15 Minute Writer

5 Tips to Nurture Your Creative Side

What do you do to nourish the creative side of you?

Often times you get caught up in the day-to-day routines of life. You work in various capacities, do household chores, take care of kids or parents depending on the stage of life. These tasks are necessities of life but do you do them to the extent that you neglect your creative side?

Recently, I found my creative self in dire need of nurture. I worked long hours to establish an online business, develop three websites, and create an online writing course. Though I wanted to do this and enjoyed much of it, it involved technical tedious “left brain” work, which means you are not always in the creative zone.

After several months, though proud of my accomplishments, I began to get a little burned out with overuse of my left brain. Then I read in one of my writing books that it is important to cross pollinate and develop your creativity in other areas. They stated by doing so, you will come up with new ideas for the things you have to do.

That was all the permission I needed. Gaining that perspective was well timed because I was getting ready to go visit my creative sister, who teaches art. She has successfully established a wonderful business teaching people who don’t know how to draw a straight line, how to draw beautifully.

We have a creative feast when we get together because we both love art and other creative activities. I decided I would learn to draw flowers. At the same time, I also took an online photography class. My whole world began to lighten up!

As I took photos and focused on drawing principles, I began to see correlations between those two arts and the one I had chosen, learning how to write. I felt refreshed as I explored new levels of creativity and it started showing up in my creative writing.

How can you incorporate creativity into your life?

5 Tips to Nurture Your Creative Side

• Make creative appointments with yourself. Give yourself permission to actually schedule creative activities into your day, week, or even take a creative day once a month.
• Go to a conference or creative, stimulating event. If you have the resources, you can even schedule a block of time to travel to a conference or workshop in your area of creative interest. Even if you don’t have a lot of resources, often times art shows and local festivals are free.
• Go to the library and look through art books or gardening, nature coffee table books, magazines on decorating, scapbooking or crafts, anything that stimulates your right brain.
• Get out in nature. Even something as simple as taking a walk in a scenic area can be refreshing and stimulating to your creative side. Go walk somewhere new or go to a local park and write.
• Take an offline or online writing course to learn creative writing or further your writing skills. If you can’t travel to a conference on how to write, set aside time at home to take online classes to further expand your creative writing skills. For example, if you want to learn how to write or expand your creativity in writing, you can take my online creative writing course, “How to Write for Fun and Profit” or some other course teaching you how to write.

A healthy person has a balance in their life of work and play. You can even justify this if you need to. Often when you take those times for play and creativity, ideas to solve problems in other areas of your business or home life come to you. When you go to have fun, work happens. With these writing tips, you can certainly justify your creative development.

Creativity needs some structure. Accountability, support and encouragement is a winning formula to achieve your dreams. You don’t have to be stuck, you simply need a desire to express your creativity and a commitment to achieve your writing dreams.,

If you want encouragement, productivity tips and strategies to overcome your fears so you can fully express your creative side, Check out the book I wrote to encourage you, “From Stuck to Success:Conquer Your Fears and Achieve Your Writing Dreams.” 

Don’t simply go through life, nurture the creative side of you and enjoy your life!

How about you? What are you doing to nurture the creative side of you? If you are not, then what promise are you going to make to yourself to do so? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

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8 Benefits of a Daily Writing Habit

I’m celebrating achieving  my writing goals for another month of writing every single day as a result of participating in an online daily writing challenge for twenty months since January, 2014. I’ve discovered some benefits from dragging, pulling and pushing myself to meet this challenge.

Eight Benefits of a Daily Writing Habit

1. Stronger. As I force myself to overcome the emotional resistance and obstacles, my self-discipline is strengthened. I feel stronger.

2. Self-Discipline. The self-discipline of consistency enables and benefits me in other areas of my life.

3. Capture Moments. I capture beneficial insights, anecdotes, journal entries and stories that otherwise would be lost.

4. Book material. Consistent themes emerge that will eventually be three or four books so I’m making progress in writing my books.

5. Legacy. Stories are written to pass down a legacy to my children and grandchildren and creates potential material for articles, magazines etc.

6. Reflection. I get to process my day and gain insight from situations. We don’t get much time for reflection in our demanding and busy lives. Writing forces and gives time to mine the treasures of the day.

7. Better Writer. I’m growing as a writer. Practicing writing strategies in my daily writing refines my writing skills.

8. Satisfaction. My eyes are more open, my ears more attuned and my mind more alert to the gems in everyday life so I find more purpose and fulfillment in life.
Writing daily is not an easy habit to develop but it has a great deal of benefits and it’s worth it!

If you’d like to grow in your productivity and overcome some of your writing fears, come join this writing support group. Also, check out my book on Amazon kindle, “From Stuck to Success: Conquer Your Fears and Achieve Your Writing Dreams.”

If you would like to learn to write or learn to write better or write your story, check out my writing course,“How to Write for Fun and Profit.”

Discover the benefits of writing for yourself.

Go write now.

Enjoy the gift of writing!

#strengthtostrength, #fromstucktosuccess, #writenow, #writeyourstorynow, #sharonrosegibsonnuggets, #enjoythegiftofwriting, #15minutewriter.com

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How to Write: How to Find the Time to Write

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Achieve Your Writing Dreams By Creating Momemtum

Do you have a goal, dream or desire in your heart you want to pursue?

Yesterday in my daily writing challenge group, the writing prompt invited us to look back on our writing goals. They suggested we look at our progress and write about what we didn’t expect.

More than a year has gone by since I started the challenge to write daily. I’m in my second year of the writing discipline. I share because the principle applies to any dream you pursue. By sharing my experience, I hope it will encourage you to persist in pursuing your dreams.

One thing I didn’t expect is the momentum gained in the challenge to write daily. The longer I meet the writing goals, the more this drives me.

Many times when I’ve been tempted to quit, I cannot because of the momentum. I don’t know how to describe this phenomenon, but action produces action and keeps me going. I miss a day occasionally.

Still, I find it easier to go for it again because of the momentum. At times I want to give it up and quit the challenge, but I cannot. Part of it is because I find writing rewarding. I feel a sense of satisfaction after I’ve made my writing goal for the day.

Other benefits reward me.
I feel a sense of satisfaction of the insight that comes from writing and reflecting on life’s experiences.
Sometimes what I wrote, fits in with one of my stories I want to preserve for my legacy.

Writing daily improves my writing skills. Editing comes easier.

Momentum brings all these benefits.
Action after action creates the driving force and keeps the energy going.

More than a year has gone by since I started the challenge to write daily and now I’m in my second year of the writing discipline.

Discipline is difficult, but it brings rewards. The momentum created by the discipline is a pleasant surprise.

The secret is consistency. Consistency creates momentum. Momentum keeps you going.
The key to developing consistency is finding encouragement, support, and accountability.
These three factors can help you develop a habit and keep you consistent. If you want encouragement, support, and accountability,
email me at info(at)15minutewriter.com

Pursue your dreams with consistent action. Create momentum. You will experience the satisfaction of achieving your goals!

This proverb encourages me, and I hope it will encourage you as well in the pursuit of your dreams. “The desires of the diligent will be fully satisfied.” Proverbs 13:4 (NIV)

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What I Learned From My Daily Writing Challenge

One year ago in January, 2014 I joined a writing group, challenging us to write 500 words daily. The leader who started the group asked us today, what we’ve learned as a result of the writing challenge.

Here’s some of the many things I’ve learned.

• I can reign in my creative self to be disciplined enough to write consistently on a daily basis.
• I need to know someone cares what I have to say and is listening, caring and following even if it’s few. Encouragement, support and accountability is vital.
• Writing daily is a whole lot harder than I ever thought and a whole lot easier once I’ve got the momentum going.
• I have more stories, lessons learned, wisdom nuggets to write and share than I ever dreamed.
• I feel relieved when I write because the weight of what’s in my heart is now out of me and recorded.
• Writing improves with the sheer practice of doing it.
• I still make many mistakes and it’s okay because the most important thing is to get it written and out there.

When you stretch yourself to exercise a new discipline, if you’ll stay with it, the discipline will reward you. You will experience the rewards of your diligence in many ways both subtle and obvious.

Go write NOW.
Enjoy the Gift of Writing!

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Key to Success ~ Doing The Hard Things

Today, I got up early to go to a training seminar.

I don’t like to do things in the early morning.

I’m not a morning person. 

I thought about the other things I do to meet my writing goals.  For example, I belong to a daily writing challenge group.

Sometimes the last thing I want to do is to meet my commitment to write for the day.

As I contemplated this, a thought came to mind.

Success

    belongs  

         to those

who are willing

     to do

        the hard things

           to achieve it.

                                             Sharon Rose Gibson

Be willing to do hard things!

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Writing Tip ~ Find Your Fresh Voice

Are you finding freedom in expressing your voice, your unique writing style?

I think it’s important to celebrate little as well as big achievements in our lives. So yesterday I bought flowers and basked in the glow of achievement.

With joy, I celebrated a couple of speaking opportunity that came my way for “Write Your Story NOW” and I celebrated completing my monthly writing goals as part of the 500 word a day writing challenge group. Once again for the month of September I wrote, Every. Single. Day.

When I gazed at the flower selection to make my choice, these pink and white mums captured my attention. They reminded me of when my Colombian daughter, Rosita, graduated from high school.

She had two outfits she debated on for her senior party. One of them I preferred and wanted her to wear. However, she liked the pink and white one better.

“Which one do you like mom?” She asked me in a tone that told me she wanted to please me.

“I like this one,” I pointed to the other one, “but I want you to choose which one you like better. This is your party and I want you to feel good in what you wear.”

When she chose the other one, I was mildly disappointed she didn’t chose the one I favored. However, she had a sense of freedom and she looked so cute and fresh in her pink and white outfit, my feelings quickly changed to delight.

I’m in a season in my life where I no longer want to please everyone else and fit into a mold. I’ve been fighting to allow myself to nurture my more creative self while meeting business expectations. Not easy.

The flowers remind me that it’s okay for me too to be who I want to be and to wear what I want and to be the voice in the writing world that I want to be.

My voice may not please everyone and may not fit in a mold but like my daughter in her pink and white, my contribution can be delightful, fresh and free.

Maybe you can relate to some of this about finding your unique voice. I would love to support you in discovering your voice and expressing it well. You can also learn how to write or learn creative writing  strategies in the “How to Write for Fun and Profit” writing course.

To overcome your fears about expressing your voice, you’ll find tips, encouragement and strategies in this book,”From Stuck to Success: Conquer Your Fears and Achieve Your Writing Dreams.“

 Sometimes you have to break out of the mold of what your family or culture likes and find a new path. Discover your unique voice. Be free to express it and share it with us. The world needs to hear what you have to say.

Go Write now.

Enjoy the Gift of Writing!

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Writing Tips From A Butterfly Painting

Do you want to attract people to you as a writer?

One way is to be unique and different in how you express yourself.  I’ve discovered that doing creative activities in other areas helps me be more creative and unique in my writing.

For example, in my last watercolor class I painted a butterfly.  My teacher is an accomplished artist in the master’s category. She’s made her living as a freelance artist and some of her originals designs and art work are breathtaking.

In class, we drew a simple butterfly. First of all, I traced over my teacher’s lines with tracing paper. As I did so, my mind focused on the movement of my hand and how it felt copying her lines. I broke each section down and got a feel for how the lines went together. 

Copying the masters is a good way to learn art techniques according to my sister who is a well known color pencil artist and art coach. She’s taught me that it’s a good idea to copy the masters as a learning experience.

After copying my teacher, when I went to draw my own butterfly my confidence in drawing had been strengthened. She had carefully explained her strategies, design and composition decisions.

As we painted, she shared her thinking and strategies. I listened and followed her art principles but created my own version of the butterfly. Much to my delight, my simple butterfly painting as an budding artist expressed an inspired uniqueness.

I reflected on how this applies to writing. We can learn the strategies and techniques of more advanced writers by reading their work and learning from how they write well. Then we take those principles and create something that is uniquely ours. My butterfly though imperfect and not as advanced as an experienced artist brought me satisfaction and joy. In the same way, you can enjoy implementing creative writing strategies at whatever level you’re at and find satisfaction and joy.

This is why I love to work with students sharing the online writing course, “How to Write for Fun and Profit.” You learn writing strategies that the masters use to craft their bestselling books, stories and memories. Check it out and if this is something that would fit your needs, I would love to support as you learn to write or learn to write more creatively.

Since you’re a writer,  you want to get your books, stories, memories, or articles and blog posts done. A  winning formula is accountability, support, and encouragement to achieve your dreams. You don’t have to be stuck, you simply need a desire and commitment to achieve your writing dreams. I can help you with that. Email me at info(at)15minutewriter.com.

If you want encouragement, productivity tips and strategies to overcome your fears, Check out the book I wrote to encourage you, “From Stuck to Success:Conquer Your Fears and Achieve Your Writing Dreams.” “From Stuck to Success:Conquer Your Fears and Achieve Your Writing Dreams.”

I encourage you to nurture your creative side in whatever way you can. You’ll find 5 Tips to Nurture Your Creative Side by clicking here. 

Don’t simply go through life, nurture your creative side and enjoy life!

Go Write NOW!

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“I Finally Found Time to Write” ~ 3 Writing Motivational Tips

“Sharon, I wanted to tell you that I’m finally finding time to write,” my friend, Sarah, stopped by my car in the park.

“Awesome!” I slammed the trunk lid down. My grandsons and I had a picnic in the park and enjoyed the beautiful sunny day. We had stopped by the car to put away the blanket and the rest of the food. My grandsons ran on to the playground.

My friend’s husband wheeled the double stroller on to take her two year old and baby to the playground and she continued, “I wanted you to know I’m listening to you and watching you. I saw you post on facebook that you had written every day for the month of August. I thought if you can do I can too. 

I smiled because over the last year,  I’ve encouraged her several times to write. She’s a gifted writer and I longed to see her write. I had urged her before, “When you don’t have a lot of time, look for those 15 minute segments of time.” I knew she was busy with her toddler and pregnancy and now her baby.

Sarah continued on, “You may not think we notice or listen but we are. I watch your posts on facebook saying you complete your monthly writing goals. You inspire me! 

As you suggested, I’ve been looking for those 15 minutes in my day to write. I’m surprised at how much I can write in 15 minutes and sometimes that gets me going so I write more.

I fell off my goal of writing every day in September but I didn’t let that discourage me. I got up and  started again.”

“Good for you! One of the keys to success is to get back up and go for it again.”

She smiled, “Yes it’s good and I start over trying for the whole month in October. I feel so much better when I write.”

“I feel the same way. Sometimes it’s hard to write every day but I always feel better when after I write.”

“Well, I need to go join my husband and kids but I wanted to thank you and let you know.”

“Thanks so much! I appreciate the encouragement.”

3 Writing Motivational Tips

1. 1. Get started. Break your writing into bite-size pieces. Then it’s easier to take the time.
2. 2. Get back up. When you fall off your goal, don’t quit.
3. 3. Get back up and start over.

Go for the feeling. When you find it difficult to get started writing, reflect on the satisfaction and good feeling you’ll have afterward.

How about you? Would you like to set some writing goals or develop a regular writing habit? If so, email me at info(at)15minutewriter.com and we can plan what might work for you to get support, encouragement, and accountability.

If you want to write a book, stories or memories, learn how to write or learn how to write better, check out the “How to Write for Fun and Profit.”

For more encouragement, productivity tips, and strategies to overcome your writing fears, check out the book, “From Stuck to Success: Conquer Your Fears and Achieve Your Writing Dreams” on Amazon.com.

Most of all, find time to write because the world needs to hear your unique voice and what you have to share.

Go Write NOW

Woman Laptop by Ambro, freedigitalphotos.net

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Writing Motivation ~ Do You Have This Key To Success In Your Writing?

Do you have challenges in meeting your writing goals? Even if writing is something you want to do, do you sometimes feel challenged to fulfill that desire?

Yesterday, I spent the day with my active grandsons on their last day before school started. Though they’re the joy of my life, we had some challenges that took all the energy I had.

When I arrived home, the last thing I wanted to do is to write. All I wanted to do is fall into bed.

However, I’ve committed to writing every day so rather than go to bed, I sat down at my computer to complete my writing goal for the day.

Additionally, I had some things come up and challenges getting this post written today. However, I managed to find some time and got it done!

What drove me? What key principle of success did I draw on?

When you don’t feel like writing what can you do to achieve your writing desires?

Discipline.

One of the definitions for discipline in Webster’s dictionary is self-control, “restraint over one’s own impulses, emotions or desires.”

3 Writing Motivation Tips

1. Rewards of discipline. Discipline is not comfortable but at least there is a reward. Lack of discipline may be easier but you will live with the bitter fruit of dissatisfaction.
2. Choices have consequences. You’ll experience the consequences either way, one pleasant and one not. Your choice makes the difference.
3. Keep the end in mind. When you’re not motivated to write, think of the end result of your choice. Do you want to be satisfied or dissatisfied?

You can find a lot more tips and insights in the book I wrote to encourage writers to pursue their writing dreams. “From Stuck to Success: Conquer Your Fears and Achieve Your Writing dreams.” You can find it on Amazon Kindle.

If you want to learn to write or write better, check out “How to write for Fun and Profit.“  I’d love to teach you how to write or write better and encourage you in your writing.

In the meantime, I encourage you to experience the rewards of discipline in your writing. I feel satisfied now that I’ve met my writing goal and wrote this blog post.

How about you? What can you write today that will bring you satisfaction?

Go Write NOW!

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