Friday, February 27, 2015

The Burner is Still On

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It is nice to know that even in times of high creativity in another area of my life, I am at a point in my writing that it doesn't get turned off. I may not have the time to sit down and craft a new story or even to sit and quick write an idea, but the plot pot is still boiling.

Today, while I was on a short break at a job, and I was doing some preliminary work on a script, a story idea came to me. As well as somewhere to go with a story in progress, which has been in progress for over two months, waiting for attention.

It used to be that if I was not actively writing, it slipped quietly into the background. It slipped off the radar into the depths of - I don't know what. But it took climbing out of the project and taking several deep breaths and longing to write before something even came up.

So this is good news.

My writing is here. It is in me. It is on my map even when my time is wrapped up in script preparation and financial responsibilities. The script work, the theatre, all of that is creative and it fuels similar brain cells. And writing is not being abandoned.

Nice to know.
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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Planning for Writing

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Well, that title was what I was planning to write about. Where I started and what I'm going to end up writing are not the same.

But they are both about writing. And about making a plan. Or planning to make a plan.

Or.

I originally started with "I am still steeped in theatre." Which is a true statement. From there I went on to say more about being steeped in theatre, which I love, but which takes more output than the money coming in. Which necessitates maintaining a certain level of other paid work to meet financial responsibilities.

And that was where I found myself on the "sit and spin" cycle.

So I set off down the internet path, another place where one can lose time, in search of something to link to or quote from or to support my thoughts on writing and time. The relationship. Or lack of.

And you know how sometimes, the thing you need to read or hear is right there. The first thing in your search or on the bus or in the office when you walk through the door? That happened.

This:


Then there was this one, which early on had the quote "Time is a level playing field" :
xxx ... this second site includes the "Top Ten Time-Wasting Strategies" - ideas to keep the creative juices flowing even when you think you can't.

So that's it.

Or to at least plan for the time when I can. That is my other strategy - look for the times when I can write more freely, flowingly, deeply. And put it in the books. Look for a time when I can take a retreat and write. At least writing is staying in the playing field and it isn't lost under the pile of scheduling and plays and work like in the past. My writing is still present.
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Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Creativity: Sound Artist Christine Sun Kim

I was introduced to the work of this artist, Christine Sun Kim (CK), a couple of years ago. It was in a film about an earlier sound art project she was working on. I loved her exploration of her world, and the various ways she made sound visible, with speakers and paint and object and electricity.

Recently, someone else I know posted a video about this artist's work - a newer project. More work with sound and I was intrigued by the headline of the ArtBeat article about CK, how she is exploring "the social rules of sound."

Oh, did I mention that CK is Deaf?

Below are three videos of her talking about her work and showing her work. You can read the PBS/ArtBeat article by clicking the linked title, Deaf since birth, artist Christine Sun Kim explores the social rules of sound.

With the heightened activity of theatrical involvement right now, writing is riding in the back seat. It's not gone, but writing has been confined to composing work and related emails, to promoting productions I'm involved with, and so on. And to editing. It has been interesting that while my writing new material is on hold during this period, I have been able to complete a couple of major rewrites of pieces I've struggled with for a while. It makes sense. The theatrical work I've been doing is analytical and conceptual and focuses on language use at multiple levels. So it makes sense that my brain is already in that re-vision and editing mode.

That also explains why I am also looking more at general, cross mode, creativity rather than specific writing information right now. Although I have added another book to my To Be Read stack of writing books.

I enjoy CK's work, her process. And she is a great example of how we can remain creatively open, be curious, and explore the world and our creative work in our own unique way.









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