Go From Strength to Strength: 5 Tips to Achieve Your Writing Dreams
Do you look longingly at a writing project yet hesitate to do it because you feel uncertain or maybe even a little afraid? Maybe you want to write a book or eBook or start a blog. Perhaps you want to write a story or your memories. Possibly you want to write a presentation or create a product. What writing project would you like to do, but you put it off?
On a recent hiking adventure, I discovered some principles that also apply to facing the challenge of a new writing project and achieving your writing dreams.
I gazed up wistfully at the red rocks in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, CO. The trail leading up to their heights tempted me. My sister Kathi, who is an avid hiker, affectionately known as the “mountain goat” of the family, had told me that the best views belong to those who dare to hike up into the mountains. I had done little hiking, and the altitude certainly affected my stamina. However, I decided the next day to add to my daily walk, a hike.
The next morning, I pulled into the parking lot near the Garden of the Gods tourist store and noted an adorable dog hanging out the window in the vehicle next to me. I struck up a conversation with the owner, a man half my age. As we chatted, I shared my dream of a hiking adventure. In parting, he looked at me and protectively said, “Pace yourself.”
I walked to the edge of the trail and contemplated the climb. The first part went straight up in a steady climb. As I ascended, my breathing grew heavier, and puffs of red dust covered my shoes. The climb definitely challenged me on this hot August day. I’d pause and glance back at the view of the Pikes Peak mountain range to motivate me to keep going. Finally, remembering the admonition to pace myself, I made my way to the shade of a tree and decided that was enough for the day. As stood there under the tree, the beautiful view of the mountains rewarded me.
The next day, my cousin gave me a ski pole to use as a walking stick. I headed out again and with the pole to stabilize me. I climbed further up into the rocks, pushing myself a little further. Once I climbed up onto the large red rocks, I savored the accomplishment and an even greater view of the mountain range.
On the third day, with the pole, I climbed way high into the rocks and saw a more stunning view. The contrast of the red rocks against the mountain range captivated me.
On the fourth day, I forgot the pole in the car and wondered how I would do. However, I need not have been concerned because I scampered up the trail to the high places. My gradual increase, day by day, built my stamina. Because of my hard work and efforts, I enjoyed the most magnificent views.
An analogy to starting a new writing project came to mind.
At first, your next writing project or learning how to write may seem a little scary or difficult. You will find yourself out of your comfort zone as you embrace an unfamiliar path. At the same time, you desire a wonderful sense of accomplishment.
Here are some principles I gleaned from my hike, that will help you move from wistfully desiring to write to a pleasurable sense of accomplishment.
5 Tips to Achieve Your Writing Dreams
*Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Be willing to take the risk and embrace the challenge. As I gazed up at the heights of the trail where I wanted to be, I had to decide to push out of my comfort zone.
*Take the first step. The first step is often the hardest. Once you start, you will find it easier to keep the momentum going. If I was going to enjoy the desired views, I had to start climbing.
*Keep your eye on the view you’ll see or the goal you’ll achieve. This will keep your motivation going. Pleasure motivates us. The pleasure of accomplishment comes to those willing to do the pain of the hard work. As the climb grew harder, the pleasure of the view I would see inspired me to keep going.
*Take action and practice. The more you take action, the better you get and the greater views you will see. Think of the Olympians. Through repeated practice, they win the gold. The more you take action and practice your writing, the better you will get. You will gain more confidence, especially if you are learning how to write better, implementing and refining your writing skills. You will go from strength to strength and level to level as I did in my hiking.
*Seek support. When I shared with my cousin about my hiking, he suggested the ski pole. Other writers can give you tips, which will help you make better progress. You can take an online writing course such as “How to Write for Fun and Profit” or go to a writing conference or join a writing or critique group.
Do these things and you will savor a sense of accomplishment. Additionally, you can enjoy the view each step of the way.
Go now and enjoy the gift of writing!
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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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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.
For this reason, I created a writing group where you can find encouragement, support, and accountability by clicking here.
These three factors can help you develop a habit and keep you consistent.
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 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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3 Writing Tips ~ Having Fun With Fire
What do you see in the flames?
When I drove home tonight, I spotted flames shooting into the sky in a grass field by our local university. Out of curiosity, I went over to investigate a unusually large bonfire with students gathered around it. Turns out they had created it for an event.
As I stood there, the variety of shapes the flames created intrigued me so I snapped these photos. Each time I took a photo, the shapes changed.
My imagination took over. I see faces, men. women and maybe angels in the flames.
What do you see?
The photos I shot of the wood burning intrigues me simply because of the different shapes of the wood.
I could have simply turned left instead of right to go home but I took a moment to enrich my life with a mini adventure.
Now I’m inviting you to join in the play.
What do you see?
Maybe you don’t want to share but do take a creative moment of joy in all the interesting shapes of the flames.
What does this have to do with writing?
If you’re going to be a writer you have to be able to see and share what others don’t so they can see too.
3 Creative Writing Tips
- Look for the intrigue in every day life.
- Do something out of your routine to find the extraordinary in the ordinary.
- Activate your imagination by letting your creative side out.
If you want to learn how to write, how to write better or creative writing check out this online writing course, “How to Write for Fun and Profit.” If it meets your needs, I’d love to work with you.
If you’d like more encouragement, productivity tips and strategies to overcome your writing fears, check out this book, “From Stuck to Success: Conquer Your Fears and Achieve Your Writing Dreams.”
In conclusion, ponder these questions.
- How can you break out of your routine to be open to the extraordinary?
- What do you see that intrigues you in everyday life?
- How can you share that in your writing?
When you have fun with your writing, others will too.
Enjoy the Gift of Writing!
“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. Get started. Break your writing into bite-size pieces. Then it’s easier to take the time.
- 2. Get back up. When you fall off your goal, don’t quit.
- 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, come join our “Wise Writers Write NOW for 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
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
- 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.
- Choices have consequences. You’ll experience the consequences either way, one pleasant and one not. Your choice makes the difference.
- 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.“
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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How to Write–3 Tips to Make Your Writing Magnetic
When you write, are you enthusiastic about what you share? Do you use word pictures to describe things in an appealing way to your readers? Do you know how to write in a way that engages your reader and enthralls them with your writing?
Last spring, a friend called me, “I have to go to a meeting at this lovely resort, the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, on top of Petit Jean mountain. The drive is scenic and it seemed like something you’d enjoy. I have an extra bed in the room, and wondered if you would like to go along?”
“Well, yes–sounds wonderful.”
We drove up there and she was right, I thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of mountain with its creeks and forests.
During our stay at the Institute, I wandered into the gift store and looked at the handcrafted glass bowls and local pottery.
I ambled over to the children’s section and glanced through the educational toys for my grandsons. An older woman in an elegant turquoise blouse approached me. “That is our children’s toys section. Our book section is around the corner. We have a lot of books on the history of the state.”
She pointed to the enclosed glass box, “We have beautiful blown glass and we also have it in jewelry. In fact take a look at this.” She held up an exquisite turquoise piece of glass jewelry on a sliver neck ring that curved into an interesting circle in the front where the pendant hung.
The beauty of the necklace captivated me, “It’s stunning.”
“Yes, this glassware is all handmade by a local artist. Each piece is a little different. We also have handmade soaps, pottery from local potters and books you don’t see everywhere. We have a lot of unusual things.”
She went on about all the store had to offer. The gift store was lovely to begin with but she greatly enhanced it with her descriptions. She wasn’t pushy. She simply engaged me. Suddenly the store and its contents seemed more valuable and precious. Her descriptions made me want to buy the gift items. In fact they were almost irresistible. I had to leave with something from this store.
How can you do the same in your writing? If you blog or you want to write a story, how can you take something ordinary and make it appealing?
When you write a blog post, devotional or inspiring story, use these tips below.
3 Tips to Make Your Writing Magnetic
1. See the beauty in the everyday things and share it. Think about how you can focus on a beautiful event, and add to its beauty and value as the store clerk did when she held up the stunning necklace. A writer friend of mine is writing a book in which she shares her experiences of love and care for her daughters as the Mother of the Bride. She writes with such warmth that enhances the beauty of the mother, daughter bond.
2. Look for the lessons to be learned from every day events. Recently, one of my students in my “How to Write for Fun and Profit” online writing course, wrote a story about what bike riding meant to her when she was young. She wove an inspiring message in her story and made an ordinary activity totally charming.
3. Use metaphors and similes to give magic your descriptions as you paint word pictures. Stimulate your creativity and come up with riveting ideas to “show” your reader what is going on rather than “tell” them.
If you don’t know how to do this, check out the “How to Write for Fun and Profit” online writing course. Even if you know how to write but you want to improve your writing skills, 
you will benefit from the course. If you’ve already taken the course, review some of the lessons and practice. Read books to stimulate your creativity and increase your knowledge how to write well
Creative writing will enhance your blog posts or stories. If you want to make money writing, you will irresistibly draw your customers to you.
Most of all, you will have fun as you learn how to write and express your creativity. Everyone wins when you learn how to write well!
Go Now ~ Enjoy the Gift of Writing!
How do you make your writing magnetic? Share with us in the comments below.
Idea photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
blown glassware photo courtesy of Winthrop Rockfeller Institute Gift Shop
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7 Writing Tips From A Famous Author–Charles Dickens
How would you like to be remembered as a writer?
Could you and your writings be honored in a public way like Charles Dickens?
In Britain, Prince Charles led a global celebration to celebrate Dickens’ 200 hundredth birthday. Read-a-thons were held all over the world to commemorate his writings. Even the internet took note. On the Google search engine, a Google doodle of characters from his novels greeted internet surfers.
What can you learn from Dickens that will improve your writing? What are you writing today that can impact your world in a positive way through your stories, articles or blog posts?
Charles Dickens was a popular English novelist in the mid eighteen hundreds. He felt compelled to address some of the social issues of the day such as poor child labor laws. Through his novel writing, he raised the level of awareness of the injustices and the unfair treatment of orphans and child laborers.
One of his most famous novels was “Oliver Twist,” about an orphan boy who suffered grave mistreatment. It was even made into a movie that impacts us today.
Dickens sought to encourage others to be more charitable by highlighting the plight of the poor. Millions have watched the movie or seen plays of “The Christmas Carol” and have been warned by Scrooge’s behavior and inspired to be more generous to those in need such as Tiny Tim and his family.
Dickens used vivid stories to challenge the social injustices of his day, to highlight the plight of the poor and the hardships of the working class.
This awareness of injustice and sensitivity to the poor came in part out of his own misery. When he was twelve, his father was sent to debtor’s prison and he had to go to work. He sat in a cold, dark room with rats running around, as he put labels on shoe polish cans to earn a living.
Later he drew on these experiences to create strong characters and scenes in his creative writing. He knew how to tell a story!
What can you learn from him as a writer?
7 Writing Tips From Dickens’ Writings
1. Opening sentences. He used gripping opening sentences to grab the attention of his readers. One of his openings has even become a classic line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” the first line from “The Tale of Two Cities.”
2. Powerful endings. He used cliff hangers at the end of his chapters to leave his readers hanging. In those days, chapters were released one at a time and people would line up to get the next installment because they were so eager to find out what happened next.
3. Vivid descriptions. Here’s an example. “She was dressed in rich materials – satins, and lace, and silks – all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table.” (Great Expectations. Ch.8.) His descriptions gave the reader ability to feel, see, smell and hear the people and scenes. Stories came alive through his descriptions.
4. Strong characters. Dickens was a master at creating characters who linger in our minds and have become a part of our culture such as Ebenezer Scrooge. “Bah, humbug” has even become part of our language.
5. Drama. He used action and dialogue in such a way that pulled the reader into the story. His novels were easily made into movies because of his mastery of dramatic techniques.
6. Social justice writing. He used the pen to confront the evils of the day and sway public opinion. He raised the level of awareness of injustice through the use of his stories.
7. Transformed his personal suffering into helping others. He used his own life experiences and misery to be able to help others in similar situations.
A friend of mine, Lucille Zimmerman said, “I believe writing should be powerful, raw, and beautiful. It should make you think, and act, and it should change you!”
Dickens’ creative writing did that and so can yours. You can learn how to write and pick up writing tips from creative writers such as Charles Dickens. You may not be as famous as Charles Dickens but in your own way, in your corner of the world, you can learn how to write in such a way to impact your arena of influence.
If you want to learn how to write or how to write better, you can also take courses such as “How to Write for Fun and Profit.” However you decide to learn, do take the time to improve your writing skills so you can write well.
Learn how to write a story. Write your stories, blog posts and articles in ways that captivate, challenge and change your readers’ lives for the better.
Creative Writing – What Can A Tugboat Teach You About Thinking Big?
Do you have big dreams? Would you like to do something big with your writing, with your life? Do you feel like you are an ordinary person, one little person in the world and maybe a little shy about what you can seriously accomplish?
I understand those fears because I’ve had them myself. Perhaps some of the insights below will help you take some more steps to put those fears behind you.
Child prodigy, Arfa had these thoughts about the power you have in your mind to overcome the tendency to be shy. “If you want to do something big in your life, you must remember that shyness is only the mind. If you think shy, you act shy. If you think confident you act confident. Therefore never let shyness conquer your mind.”
Arfa Karim Randhawa was the computer programming prodigy. She became the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional at 9 years old. Unfortunately Arfa only lived until she was sixteen but she had a big dream and in her short life, impacted the world in a significant way.
Another source encouragement came in an unexpected way when I visited my sister last summer in San Diego. We enjoyed an expansive view of the San Diego harbor from her high rise condo. We’d watch the large ships coming in and out of the harbor.
One of the sights that captivated me was the little tug boats pulling a big ship–and I mean a huge ship, a ship many times its size. Once the ship was in the harbor, it could no longer use its own power but had to depend on one or two tugboats to pull it in. It’s almost amusing to see these tiny little boats pulling the great ship.
Tugboats were created to tow big ships. That is their job. It doesn’t matter that they are small, they were fashioned to do this chore and they do it well.
Sometimes I identify with those tugboats. The dreams I have and the ship I want to pull in seems huge to me. Maybe you can relate. You may sometimes feel small in comparison to the big dream you have.
Perhaps God designed you to fulfill some big plans. Maybe through your writing He wants you to impact others in some significant way just as the tug boats were designed to pull the hefty boats. It’s not in your best interest or in the best interest of the world for you to shy away from the gifts, talents and abilities, God has placed in you. Maybe you won’t be a prodigy but you have your own significant assignment and role to play to make the world a better place with your writing.
Develop your writing skills, talents and abilities. Maybe you already know how to write but are you refining your skills and adding to your abilities? I’d like to invite you not to settle at the level you are in your writing skill. Always be looking for ways to add to your knowledge in how to write well and to grow in your creative writing skills. Implement new writing tips and ideas regularly.
If you have not yet learned to write, then begin now to learn how to write and the techniques of creative writing. One way is to take writing courses. The writing course, “How to Write for Fun and Profit” is designed to support you as you learn how to write or move your writing skills to the next level. I would love to support you on your writing journey but whether you take a course from me or not, learn how to write and continue to improve your skills.
A proverb which inspires me to continue to develop my writing skills says, “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings, he will not serve before obscure men.” Proverbs 22:29 (NIV 1984)
Your ever increasing ability will enable you to move big ships into the harbor–huge ships loaded with good things for yourself and for others.
Don’t be shy no matter how little you feel. Grow in your skills and have fun with it!
Go write now!
How about you? How can you overcome your shyness? What can you do to bring your big ship in?
How to Write: Allow Your Play To Support Your Work
When you go out to do something relaxing are you alert for ideas that would give you solutions? Are you open to ideas to help you solve a problem at home or work?
Open your eyes to see and ears to hear because ideas and solutions are everywhere. They come more freely when you give yourself a break and go do something fun!
Here’s an example from my own life. A friend invited me to go to an small artist colony here in Arkansas. Terra Studios is the home of the original
bluebird of happiness. I hesitated because of my long to do list for my work. I had just set my goals for the month for my productivity group and I felt self imposed pressure to get started on them. However, I had decided as part of my work goals to intentionally invest in creativity and fun activities. I had put it on my list of things to do so now I had to do something fun.
This decision to incorporate creativity activities as part of my goals started last summer when I stayed with my sister for a couple of months in San Diego. We had a blast going on creative adventures together. Since returning home I missed those adventures so I decided to schedule creative opportunities. I wrote my friend back and we found a day that would work for both of us.
The day we left, the sun shone bright and the trees still showed off all their beautiful fall leaves. As we drove, I soaked in the various array of colors, orange, red and yellow mingled in with some still green.
During our drive, I told my friend about my Conflict to Peace in Relationships blog. She shared a story of a conflict she had with a friend and a great idea for a blog post popped in my mind. I pulled out my blank notepad and began scribbling down notes to remember when I returned home.
When we arrived at artist colony, we thoroughly enjoyed all the creative statues, pottery and glass. As we toured the back
of the building and watched them blow the bluebird of happiness, my eye caught a pink bird of hope they created for women who had contacted cancer. Another idea came to me for direction in my writing.
Then on the way out, I stopped to read a group of plaques with inspiring sayings that motivated me in my writing. A realization came to me, I came to play but my play supported my work and gave me significant ideas. Fortunately, I was prepared and briefly wrote down all that came to me.
3 Tips to Capture Ideas
- Keep a pad and pen near you at all times.
- Take brief notes but enough so you can remember the essential details.
- Write as soon as you get home or within the next day while it’s fresh on your mind.
Have you thought about the connection between play and work? Sometimes we get so focused on work, we forget that play is an important part of work. Maybe if you realize that play can support your work whether it’s at an office or at home, you’ll take time to enjoy your life more.
What about you? Do you take time to relax and do fun things. What do you do to capture the ideas and solutions that come to you?