 

You say I’m a slave to a detail,

yet your ‘big picture’ falls apart

each time you look at it.

 

You say I roam in confusion

yet you don’t know which

holographic dress you will wear tonight.

 

And I tell you, you would squeeze

your own guts in one hand,

pierce your eye with swordfish

and walk barefoot in the mouth

of a raging volcano:

just to feel one more time,

just to cry one more time.

 

Maja S. Todorovic