Tag: creativity

Guest Post: A New Dawn for Your Imagination: Pathways to Creative Renewal by Marcie Sullivan

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn Guest PostLeave a comment

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A New Dawn for Your Imagination: Pathways to Creative Renewal

In a rapidly evolving landscape, your creativity is one of your most valuable assets. It’s the wellspring of innovation and personal fulfillment, yet it often lies dormant, stifled by routine and responsibilities. The journey to reinvigorate your creative essence demands deliberate action and a shift in mindset. This guide from Author Anthony Avina unveils practical strategies to breathe life into your creative pursuits and transform your everyday experiences.

Move to Create

Dive into physical activity as a gateway to unlock your mind’s creative power. The link between physical exertion and cognitive agility is well-documented, suggesting that a simple change in your physical state can catalyze creative thought. From a vigorous morning jog that clears the mental fog to the rhythmic motions of a dance class sparking unexpected solutions, movement is a profound enabler of creative leaps. Let your body lead, and your mind will follow, often to places of unexpected inspiration and innovation.

Celebrate Your Wins

Acknowledgment of your successes, irrespective of scale, is pivotal in nurturing a creative mindset. This practice of celebrating victories, be it mastering a new skill or completing a project, cultivates an atmosphere of positivity and self-belief. It reinforces the understanding that creativity is not a destination but a journey with milestones worth recognizing. Such recognition not only enhances motivation but also bolsters confidence, creating a virtuous cycle that feeds into your creative endeavors.

Earning a Degree

Earning a degree can significantly reinvigorate your creativity. The flexibility and self-directed nature of online education make it feasible to explore your creative potential. As one example, earning a bachelor of computer science allows you to immerse yourself in the realms of IT, programming, and computer science theory. Engaging in this transformative journey opens doors to innovative opportunities where technology and creativity intersect.

Embrace Collaboration

Creativity thrives in the exchange of ideas and collaborative endeavors. Engaging with others, sharing perspectives, and brainstorming solutions not only broadens your understanding but often leads to breakthroughs unattainable in isolation. This collective creative process fosters a sense of belonging and contributes to a culture of innovation. By valuing diverse viewpoints and harnessing the synergy of collaboration, you set the stage for remarkable discoveries and creative achievements.

Find Fulfillment in Your Job

Unlock the door to a more fulfilling career by exploring opportunities that align with your passions, values, and skills, leading to personal growth and job satisfaction. Finding a job that feeds your creative soul demands crafting a resume that showcases your unique talents and aspirations. Tailoring your resume for each role, particularly by adjusting the skills section’s keywords to match employer needs, is essential. A stellar resume should highlight your most relevant experiences in your professional history and education, making you a standout candidate. Online guides will teach you how to write a resume.

Seek Feedback

The pursuit of creative excellence is a journey marked by continuous learning and iteration. Soliciting feedback from peers and mentors offers invaluable insights that can refine your ideas and elevate your work. Constructive criticism, while sometimes challenging to receive, is a cornerstone of growth, pushing you to question, adapt, and improve. Embrace this process with an open heart and mind, as it is instrumental in transcending creative boundaries and achieving excellence.

Cultivate Journaling

Journaling is a powerful tool for creative exploration, offering a private space to record thoughts, ideas, and reflections. This practice enhances self-awareness and provides clarity, serving as a repository of inspiration that can be revisited and expanded upon. Whether capturing fleeting thoughts, sketching, or detailing project progress, journaling is a conduit for self-expression and a catalyst for creative growth.

Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness meditation and breathing exercises are potent practices for enhancing creativity. They foster a state of present-moment awareness, reducing stress and clearing the mental clutter that often obstructs creative thought. By cultivating mindfulness, you open a gateway to deeper concentration, emotional balance, and a heightened sense of clarity, setting the foundation for creative insights to emerge.

Reinvigorating your creativity is an active, ongoing process that intertwines the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of your being. Through intentional practices like physical activity, celebrating achievements, career exploration, and collaboration, you unlock new dimensions of creative potential. Embrace this journey with an open mind and a resilient spirit, and watch as your creative endeavors flourish, enriching both your personal and professional life.

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Writing with your Muse: A Guide to Creative Inspiration by W.L. Hawkin Review

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn reviewsLeave a comment

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

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Author W.L. Hawkin shares her own personal experiences that allow her to find new inspiration and a muse that keeps the creativity alive in us all in the book “Writing with your Muse: A Guide to Creative Inspiration”.

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The Synopsis

Writing with your Muse offers techniques, strategies, tools, tips, and stories to help you tap into creative inspiration. You don’t have to be psychic to be successful with these techniques, although that natural ability exists in all of us, and these techniques will help you develop your sixth sense. There’s even science to back it up. This book will help you if you hear words or see images but find it difficult to get the text on the page, you’ve written and published but are searching for something fresh and different, you have ideas but don’t know how or where to begin, you want to write but have no ideas, or you’re suffering from a bad case of writer’s block.

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The Review

This was a compelling and engaging nonfiction read. The author did an incredible job of infusing her unique sense of gentle humor and honesty into the book, tapping into her own personal experiences to showcase how she could continue driving new ideas and a renewed sense of creativity forward. The way the author could tap into the interactive part of this book was enthralling to see come to life as well, as readers are invited to put the practices of this book into their own work. 

Yet the author’s balance between creative endeavors and an almost spiritual journey made this book sing. The book not only helps define what a muse is but showcases the common fears and beliefs that often hang over an author’s head and how brain waves and energy can impact the creative process if not processed correctly. The concept of writing being a creative and spiritual journey is such a unique idea, and the author thoroughly explores this in a way that draws readers and writers into the book more and more.

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The Verdict

Remarkable, authentic, and enlightening author W.L. Hawkin’s “Writing with your Muse” is a must-read nonfiction book and self-help guide to writing. The heart and passion that drove this book are reflected beautifully in this narrative. The drive this book instills in the reader to put these practices into play in their own lives will keep readers coming back to this book repeatedly, very much in tune with other great books on writing like Stephen King’s “On Writing.” If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

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About the Author

W. L. Hawkin writes adventurous cross-genre fiction charged with “myth, magic, and mayhem” from her home in the Pacific Northwest.

Her urban fantasy series, the Hollystone Mysteries, features a coven of Vancouver witches who solve murders using their wits, ritual magic, and a little help from the gods. To Charm a Killer, To Sleep with Stones, To Render a Raven, To Kill a King, and To Dance with Destiny, follow stage magician and Wicca high priest, Estrada, as he endeavors to save his friends while working through his own personal issues.

Her standalone novel, Lure: Jesse & Hawk (2022) won a National Indie Excellence Award, a Gold Reader’s Choice award from Connections E-magazine, a Crowned Heart Review from InD’tale Magazine, and placed as a finalist in The UK Wishing Shelf Book Awards. Lure is a small-town romantic suspense story set on a Chippewa Reservation in the American Midwest near the fictional town of Lure River.

As an intuitive writer, Wendy captures what she sees and hears on the page and allows her muses to guide her through the creative process. In an upcoming book, Writing with your Muse: a Guide to Creative Inspiration, she explains her writing process and offers tips and techniques to help writers get their words on the page.

Wendy is a book reviewer and publisher with a background in Indigenous Studies and Humanities. Born in Toronto, Canada, she completed a BA in Indigenous Studies at Trent University, then moved to B.C. where she completed diplomas in Humanities at SFU and taught high school for several years.

She also spent a year as a relief lighthouse keeper, enjoying the rugged isolation of the West Coast, and blogging her adventures at http://lifeonthebclights.blogspot.com Her experiences color “To Render a Raven.”

An introvert, Wendy does most of her musing while walking her yellow lab through the forested trails of B.C. “I continue to explore my ancestry, often in my writing. I love nature, history, archaeology, myths and magic, and feel I was born in the wrong century. If I could, I’d travel back in time to experience cultures long since changed or vanished.”

Website—http://bluehavenpress.com

Twitter @ladyhawke1003

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Unlock Your Creativity: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Inspiration and Developing Your Imagination by Ron Pacer Review

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn reviewsLeave a comment

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Author Ron Pacer takes readers on a journey to discover the ways in which you can tap into your inner creativity and bring your imagination to life in his book “Unlock Your Creativity: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Inspiration and Developing Your Imagination”. 

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The Synopsis

Unlock Your Creativity: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Inspiration and Developing Your Imagination is an essential handbook for anyone looking to tap into their inner creativity and bring their imagination to life.

You will learn:

✓How to explore new environments and experiences, keep a journal or idea notebook, learn from other creative individuals, and use prompts and exercises to stimulate creativity.

✓The essential skills for developing the imagination, such as learning to think outside the box, using the power of visualization, practicing brainstorming and free association, and experimenting with different mediums and techniques.

✓How to overcome creative blocks, including understanding and identifying the causes, using mindfulness and relaxation techniques, seeking feedback and support from others, and taking time for self-care and rejuvenation.

Whether you are an artist, writer, teenager, adult, or simply someone looking to unleash their creative potential, Unlock Your Creativity: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Inspiration and Developing Your Imagination is the ultimate guide to unlocking your full creative potential and achieving personal growth.

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The Review

This is a quick yet well-developed read. The author does a remarkable job of capturing the essential lessons and tools that someone would need in order to find that creative spark just waiting to be lit. The way the author writes is great here, as it speaks to everyone and not just the select few established writers in the world through technical terms and practices. Instead, the generality of the author’s writing allows for broad approaches that keep it light and fun, yet impactful all at once.

The passion for which the author writes and the emphasis on imagination’s role in the creative process were what really stuck out to me about this book. The lessons that are taught and the guide itself are built upon the idea of the reader’s imagination is the playground of sorts that helps creativity thrive and grow, and that has always been the case for me as a writer, so getting to see this concept come to life on the pages of this book were great to see.

The Verdict

Informative, imaginative, and engaging, author Ron Pacer’s “Unlock Your Creativity” is a must-read nonfiction book and guide on creativity and creative development. The knowledge and information gained through this book are equally measured against the passion and heart for which the book was written, and the emphasis on imagination highlights the power that creativity has in all aspects of life. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

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Write On Your Terms: Why You Can Succeed As A Writer Without Committing To NaNoWriMo

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn Book Related Blog Posts, Personal Blog Posts, writing tipsLeave a comment

Let me start off by saying this: I love NaNoWriMo. I’ve participated twice in the last four years, and each time I felt myself challenged, excited and creatively supercharged with each passing day. The process of writing in 30 days a full 50,000 word or more novel is exhilarating to say the least. So this post is not a knock to the event at all. In fact the event is still a very huge presence in my writing in the month of November.

However, for any authors out there who are not participating or can’t participate in the event, know that it is ok. You do not have to participate in the event to be a great writer in life or even just in the month of November. I struggled for a couple weeks on whether or not I wanted to participate in this year’s event.

Am I participating?

So many factors came into play when it came to my ultimate decision. I am working four jobs right now, all of which take up a lot of my time. In addition to this, I have responsibilities at home that take up even more time of my day, so by the time I get to the point where I have time to write, I’m either exhausted or have very little time to write, only getting a few hundred words in at most. I also have a project I am deeply committed to, but I am already at over 40,000 words. I’m not sure how many more words my project will end up taking on, but I don’t want the pressure of having to write another 50,000 just to satisfy the goal of NaNoWriMo and writing more than I really needed. Each story is unique (as many of you writers know), and should not be constrained by word counts for the sake of statistics. It usually sacrifices the story and flow of the novel overall as a result. I started coming up with an outline for a short story anthology I want to write to create a whole new project to work on, but with all of the other factors in play, the timing for NaNoWriMo 2018 just didn’t feel right.

So I decided ultimately to hold off for the year. I felt at first like I was failing to join the writing community or failing to be the best writer I could be. Then I started to ask myself: why? My day jobs consist of writing. I have a whole project I’m in the midst of working on that will include more writing. I’m neck deep into the world of writing. Why should I feel any less of a writer just because I’m not participating in the event.

Your Terms

There is no shame in taking your own path when it comes to writing. Whether you have an existing project, a project that doesn’t require 50,000 words or more or already is near that goal, you don’t have to commit to an event to feel like a great writer. The best advice I can give to a writer is to just be you. Write what you love, and write it on your own terms. Whether it takes you a month or ten years, don’t let anyone else tell you, (although, unless you are writing the next great novel, ten years is a bit long. Just kidding). Even I am still growing as a writer, and learning that you cannot rush the creative process or a project as a whole. To anyone participating in NaNoWriMo, good luck to you guys and I wish you well. I look forward to reading some of these projects in the future, and to interacting with you guys throughout the month as we all write alongside you. To everyone else, be you, and write on your own terms.

What do you guys think? Does this help any of you writers out there? Do any other authors have advice for anyone not participating in NaNoWriMo? Leave your comments below and be sure to share this post on your social media sites.

Check out my latest review of Firstborn by Tosca Lee here! Also grab your copy of my first two YA novellas in the Nightmare Academy series here!

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Bipolar Disorder and Creativity: Can You Still Be Creative on Bipolar Medication?

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn Guest Post, mental health awarenessLeave a comment

If you’re a creative type, the idea of bipolar disorder as a component of your creativity can keep you from getting the help you need. A common misperception is that treatment renders artists incapable of the kinds of thought that allow them to see the world in their own unique way. Is this true? Maybe and maybe not.

Artists Do Think Differently

Artists are typically better at two types of thinking. One, called janusian thought, is defined as actively thinking of multiple opposites at the same time. The other, called homospatial process, is defined as actively thinking of two or more different things or people occupying the same space.

Artists also tend to think in nonlinear and nonconventional ways. The treatment you choose needs to allow you to continue doing that.

Effects of Medication on Bipolar Disorder

People who create art need to be careful to get the right medications for them. Finding the right medication regimen may make a huge difference in your creative output. The right medications for you also allow you to stay mentally healthy enough to produce quality art.

Creativity and Lithium

Lithium may not be a good choice for artists, as it suppresses janusian thought and homospatial process.

It’s also easy to confuse the effects of going off lithium with a return to creativity, which may prompt you to quit taking it.

What actually happens is that you become energized and hypomanic or manic after abruptly stopping a large dose of lithium. The effects on creativity, if there are any, don’t last. Instead, you may become too ill to create anything at all.

So, What Medications are Better?

A few medications have been used successfully to treat bipolar disorder without causing effects that impair creative thinking.

So far, anticonvulsants such as carbamazepine, valproate, lamotrigine, gabapentin, and tiagabine are excellent choices for artists. Channel blockers like verapamil have also shown favorable results in a few cases.

Is Therapy Better than Medication?

The wrong kind of psychotherapy can indeed suppress creative ways of thinking. However, therapy is a treatment of choice when the therapist understands your need to remain creative while overcoming the harmful effects of bipolar disorder.

Even though you might prefer therapy to medication as a treatment, you might need to take medications to be well enough to attend and learn from therapy. Therapy helps you deal with anxiety, bipolar depression, and mania by encouraging you to take medication as needed (adherence).

What You can Do

You do have control over your own treatment for bipolar disorder. Taking charge of your care helps you get the right treatments for you. Here are some things you can do to protect your creativity while getting treatment:

  • Find an understanding psychiatrist and/or therapist.
  • Emphasize the importance of preserving your ability to think creatively.
  • If you are worried about side effects of any of the possible medications, such as lithium carbonate, ask your psychiatrist to choose a different medication for you.
  • If you do take medication, take them as directed, and don’t discontinue them abruptly. Talk to your psychiatrist if you are experiencing any difficulties with your medication.
  • Call on your creativity during therapy to better understand how to deal with your bipolar disorder.

Both medications and therapy can help creative people with bipolar disorder. The best thing you can do for yourself is to stick with treatment until you find the right combination for you!

Marie Miguel Biography

Marie-Miguel

Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health- related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with BetterHelp.com. With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Interview with Author Latashia Figueroa:

Hi there Latashia. On behalf of myself and our readers, thank you for taking the time to speak with us today.

Hi Anthony and thanks so much for having me.

Tell us a bit about you and your journey to becoming an author.

Well, I began working in the fashion industry right out of school. I always said to myself, “This is just temporary.” But I became really comfortable with the industry and the money. After eighteen years, the company downsized. At first, I began to send out resumes, hoping and praying I would get a call back right away. While I waited, I began to write. And I loved it! My mother reminded me that as a child I always wrote short stories and left them on her nightstand for her to read. I pushed forward. I published my first book, THIS WAY DARKNESS: Three Tales of Terror in 2014.

2) Tell us about the conception of Ivy’s Envy and the Want & Decay series overall.

I submitted a flash fiction short to a fellow writers blog. And the more I read it, the more I liked where I could go with the story. IVY’S ENVY is the first story in the Want & Decay trilogy. In the beginning of the book is an Edgar Allan Poe quote, “Sometimes I’m terrified of my heart; of its constant hunger, for whatever it is it wants…”  I believe we all can relate to that on some level. We all struggle with the hunger of want. The characters in the Want & Decay series are desperate people. The more desperate they are, the darker they become. And each of them will learn, sometimes want can cause our decay.

3) When you are writing, what aspect of the writing excites you more: the development of the overall plot or the creation of the characters?

Definitely the creation of the characters. When I write a story, I have to know the ending in order to get the overall picture. That takes time, its work. But, creating the characters, getting to know them, understand their motives, that’s exciting for me. When I create my characters, I have an interview with them. I write down questions and then answer as the characters would. This really helps me write for them.

4) What authors served as a source of inspiration for you and your writing?

I grew up on Stephen King and R.L. Stine. I really dig Ira Levin, Douglas Clegg and John FD Taff. But H.P. Lovecraft will always be top of the list for me. He was truly ahead of his time.

5) Where do you hope to go with your writing career in the future?

Wow. I’d really love to write a screenplay and do independent films. Not only would I like to write them but direct them. Yes, move over Jennifer Kent!

Bonus Questions:

With technology, self-publishing and e-readers quickly rising in popularity, which format do you prefer when reading a book: e-reader or

paperback/hardback copies?

I like e-readers, but I’ll always love holding an actual book in my hand; flipping and folding back the pages,the smell of the paper. And how wonderfully worn they look when they’ve been loved too much.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors out there?

I would pass on this quote I recently found. “Do not write to impress others. Authors who write to impress people find difficulty remaining true to themselves.”

Thanks again!

Author Website: http://latashiafigueroa-author.com/

Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/latashiafigueroa

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LatashFigueroa

Instagram: https://instagram.com/frayed_pages/

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Another great piece of artwork for my novella, VOID! Are you an artist who wants their artwork showcased? Create an original piece of artwork related to the novella VOID, or centered around the themes of love, loss, friendship and life in general. Post it online and tag me on any social media networks, and not only will I feature my favorite pieces online and on my @youtube channel, but I will select a few people to receive a free copy of the novella VOID! #author #drama #contemporaryromance #bookworm #booklaunch #VOID #voidbook #contest #art #artwork #artist #creatorspotlight #creative #creativity

The Voice of the Night by Dean Koontz Review

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While it’s always enjoyable to get into huge, epic stories with a massive cast of characters and an incredible tale, sometimes the best books
can be incredibly short, sweet, and to the point. That is the case with Dean Koontz’s novel, The Voice of the Night. Following the friendship
between two boys, Colin and Roy, and the troubling developments that come when Colin realizes there’s something not quite right with Roy, this
book features a very small and intimate cast, where all but two or three of the characters are truly likeable, and readers are given a fantastic
look into the horrors humanity is capable of inflicting on itself and how few innocent people reside in it, and how even an innocent can be
turned and twisted into something unimaginable. For those looking for a short and intimate read, then The Voice of the Night by Dean Koontz
is for you. Filled with the classic elements of horror and mystery, this is a great read and well worth the time and effort.