Category: Productivity

McSweeney’s is a Terrific Writer’s Resource

Cuz it brings us helpful bits like this:

McSweeneys-CaptureThe Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Normally Do
by Colin Nissan

WRITE EVERY DAY

Writing is a muscle. Smaller than a hamstring and slightly bigger than a bicep, and it needs to be exercised to get stronger. Think of your words as reps, your paragraphs as sets, your pages as daily workouts. Think of your laptop as a machine like the one at the gym where you open and close your inner thighs in front of everyone, exposing both your insecurities and your genitals. Because that is what writing is all about.

DON’T PROCRASTINATE

Procrastination is an alluring siren taunting you to Google the country where Balki from Perfect Strangers was from, and to arrange sticky notes on your dog in the shape of hilarious dog shorts. A wicked temptress beckoning you to watch your children, and take showers. Well, it’s time to look procrastination in the eye and tell that seafaring wench, “Sorry not today, today I write.” read article

Does Clutter Drive Creativity?

Hey, we thought it was porn that was the guiding light in all things creative. (Especially on the interwebs.) But Kristen Fischer sees it differently:

monkey-biz-tvwriter.comby Kristen Fischer

Last month, I dismanted my desk. I took the entire top shelving unit off, which was full to the brim with everything from bills and stamps to CDs and paper clips.Call it a feng shui movement or plain-old boredom, but all the clutter was driving me crazy. So I stripped the junk, put most of it away and went with the standard monitor on desk. (Okay, there’s also a lamp, phone and picture of my dead cat.)

I am a neat person for the most part, but I know many creatives that thrive in their messes. Apparently, some people work better that way–and a new study confirms it. read article

Eight Creativity Lessons From a Pixar Animator

The other day we realized that although here at TVWriter™ we have a natural tendency toward, well, snark and often poke a little (okay, sometimes a lot) fun at various thoughts/issues/ideas/stuff, there’s one company that we’ve never mocked in any way.

Pixar.

The following creamy goodness does a damn good job of showing why: read article

Writing and the Creative Life: “Creativity-In-Action

And now a simple fact that has kind of ruined the “I’m a creative!” thing for far too many people: “Creativity requires more than inspiration. It requires us to build skills and knowledge, to master the craft.” Don’t sweat this thing, gang. Just do it:

write-plan-tvwriter.comby Scott Myers

What exactly is creativity and how do we foster it? This is not only a question of interest to people involved in the arts. There is a lot of energy being dedicated toward its study in business and science. Recently I discovered an interesting overview of these efforts in this article: “Elephants in the Room of Creativity and Innovation Talk” by Milena Z. Fisher, Ph.D. The whole piece is well worth reading, but this section jumped out at me:

Creativity preachers are constantly encouraging their audience to “follow their dreams.” Every time I hear this message I can’t help but think about the legions of young and promising kids who want to be actors, musicians, inventors… Unfortunately, some of them do follow their dreams but to the point of misery and even drug abuse. Take a look at the faces of these young people in Paul Jasmin’s photos from his fantastic album “Lost Angeles”. In the foreword, Jasmin explains the following: “Here are the ‘tarnished angels’ that hang out on Hollywood Boulevard or in local motel rooms, that have come to L.A. looking for the American dream, Hollywood style, and have quickly discovered it takes more than just desire to succeed.” read article

Writing at the Speed of the Unconscious

Sometimes I lie in bed pondering, well, pretty much everything. Except maybe how fast my subconscious mind might be. Cuz, hey, with all the regret I have on my plate, who has time for speed?

Kate Arms-Roberts, OTOH, is so into this thing that she has me spinning too:

typewriter-tvwriter.comby Kate Arms-Roberts

What The Subconscious is to every other man, in its creative aspect becomes, for writers, The Muse. ~ Ray Bradbury read article