Romancing the Creative Life in Portland, Oregon
Kim Switzer
Inspiration From Others
Have you ever read something that made you want to set it down and write something of your own? It happens to me quite a lot. If I’m having trouble starting a new story, I’ll seek out writings from my favorite authors and poems just to find a little spark for myself in their words.
I am thinking about this today mostly because this is the anniversary of the publication of my favorite Edgar Allan Poe poem, “Annabel Lee.” (The poem was published in 1849, two days after his death.) My favorite lines in the poem: “And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side/Of my darling -my darling -my life and my bride.” I don’t know why, but those lines have given me a thrill ever since I was a child, and whenever I read the poem, I itch to write something spooky and atmospheric in response.
Some other lines that stir my muse:
From “Lost” by David Wagoner: “Wherever you are is called Here,/And you must treat it as a powerful stranger.”
From “Tapu’at House” by Charles de Lint: “In the Fairy House,/Coyote sleeps.”
And this line from Terri Windling, and I don’t remember where it’s from I think maybe from The Wood Wife: “rustlings in the midnight wood.”
So…stuck? Not sure what you feel like working on just now? Grab some of your favorite books and poems and start reading (this works for visual artists, too). Wait for a line to grab you. When it does, write it down then keep writing, anything that comes to mind. And keep more paper or paintbrushes or whatever your art needs nearby. This always stirs up my creativity. I’ll bet it will do the same for you.
Kim Switzer is an aspiring novelist and avid dabbler in various visual and fiber arts, especially embroidery, beaded embroidery, oil painting, and her new-found love--art quilting. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend, her cat, and various incarnations of her muse. For more information or to contact Kim, you can use the
following links:
Website: http://www.mythicwriters.org
Blog: http://www.wordcolors.blogspot.com
E-mail: kimswitzer@mythicwriters.org
Read more!
Showing posts with label Kim Switzer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kim Switzer. Show all posts
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Muse Quest PDX
Romancing the Creative Life in Portland, Oregon
Kim Switzer
Inspiration Through Doing
Remember those old Nike commercials? “Just do it!” I think sometimes finding my muse is like that. If I just start doing something, anything, on one of my projects, she’ll get interested and show up.
In September, I had the chance to interview author Maureen McQuerry for her Fall, 2008 blog tour (you can read the interview on my writing blog). When asked what advice she would give aspiring authors, she quoted Jane Yolen. “B.I.C.—Butt In Chair.” I’ve noticed this suggestion popping up in my life quite a lot lately.
Earlier this year, I joined an online writing group called Book-in-a-Week. Their motto? BIC HOC TAM. Butt in chair, hands on keyboard, typing away madly. Then, Maureen McQuerry offered the same advice, quoting another author I admire.
Finally, in case I wasn’t quite completely sure that the Universe was trying to tell me something, I got a really great book out of the library on Tuesday. Revision & Self-editing by James Scott Bell (I highly recommend it—this one is definitely a purchase for the writing shelf book). And what does he say on page 16? “Most often the parking of the butt in chair, and the pounding of keys by fingers, is all you need.” To top it off, at the beginning of the first section, he quotes Michael Crichton: “Keep working. Don’t wait for inspiration. Work inspires inspiration. Keep working.”
And today I parked my butt in the chair. I pulled out my notebooks, some note cards, a pack of sticky notes and my pen. And I worked. And you know what? It was hard to stop to work on this post. I just want to keep going now, even though it took me almost two hours to actually get myself to start working.
Now I’m putting my butt back in my writer’s chair. If you’re having trouble getting in touch with your muse, try the B.I.C. method—it seems to be working for me. I hope it will work for you, too. Let me know how it goes!
Kim Switzer is an aspiring novelist and avid dabbler in various visual and fiber arts, especially embroidery, beaded embroidery, oil painting, and her new-found love--art quilting. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend, her cat, and various incarnations of her muse. For more information or to contact Kim, you can use the
following links:
Website: http://www.mythicwriters.org
Blog: http://www.wordcolors.blogspot.com
E-mail: kimswitzer@mythicwriters.org
Read more!
Kim Switzer
Inspiration Through Doing
Remember those old Nike commercials? “Just do it!” I think sometimes finding my muse is like that. If I just start doing something, anything, on one of my projects, she’ll get interested and show up.
In September, I had the chance to interview author Maureen McQuerry for her Fall, 2008 blog tour (you can read the interview on my writing blog). When asked what advice she would give aspiring authors, she quoted Jane Yolen. “B.I.C.—Butt In Chair.” I’ve noticed this suggestion popping up in my life quite a lot lately.
Earlier this year, I joined an online writing group called Book-in-a-Week. Their motto? BIC HOC TAM. Butt in chair, hands on keyboard, typing away madly. Then, Maureen McQuerry offered the same advice, quoting another author I admire.
Finally, in case I wasn’t quite completely sure that the Universe was trying to tell me something, I got a really great book out of the library on Tuesday. Revision & Self-editing by James Scott Bell (I highly recommend it—this one is definitely a purchase for the writing shelf book). And what does he say on page 16? “Most often the parking of the butt in chair, and the pounding of keys by fingers, is all you need.” To top it off, at the beginning of the first section, he quotes Michael Crichton: “Keep working. Don’t wait for inspiration. Work inspires inspiration. Keep working.”
And today I parked my butt in the chair. I pulled out my notebooks, some note cards, a pack of sticky notes and my pen. And I worked. And you know what? It was hard to stop to work on this post. I just want to keep going now, even though it took me almost two hours to actually get myself to start working.
Now I’m putting my butt back in my writer’s chair. If you’re having trouble getting in touch with your muse, try the B.I.C. method—it seems to be working for me. I hope it will work for you, too. Let me know how it goes!
Kim Switzer is an aspiring novelist and avid dabbler in various visual and fiber arts, especially embroidery, beaded embroidery, oil painting, and her new-found love--art quilting. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend, her cat, and various incarnations of her muse. For more information or to contact Kim, you can use the
following links:
Website: http://www.mythicwriters.org
Blog: http://www.wordcolors.blogspot.com
E-mail: kimswitzer@mythicwriters.org
Read more!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Muse Quest PDX
Romancing the Creative Life in Portland, Oregon
Kim Switzer
Lounging My Way to Inspiration
Here I am, returned from an unintended and rather extended hiatus. I’m feeling really ready to write and create and get back into the world, though, so my time off was a good thing.
I suppose planning this sort of break might work better. It would have led to more relaxation and rejuvenation right from the start, I’m sure, since at first I worried and stressed out over my lack of getting anything done. During the second week, though, I realized that this chunk of down time was really useful and necessary for me. A death in the family, two family members with serious illnesses, and an injury of my own had left me feeling really frazzled and depressed. Time to regroup was a brilliant plan; I’m glad my subconscious thought of it.
Looking back, I realize that I didn’t spend the past three weeks just vegging out and doing nothing, though. I’ve been thinking about what I did during my down time that helped me de-stress and start to feel creative again. Here’s my plan—which next time will (I hope) be put into play on purpose:
1. Recognize that you need some downtime to recharge yourself and your creativity
2. Decide how much time you’re taking off and when. And decide if it’s time off from everything, including the day job, or if it’s time off from extracurriculars, etc.
3. Decide how you want to feel at the end of your time off. Do you want to be energized, inspired, creative, rested? This decision will help you figure out what you will actually do during your break.
4. Make a list of things (books, movies, tv shows, music, anything at all) that you feel might lead you in the direction of the feeling you’re trying to achieve.
5. Spend as much time as you can reading, watching, listening, and letting yourself unwind. Don’t try to achieve any outcome except relaxing and enjoying yourself. If you’re not enjoying one of the things on your list, put it down and move on—this is all about the enjoyment and relaxation.
I did these steps unintentionally, but obviously what I needed was to stop feeling anxious and depressed and to stop feeling like my writing and other creative pursuits were just more things piling up on top of me, adding to the pressure, making me feel bad.
I found that my time was spent watching favorite movies and TV shows (Terminator 2, X-Files), re-reading favorite books (several by Charles de Lint), reading books on writing, a couple of books on fiber arts and collage. In other words, most of what I was spending my time on was very relaxing but still related to my writing and creative life (since I write contemporary fantasy and some dark fantasy/horror, the movies really do count!). By immersing myself in all of the pleasurable aspects of my creativity with no pressure to try to write or create anything, I ended up letting go of the pressure, and now I’m back to feeling creative and inspired and ready to write.
I hope this experience and the ensuing list is helpful to someone else. I know I’m printing this out to stick in the back of my journal as a quick reference if I need it again. Here’s hoping none of us needs to use it too much.
Kim Switzer is an aspiring novelist and avid dabbler in various visual and fiber arts, especially embroidery, beaded embroidery, oil painting, and her new-found love--art quilting. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend, her cat, and various incarnations of her muse. For more information or to contact Kim, you can use the
following links:
Website: http://www.mythicwriters.org
Blog: http://www.wordcolors.blogspot.com
E-mail: kimswitzer@mythicwriters.org
Read more!
Kim Switzer
Lounging My Way to Inspiration
Here I am, returned from an unintended and rather extended hiatus. I’m feeling really ready to write and create and get back into the world, though, so my time off was a good thing.
I suppose planning this sort of break might work better. It would have led to more relaxation and rejuvenation right from the start, I’m sure, since at first I worried and stressed out over my lack of getting anything done. During the second week, though, I realized that this chunk of down time was really useful and necessary for me. A death in the family, two family members with serious illnesses, and an injury of my own had left me feeling really frazzled and depressed. Time to regroup was a brilliant plan; I’m glad my subconscious thought of it.
Looking back, I realize that I didn’t spend the past three weeks just vegging out and doing nothing, though. I’ve been thinking about what I did during my down time that helped me de-stress and start to feel creative again. Here’s my plan—which next time will (I hope) be put into play on purpose:
1. Recognize that you need some downtime to recharge yourself and your creativity
2. Decide how much time you’re taking off and when. And decide if it’s time off from everything, including the day job, or if it’s time off from extracurriculars, etc.
3. Decide how you want to feel at the end of your time off. Do you want to be energized, inspired, creative, rested? This decision will help you figure out what you will actually do during your break.
4. Make a list of things (books, movies, tv shows, music, anything at all) that you feel might lead you in the direction of the feeling you’re trying to achieve.
5. Spend as much time as you can reading, watching, listening, and letting yourself unwind. Don’t try to achieve any outcome except relaxing and enjoying yourself. If you’re not enjoying one of the things on your list, put it down and move on—this is all about the enjoyment and relaxation.
I did these steps unintentionally, but obviously what I needed was to stop feeling anxious and depressed and to stop feeling like my writing and other creative pursuits were just more things piling up on top of me, adding to the pressure, making me feel bad.
I found that my time was spent watching favorite movies and TV shows (Terminator 2, X-Files), re-reading favorite books (several by Charles de Lint), reading books on writing, a couple of books on fiber arts and collage. In other words, most of what I was spending my time on was very relaxing but still related to my writing and creative life (since I write contemporary fantasy and some dark fantasy/horror, the movies really do count!). By immersing myself in all of the pleasurable aspects of my creativity with no pressure to try to write or create anything, I ended up letting go of the pressure, and now I’m back to feeling creative and inspired and ready to write.
I hope this experience and the ensuing list is helpful to someone else. I know I’m printing this out to stick in the back of my journal as a quick reference if I need it again. Here’s hoping none of us needs to use it too much.
Kim Switzer is an aspiring novelist and avid dabbler in various visual and fiber arts, especially embroidery, beaded embroidery, oil painting, and her new-found love--art quilting. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend, her cat, and various incarnations of her muse. For more information or to contact Kim, you can use the
following links:
Website: http://www.mythicwriters.org
Blog: http://www.wordcolors.blogspot.com
E-mail: kimswitzer@mythicwriters.org
Read more!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Muse Quest PDX
Romancing the Creative Life in Portland, Oregon
Kim Switzer
Living In Inspiration
I have so much going on in my writing life right now—a new writers’ group, a chance to interview Maureen McQuerry for a blog tour in September, submissions for the writing workshop at OryCon…I’m feeling kind of overwhelmed.
I am a little worried that my story ideas aren’t good enough or that they’ll dry up. I’m worried that I won’t think of good questions for the upcoming interview. I’m scared that I won’t get anything together to submit for the workshop. I’m just feeling a little fretful overall (but I have that wonderful tingle of butterflies in my stomach letting me know I’m on the right track, so it’s okay).
I know that all artists have all of this sort of stuff going on all the time. We all get frazzled by it. I’m lucky, though . Right now, I’m sitting in my grungy, dumpy, day-job office, feeling tense and anxious. But if I turn my chair toward the window, I can look across the street and see the river twinkling in the sunlight. I watch the little, golden wavelets going by, the constant flow of water, and somehow I can remember to breathe. I watch the water, and I can feel the calm settling into me. And later, when I’m heading home, I will have my driving companion, Mt. Hood, to remind me to stay steady, stay cool. It’s an incredible stroke of luck to be surrounded by this sort of beauty.
I think Portland is just made for writers and artists and any creative sorts—just look at the scores of musicians and writers and artists all around Portland and the Pacific Northwest for proof. There’s something about this place that just draws out your creativity, pours ideas one after the other into your brain so you can barely keep up, barely manage to write them all down. Maybe it’s the scenery. Twenty minutes out of the city and I can be in the Columbia River Gorge, walking under waterfalls. Not so much further, and I can actually be at the base of Mt. Hood, dwarfed by its size, stirred by the grandness. Or I can go just over an hour in the other direction and be standing on the Pacific coast, watching the breakers roll in, feeling the wind with its salty tang. You can just tell there are hundreds of stories at the coast, in and amongst all the crags and rocks and inlets. And this part of the world is so generous with the stories and inspiration. If you will only take a few minutes to look around and appreciate, you’ll always be rewarded.
Could I have these sorts of inspirations somewhere else? Of course. Most of it is inside me already; the landscape just helps me let it out. But there’s something magical about being reminded of the constant flow of creativity when I look at the river coursing past, something powerful about remembering the strength of my own creativity as I take in the steady, powerful presence of the mountains. If you look around, you will find that creativity is written everywhere in this place. You just have to take the time to look and remember that you know how to read it.
And I do know. And I know I have to take what I’ve drawn to me from this place I live in and put it into my work. But I know I can do that, too.
Kim Switzer is an aspiring novelist and avid dabbler in various visual and fiber arts, especially embroidery, beaded embroidery, oil painting, and her new-found love--art quilting. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend, her cat, and various incarnations of her muse. For more information or to contact Kim, you can use the
following links:
Website: http://www.mythicwriters.org
Blog: http://www.wordcolors.blogspot.com
E-mail: kimswitzer@mythicwriters.org
Read more!
Kim Switzer
Living In Inspiration
I have so much going on in my writing life right now—a new writers’ group, a chance to interview Maureen McQuerry for a blog tour in September, submissions for the writing workshop at OryCon…I’m feeling kind of overwhelmed.
I am a little worried that my story ideas aren’t good enough or that they’ll dry up. I’m worried that I won’t think of good questions for the upcoming interview. I’m scared that I won’t get anything together to submit for the workshop. I’m just feeling a little fretful overall (but I have that wonderful tingle of butterflies in my stomach letting me know I’m on the right track, so it’s okay).
I know that all artists have all of this sort of stuff going on all the time. We all get frazzled by it. I’m lucky, though . Right now, I’m sitting in my grungy, dumpy, day-job office, feeling tense and anxious. But if I turn my chair toward the window, I can look across the street and see the river twinkling in the sunlight. I watch the little, golden wavelets going by, the constant flow of water, and somehow I can remember to breathe. I watch the water, and I can feel the calm settling into me. And later, when I’m heading home, I will have my driving companion, Mt. Hood, to remind me to stay steady, stay cool. It’s an incredible stroke of luck to be surrounded by this sort of beauty.
I think Portland is just made for writers and artists and any creative sorts—just look at the scores of musicians and writers and artists all around Portland and the Pacific Northwest for proof. There’s something about this place that just draws out your creativity, pours ideas one after the other into your brain so you can barely keep up, barely manage to write them all down. Maybe it’s the scenery. Twenty minutes out of the city and I can be in the Columbia River Gorge, walking under waterfalls. Not so much further, and I can actually be at the base of Mt. Hood, dwarfed by its size, stirred by the grandness. Or I can go just over an hour in the other direction and be standing on the Pacific coast, watching the breakers roll in, feeling the wind with its salty tang. You can just tell there are hundreds of stories at the coast, in and amongst all the crags and rocks and inlets. And this part of the world is so generous with the stories and inspiration. If you will only take a few minutes to look around and appreciate, you’ll always be rewarded.
Could I have these sorts of inspirations somewhere else? Of course. Most of it is inside me already; the landscape just helps me let it out. But there’s something magical about being reminded of the constant flow of creativity when I look at the river coursing past, something powerful about remembering the strength of my own creativity as I take in the steady, powerful presence of the mountains. If you look around, you will find that creativity is written everywhere in this place. You just have to take the time to look and remember that you know how to read it.
And I do know. And I know I have to take what I’ve drawn to me from this place I live in and put it into my work. But I know I can do that, too.
Kim Switzer is an aspiring novelist and avid dabbler in various visual and fiber arts, especially embroidery, beaded embroidery, oil painting, and her new-found love--art quilting. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend, her cat, and various incarnations of her muse. For more information or to contact Kim, you can use the
following links:
Website: http://www.mythicwriters.org
Blog: http://www.wordcolors.blogspot.com
E-mail: kimswitzer@mythicwriters.org
Read more!
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Muse Quest PDX
Romancing the Creative Life in Portland, Oregon
Kim Switzer
Creative Inspiration in a Crowd
First, sorry I missed a post last week. That was planned. Forgetting to mention it in my previous post—completely off-the-cuff!
So where was I? Attending the Willamette Writers’ Conference. It was magnificent! The organization was great. The facilities were very nice and only twenty minutes from home. The workshops were really good—interesting and informative with lots of information I can use in my writing. But none of these was the best part of the weekend.
What was the best part? The way I felt afterward—energized, enthused, motivated, ready to jump back into my writing and really gear it up and get it moving. And the cherry on top? I came out feeling like a writer. I am a writer! I know I can tackle my current, thorny manuscript problems, smooth them out and come out with a better story. Because I am a writer! Feeling this way made the conference worth the price of admission even without the outstanding workshops.
Now I’m coming down from the conference high a little bit. I am still feeling really motivated, and I want to stay this way. So I’ve been mulling over the reasons why attending the conference made me feel so great and so ready to tackle my writing in earnest. I’m thinking that if I know what built up the feelings, I can find ways to keep some of that going in my life and keep my resolve high. So what was the magic trick?
I think there were several elements that left me feeling so good:
Camaraderie—I was with a bunch of other people who were in various stages of their own writing careers. We could all either understand where the other attendees were coming from or imagine where they were going from our own writing experiences. Having other writers around who understand what you’re doing and don’t mind hearing you go on about it is a huge relief and hugely energizing. Maybe because no energy is being spent trying to translate your experiences into terms non-writers won’t find weird. How to keep this in my life? I think my newly formed writing group will do this for me. If I need even more, I can become more active in my online writing group. I can also try to make connections at the Willamette Writers monthly meetings.
Recognition—Throughout the weekend, the people running the conference and most of the people leading the workshops called us writers. They referred to us as writers out loud and in writing. Just having some outside acknowledgement of myself as a writer made if feel more true, more real to me. How to get more of this in my life? Practice calling myself a writer—I think this is a biggie and something I need to work on. Also, my writing friends and I can practice referring to each other as writers. If nothing else, this will come in handy when we make that first big sale and someone asks us to talk about our work. At least we won’t stumble over introducing ourselves.
Confidence—While confidence wasn’t handed out at the door and wasn’t even really talked about much in most of the workshops, just spending a weekend with people who seemed quite sure that we could do the things we need to do to be better writers built up my confidence. Keeping this in my life might be a little trickier since confidence is so internal. Lots of practice at writing coupled with some positive feedback should help. And further down the road, starting to publish some works will probably give my confidence a boost, too.
I know not all conferences and workshops provide all of these things. This particular conference was exceptionally good. But the experience was incredible—I can hardly wait for next year! So if you can, spend time with other people who also practice your art. The boost is worth it, really.
Kim Switzer is an aspiring novelist and avid dabbler in various visual and fiber arts, especially embroidery, beaded embroidery, oil painting, and her new-found love--art quilting. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend, her cat, and various incarnations of her muse. For more information or to contact Kim, you can use the
following links:
Website: http://www.mythicwriters.org
Blog: http://www.wordcolors.blogspot.com
E-mail: kimswitzer@mythicwriters.org
Read more!
Kim Switzer
Creative Inspiration in a Crowd
First, sorry I missed a post last week. That was planned. Forgetting to mention it in my previous post—completely off-the-cuff!
So where was I? Attending the Willamette Writers’ Conference. It was magnificent! The organization was great. The facilities were very nice and only twenty minutes from home. The workshops were really good—interesting and informative with lots of information I can use in my writing. But none of these was the best part of the weekend.
What was the best part? The way I felt afterward—energized, enthused, motivated, ready to jump back into my writing and really gear it up and get it moving. And the cherry on top? I came out feeling like a writer. I am a writer! I know I can tackle my current, thorny manuscript problems, smooth them out and come out with a better story. Because I am a writer! Feeling this way made the conference worth the price of admission even without the outstanding workshops.
Now I’m coming down from the conference high a little bit. I am still feeling really motivated, and I want to stay this way. So I’ve been mulling over the reasons why attending the conference made me feel so great and so ready to tackle my writing in earnest. I’m thinking that if I know what built up the feelings, I can find ways to keep some of that going in my life and keep my resolve high. So what was the magic trick?
I think there were several elements that left me feeling so good:
Camaraderie—I was with a bunch of other people who were in various stages of their own writing careers. We could all either understand where the other attendees were coming from or imagine where they were going from our own writing experiences. Having other writers around who understand what you’re doing and don’t mind hearing you go on about it is a huge relief and hugely energizing. Maybe because no energy is being spent trying to translate your experiences into terms non-writers won’t find weird. How to keep this in my life? I think my newly formed writing group will do this for me. If I need even more, I can become more active in my online writing group. I can also try to make connections at the Willamette Writers monthly meetings.
Recognition—Throughout the weekend, the people running the conference and most of the people leading the workshops called us writers. They referred to us as writers out loud and in writing. Just having some outside acknowledgement of myself as a writer made if feel more true, more real to me. How to get more of this in my life? Practice calling myself a writer—I think this is a biggie and something I need to work on. Also, my writing friends and I can practice referring to each other as writers. If nothing else, this will come in handy when we make that first big sale and someone asks us to talk about our work. At least we won’t stumble over introducing ourselves.
Confidence—While confidence wasn’t handed out at the door and wasn’t even really talked about much in most of the workshops, just spending a weekend with people who seemed quite sure that we could do the things we need to do to be better writers built up my confidence. Keeping this in my life might be a little trickier since confidence is so internal. Lots of practice at writing coupled with some positive feedback should help. And further down the road, starting to publish some works will probably give my confidence a boost, too.
I know not all conferences and workshops provide all of these things. This particular conference was exceptionally good. But the experience was incredible—I can hardly wait for next year! So if you can, spend time with other people who also practice your art. The boost is worth it, really.
Kim Switzer is an aspiring novelist and avid dabbler in various visual and fiber arts, especially embroidery, beaded embroidery, oil painting, and her new-found love--art quilting. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend, her cat, and various incarnations of her muse. For more information or to contact Kim, you can use the
following links:
Website: http://www.mythicwriters.org
Blog: http://www.wordcolors.blogspot.com
E-mail: kimswitzer@mythicwriters.org
Read more!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Muse Quest PDX
Romancing the Creative Life in Portland, Oregon
Kim Switzer
Inspiration, Aisle 5
I’ve had an especially inspiring, creatively stimulating week. First, after several years and a couple of false starts, I have a writers’ group again! We had our first meeting Wednesday night, five of us in a little back room in Anna Banana’s coffee shop. I’m so excited by this! But I’m writing at length about that in my writing blog, so I won’t go on here.
Instead, I’ll mention the time of year. It’s late July. Nearly August. Do you know what that means? If you’ve been in a store lately, and you’re anything like me, you’ve probably guessed what I’m talking about—school supplies!
I love school supplies. Pens. Notebooks. Folders and binders, calendars and planners, index cards, rulers…These make my writerly heart go pitter pat.
Why? I don’t know for sure. I know that I’ve always been excited by all of the new school supplies at back-to-school time. My mother loves school supplies, too. Maybe it’s genetic.
I think one of the reasons I get so excited by school supplies is the seemingly limitless creative possibilities in them. Imagine all the stories that can fill those notebooks! All the notes and ideas and new bits of knowledge. Picture all the drawings and doodles that can fill the blank books! It’s a blank slate, a wide open invitation to create as much as you can, to fill all the pages with your ideas.
The other wildly attractive part of new school supplies is all of the organizational possibilities. I always imagine having just the right folders and calendars and things and being very organized, having everything where I want it, knowing not only what I’m going to do with my stories and pictures now but also what I’m going to do next. I think I somehow believe that with enough index cards and calendar pages, even I can be organized. It never quite works out that way for me—I don’t think my brain quite works like that—but the chance that it might happen never ceases to inspire me.
I’m off now to add a few notebooks, maybe a little 18-month calendar/planner I have my eye on, and another stack of index cards to my stash. If you’re looking for me, I’ll be rearranging files and folders, labeling new index tabs, and generally preparing for the most creative time of the year.
Kim Switzer is an aspiring novelist and avid dabbler in various visual and fiber arts, especially embroidery, beaded embroidery, oil painting, and her new-found love--art quilting. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend, her cat, and various incarnations of her muse. For more information or to contact Kim, you can use the
following links:
Website: http://www.mythicwriters.org
Blog: http://www.wordcolors.blogspot.com
E-mail: kimswitzer@mythicwriters.org
Read more!
Kim Switzer
Inspiration, Aisle 5
I’ve had an especially inspiring, creatively stimulating week. First, after several years and a couple of false starts, I have a writers’ group again! We had our first meeting Wednesday night, five of us in a little back room in Anna Banana’s coffee shop. I’m so excited by this! But I’m writing at length about that in my writing blog, so I won’t go on here.
Instead, I’ll mention the time of year. It’s late July. Nearly August. Do you know what that means? If you’ve been in a store lately, and you’re anything like me, you’ve probably guessed what I’m talking about—school supplies!
I love school supplies. Pens. Notebooks. Folders and binders, calendars and planners, index cards, rulers…These make my writerly heart go pitter pat.
Why? I don’t know for sure. I know that I’ve always been excited by all of the new school supplies at back-to-school time. My mother loves school supplies, too. Maybe it’s genetic.
I think one of the reasons I get so excited by school supplies is the seemingly limitless creative possibilities in them. Imagine all the stories that can fill those notebooks! All the notes and ideas and new bits of knowledge. Picture all the drawings and doodles that can fill the blank books! It’s a blank slate, a wide open invitation to create as much as you can, to fill all the pages with your ideas.
The other wildly attractive part of new school supplies is all of the organizational possibilities. I always imagine having just the right folders and calendars and things and being very organized, having everything where I want it, knowing not only what I’m going to do with my stories and pictures now but also what I’m going to do next. I think I somehow believe that with enough index cards and calendar pages, even I can be organized. It never quite works out that way for me—I don’t think my brain quite works like that—but the chance that it might happen never ceases to inspire me.
I’m off now to add a few notebooks, maybe a little 18-month calendar/planner I have my eye on, and another stack of index cards to my stash. If you’re looking for me, I’ll be rearranging files and folders, labeling new index tabs, and generally preparing for the most creative time of the year.
Kim Switzer is an aspiring novelist and avid dabbler in various visual and fiber arts, especially embroidery, beaded embroidery, oil painting, and her new-found love--art quilting. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend, her cat, and various incarnations of her muse. For more information or to contact Kim, you can use the
following links:
Website: http://www.mythicwriters.org
Blog: http://www.wordcolors.blogspot.com
E-mail: kimswitzer@mythicwriters.org
Read more!
Monday, July 14, 2008
MUSE QUEST PDX
Romancing the Creative Life in Portland, Oregon
Kim Switzer
Inspiration and Enthusiasm
Charles Kinsley said, “We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.” I agree wholeheartedly. I would add that we need to do something with that enthusiasm, although being enthusiastic about something generally leads to some sort of action. I also would add that for a creative life, we need to nurture and cherish our enthusiasms and seek out new ones. These passions fuel our creations and keep inspired so that we keep creating. Enthusiasm is creativity’s driving force.
Those are nice, rather philosophical ideas, aren’t they? But creativity does have a practical, concrete side to it. So how do enthusiasms become finished creative works? There are different ways. I’ll show you how it works for me sometimes:
This week, I’m completely fascinated with 16th Century Italy and 19th Century England (I belong to two different historical recreation groups that focus on these time periods). I’m especially intrigued by the similarities between what, at first glance, appear to be wildly different eras.
For example, if you look at dress styles from the early 1500s in Italy and from the early 1800s in England, you will see remarkable similarities. What we call the “empire waistline” in 2008 was the style of the day in Italy in 1508 and again in England in 1808. And the clothing of the later 16th Century with its Elizabethan styles has quite a lot in common with the Victorian era styles of two hundred years later. I am even finding similarities in embroidery styles from the two eras, which is giving me all sorts of ideas of patterns to play with.
So where’s the inspiration in all of this? Mostly in my head right now. While I meant to write this first post about inspiration for my writing, which is my first love, my muse has taken hold of my obsession of the week, and she is pulling me to design a modern embroidery piece that combines elements from early 16th Century Italy and early 19th Century England. I’m still in the early stages of planning, so I am not sure exactly what direction I’m going in, but I’m very excited by the whole thing, and as I mentioned at the beginning, excitement is the fuel we need to bring our creative ideas to life. And I know if I let myself follow my enthusiasms, there will always be more interests and inspirations to keep me going.
On that note, I will leave you to your enthusiasms while I go off to chase mine. Wishing you a week full of creativity and enthusiasms!
Kim Switzer is an aspiring novelist and avid dabbler in various visual and fiber arts, especially embroidery, beaded embroidery, oil painting, and her new-found love--art quilting. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend, her cat, and various incarnations of her muse. For more information or to contact Kim, you can use the following links:
Website: http://www.mythicwriters.org
Blog: http://www.wordcolors.blogspot.com
E-mail: kimswitzer@mythicwriters.org
Read more!
Kim Switzer
Inspiration and Enthusiasm
Charles Kinsley said, “We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.” I agree wholeheartedly. I would add that we need to do something with that enthusiasm, although being enthusiastic about something generally leads to some sort of action. I also would add that for a creative life, we need to nurture and cherish our enthusiasms and seek out new ones. These passions fuel our creations and keep inspired so that we keep creating. Enthusiasm is creativity’s driving force.
Those are nice, rather philosophical ideas, aren’t they? But creativity does have a practical, concrete side to it. So how do enthusiasms become finished creative works? There are different ways. I’ll show you how it works for me sometimes:
This week, I’m completely fascinated with 16th Century Italy and 19th Century England (I belong to two different historical recreation groups that focus on these time periods). I’m especially intrigued by the similarities between what, at first glance, appear to be wildly different eras.
For example, if you look at dress styles from the early 1500s in Italy and from the early 1800s in England, you will see remarkable similarities. What we call the “empire waistline” in 2008 was the style of the day in Italy in 1508 and again in England in 1808. And the clothing of the later 16th Century with its Elizabethan styles has quite a lot in common with the Victorian era styles of two hundred years later. I am even finding similarities in embroidery styles from the two eras, which is giving me all sorts of ideas of patterns to play with.
So where’s the inspiration in all of this? Mostly in my head right now. While I meant to write this first post about inspiration for my writing, which is my first love, my muse has taken hold of my obsession of the week, and she is pulling me to design a modern embroidery piece that combines elements from early 16th Century Italy and early 19th Century England. I’m still in the early stages of planning, so I am not sure exactly what direction I’m going in, but I’m very excited by the whole thing, and as I mentioned at the beginning, excitement is the fuel we need to bring our creative ideas to life. And I know if I let myself follow my enthusiasms, there will always be more interests and inspirations to keep me going.
On that note, I will leave you to your enthusiasms while I go off to chase mine. Wishing you a week full of creativity and enthusiasms!
Kim Switzer is an aspiring novelist and avid dabbler in various visual and fiber arts, especially embroidery, beaded embroidery, oil painting, and her new-found love--art quilting. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend, her cat, and various incarnations of her muse. For more information or to contact Kim, you can use the following links:
Website: http://www.mythicwriters.org
Blog: http://www.wordcolors.blogspot.com
E-mail: kimswitzer@mythicwriters.org
Read more!
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