December 2011
12 posts
5 tags
Dec 1st
1 note
November 2011
14 posts
5 tags
Nov 30th
7 notes
8 tags
Nov 27th
14 notes
6 tags
But it's all just made up!
I’ve been mulling over the argument I posted about this week - that it’s irresponsible to pay attention to “stories that are made up” when the world is in crisis. Ok. I get that fiction is not everyone’s cup of tea, and honestly there are many people in my life I love and respect deeply who don’t read novels. It’s not a huge deal.   But I’m curious...
Nov 24th
9 notes
6 tags
“Survival issues are bound to intrude. There is always the rent to pay. The facts...”
– Eric Maisel. The 97 Best Creativity Tips Ever. (no. 91)
Nov 24th
4 notes
11 tags
A Defence of Fiction
My last post was about the claim that appeared in The Guardian recently  - that when things in the world are bad, it’s irresponsible to read fiction since we should be reading the “serious stuff.” So this post is a defence of fiction. Hyopthesis: Fiction is a forum for complex “thought experiments” that advance our understanding of the world and our role in it. Say you’re a scientist....
Nov 21st
4 notes
5 tags
No time for novels – should we ditch fiction in... →
“When our daily news is apocalyptic, it’s irresponsible to read made-up stories. It’s time to start reading the serious stuff instead.” by Zoe Williams. The Guardian, Saturday 19 November 2011. Interesting point of view. I could argue both sides - that fiction is vital and that fiction is completely useless; I guess it all depends on how you tell the story. Spoiler alert,...
Nov 21st
6 notes
7 tags
Nov 19th
5 tags
“Amateurs wait for the muse to arrive; the rest of us just get to work.”
– Philip Roth
Nov 16th
3 notes
6 tags
Nov 14th
17 notes
6 tags
“A work of art is not a matter of thinking beautiful thoughts or experiencing...”
– Evelyn Waugh. I don’t always agree with Evelyn Waugh, but I do like this quote. Of course, being me, I need to edit it slightly. I would say that a work of art is not just a matter of thinking beautiful thoughts, etc - I’d hate to cut beautiful thoughts or tender emotions out of the...
Nov 11th
9 notes
5 tags
Nov 10th
34 notes
3 tags
“The need to be a great artist makes it hard to be an artist. The need to produce...”
– Julia Cameron
Nov 8th
4 notes
5 tags
Nov 5th
4 notes
7 tags
Express Yourself: 10 ways to find time to be... →
Happy to announce that my article in this month’s Parents Canada is now available online. A lot of articles about parenting and creativity are about nurturing your kids’ creativity. This one is about nurturing YOURS. Enjoy! (Big thank you to those I quoted in this article - I appreciate all your help!)
Nov 2nd
9 notes