Writing Prompt Projects
By Chris Dunmire
French physicist, inventor, and theologian Blaise Pascal remarked, "Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much." We all have immense power to make our world a kinder place through our words and deeds. Use this gift to sow more kindness seeds into your day by using these printable kindness cards as tools to share and spread more 'kindfulness mindfulness' around your community, workplace, or school. Printable cards include holiday themes, blank write-in message cards, and pre-made beverage gift cards.
Suggested use: Share the cards wherever the spirit of kindness moves you.
Kindness challenge: Write personal messages to 10 recipients to receive your 'kindness seeds' in the next two weeks.
Author Interviews
By Molly Childers
Writing Down the Bones was the first book that made me feel like a writer. I've been gleaning inspiration from her work since I was first introduced to Bones in high school. Her unquenchable curiosity, thirst for juicy details, and unsparing honesty kept me coming back for more with Wild Mind. Goldberg is, in fact, the first writer who truly seemed real to me — she wasn't just a face in a dusty old book, but an actual flesh-and-blood woman battling it out on the page. I could picture having coffee with her in a cafe and writing for hours.
Art of the Song
By Eric Maisel, PhD
A creative escape is a little time-out-of-time that you carve from your schedule to devote to running away to art. A creative escape is like getting away for a romantic weekend with your lover — except in this case your lover is your creative nature. It is a chance to fall back in love with music, poetry, and silence.
Fall Writing Activities
By Chris Dunmire
Going back to school. Harvest time. Colorful falling leaves. Corn mazes, acorns, pumpkins, scarecrows, Halloween and Thanksgiving. In the Midwest, fall (or autumn) is the time of the year when cooler temperatures sweep in over summer's waning heat and the growing season comes to full fruition before winding down to dormancy. Fall officially begins in September and runs through October, November, and into December, when the seasonal change next morphs into winter. Let these fall-themed images and activities inspire your writing in reflection of the meaning of the season and capture the transforming magic in the air for this colorful, transitioning space in the year.
Fostering Creativity
By Abby Connors
You’ve probably heard of the first rule of comedy improvisation: never say no. No matter what another actor says, accept it as real and move on from there. For instance, if someone says, “Watch out! There’s a dinosaur behind you!” and you say, “That’s impossible. Dinosaurs are extinct,” that stops the scene — and the comedy, and the creativity, cold — there’s nowhere to go from there. But if you respond, “Oh, don’t worry, that’s just my pet dinosaur Fluffy,” or “Quick! Everyone pretend to be inedible!” the other actors can respond to that and keep the scene moving.
Juicy Journal & Wild Words
By Molly J. Anderson-Childers
If you are longing to get outside, or at least get your hands dirty, why not explore painting, the messiest art form of them all? Paint gets everywhere, so wear old clothes, or cover up with old paint shirts and a sarong, coveralls, or old jeans. The best place to paint is outside, on a sunny day. If the weather isn't cooperating, or it isn't quite spring yet in your neck of the woods, use a tarp or an old sheet to protect your floor and designate a room in your house for a studio. If you have the means, buy an easel. If you don't, an old table will do, or even a lap-desk or a large clipboard. You can still have fun. Paint pictures full of light to cheer up a cloudy day. Stuck in a blizzard? Paint a beach scene, and escape to paradise with your Muses!
Creativity Coaching
By Molly Gordon
Your artist's statement can be a moving testament to your creativity and integrity. The expression of this commitment will vary, but the effectiveness of your artist's statement stems from the authority with which you write it. Think of your artist's statement as a nourishing stew. The rich flavors and inviting aroma will feed your spirit and summon wonderful people to your table. You'll want to make sure your stew is made from the freshest, finest ingredients and that it has been simmered and seasoned with care.
DaVinci's Genius Habits
By Linda Dessau
Davinci knew his body was a strong house for his creativity and took care of it by practicing the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise. DaVinci believed that we should accept personal responsibility for our health and well-being. Self-care requires two basic beliefs.
Guided Inspiration
By Robert Moss
You are about to enter a place where all fields of knowledge, including deeper knowledge of your soul's purpose and connections, can open to you. The best will be revealed only as you seek it; you'll know it when it lets you find it, not before. So you start by setting an intention, but you remain ready to let the journey take you beyond it. In the secret library, you can find information and inspiration in any area that rouses your active curiosity and your creative spirit. Anything that stirs the creative spirit in you is a matter of soul, whether it is golf or alchemy, cooking or astronomy, landscape gardening or writing.
Inspirational Muses
Fauna, an Earth and fertility goddess from ancient Greece. Encounter the wild one who dwells in your heart, and dance with her. Do not shut her out, or silence her. Do not fear her. Let her sing, and your heart will be whole. I had a dream of a strange city in the desert. I passed a man who said, "I am lost here! This is my home, but I cannot find my way." Because I could not find his way for him, I simply nodded and smiled. I walked on, and as I walked, I saw a beautiful, dainty creature approaching me. She had the four legs, tail, and body of a little brown goat, but the upper body, arms, and head of a lovely girl.
Creativity & Inspiration
By Tom Evans
When you experience a moment of light, it is quite simply magical. If you happened to have an Magnetic Resonance Imaging [MRI] scanner handy at the time, and you stuck your head in it, you would see every neuron in your brain lighting up as it connects with it's neighbours. Over 10 billion neurons would light up in harmony shouting "Eureka!" at you. Moments of light like this are more commonly referred to nowadays as light bulb moments. As Archimedes, Newton and Saint Paul could testify though, human beings experienced them well before the light bulb was invented.
Writing Inspiration & Encouragement
By Barbara Abercrobmie
Regular journal writing benefits emotional health and helps form a writing habit that will serve you well as you record life's little details. Most everyone has heard about the emotional and health benefits you get from keeping a journal; writing about feelings and traumatic events is good for you. But for a person who writes there are two other vital reasons to keep a journal.
Inner Voices of Creativity
By Anne Marie Bennett
Is there an excited voice inside of you whose curiosity pulls you eagerly into new projects? How do you feel about this voice? Sometimes another member of your "inner family" will try to shut down this Curious One. Take some breaths this week and notice if that is happening in your inner world. Has some part of you pushed away your innate and joyful curiosity about the world, about people, about art or writing or whatever your passion is? Make some time this week to have an inner chat with your own Curious One. Listen carefully... what is he/she curious about right now? How can you help to quench his/her thirst for inner knowing, for creative journeys?
Art Perspectives
By Whitney Freya
The principles of design are not the result of a panel of art academics who felt the need to create more rules. The principles of design are the language of our mind's eye, how we visually analyze everything we see. They have been used by artists for centuries to create paintings that successfully communicate their heart's desire, the natural beauty of a landscape, the spirit of a portrait, or the innate element of objects in a still life. Now you are going to learn how to use them. The principles of design are interwoven throughout our lives because we process so much of our world and our life visually.
Dreaming the Soul Back Home
By Robert Moss
The essence of the shaman’s power to travel and to heal is the ability to dream strong. In our everyday modern lives, we stand at the edge of such power when we dream and remember to do something with our dreams. We all dream, and as the Kagwahiv, of Brazil, say: “Everyone who dreams is a little bit shaman.” Our dreams will show us how far we can go and when it is time for us to embark on our deeper journeys. “The work will teach you how to do it,” goes an Estonian proverb. In respect to soul, we can say this: the dream will teach you how to recover and nourish your soul.
Creative Writing Prompts
By Bonnie Neubauer
A walk in nature (in the woods, on a beach, up a mountain, by a creek) can offer multiple benefits to your writing. First and foremost, physical exercise is a good balance for hours spent indoors hunched over a computer or notebook. Second, it helps clear your mind so it can wander and come up with new ideas and solutions to challenges. Third, what you see in nature (watching a bird feed its young, listening to a river flow, smelling freshly sprouted mushrooms) is great writing fodder. Pencil in an hour within the next week when you can be alone in nature. It's your choice whether you bring pen and paper with you or leave them at home to use later. Either way, you will still be writing, just in different stages of the process.
