Let your inner artist inspire you.

What and where is your inner artist? 

Some call it muse, some call it inspiration; the inner artist is that inner creativity that that gives you that brilliant insight just when you need it. We all would like to bottle the good points of our inner artists so we can keep that muse singing our song all day long. Perhaps it can’t be bottled, but there are ways to get in touch with your inner artist and to make it work for you. Whether you're a writer, photographer, or artist, here are some tips on doing just that:

1.       Spend a certain amount of time each day concentrating on your creative endeavors.  Your inner artist will respond to the repetition of spending each day being creative. When you tap into your creative powers, it’s not so easy to shut them off. When you routinely work on your painting or novel, rather than letting it sit for a week or a month at a time, you keep this recent activity present in your mind and ideas will come to you more easily.  Having thoughts of your piece nearby rather than buried gives you a running start for the next time you sit down to work.

2.       Seek out inspiration. Visit galleries, read books, study, etc., to get your creative juices flowing. Viewing creations of other artists, writers, photographers can’t help but inspire you to work on your own. Magazines and books are also good for providing inspiration to your inner artist. 

3.       Join art or writing associations and visit with other artists or writers as often as you can. Meeting with other creative people and hearing what they are working on often will give you a pump of adrenalin to work on your own creations. Clubs, organizations and associations are a great place to meet others who are facing the challenges and triumphs that you face each day. If there is no artists' or writers' league in your area, why not start your own group. It needn’t be a big group to accomplish what you want. You just need to gather together a few people who understand your language and what you’re going through.

4.       One way to contact your inner artist is to continue your education. You can do this through a local college, but if that is not available in your area, private lessons with someone you admire will stimulate your creativity all the same.

Whatever the case, keep your work up front in your mind and a priority in your life and your inner artist will continue to inspire you.

Fiction writing: understanding the importance of “show, don’t tell.”

Show me, don't tell me...!

The goal of a fiction writer is to bring a story to life so the read will live the story rather than being told the story. Showing the story rather than telling the story makes all the difference. For example, you could tell the reader: Sally was angry at Bill. Or you could show the reader: Sally grabbed the vase and heaved it at Bill, aiming at his head.

Both sentences convey anger, but with showing the reader (the second version), the reader is plopped down right into that room and is dodging the flying vase with Bill. It’s a much more exciting way to experience a story. It will keep your reader’s interest, keep him/her turning pages, and keep people reaching for your writing.

Showing instead of telling in writing fiction is important for several reasons.

1.       As in the above example, showing pumps life into the action. The characters in the story are moving about in real time and talking to each other. If instead of being told: Karen told Sally that she didn’t want to go out with Jeff; the writer says: “I wouldn’t go out with Jeff if he paid me a million bucks,” the reader becomes part of the conversation. As readers, we find it much more enjoyable to be in the scene rather than on the outside watching the scene. 

2.       In showing, the writer uses more dialogue and more action. These increase the pace of the book. We always hear how important it is for a book to be a page-turner. Showing readers what is happening is one way to turn your book into a page-turner.

3.       Showing plays into the senses. Writing is often flat if you are telling the reader only the story. If a writer, through showing, brings in all the senses, each scene takes on added vividness. In showing, the reader is afforded information about what the characters see, hear, smell, feel, etc. This makes each scene more alive for readers.

4.       Showing changes two-dimensional characters into three-dimensional characters. It’s easier to care about a three-dimensional character who moves fluidly through the story and engages the reader as well as other characters. If you character are two-dimensional cardboard cutouts, your reader will have a more difficult time caring about them and what happens to them. Keep your characters alive by showing the readers what they are doing and what’s important to them.

The most important reason to use showing rather than telling is to increase the believability of your characters, their actions and your story.

Overview of blogging for writers.

Blogging is changing the face of writing. In case you haven’t been caught up in the frenzy of it all, blogging is a very broad term for making periodic entries on a website designed to be a running account of the topic of the blog.

Famous blogs are The Drudge Report and The Huffington Post. These are two of the political blogs. Daily, writers post what is happening in the political world and beyond on these blogs. When news happens, postings are made instantaneously. If you jump from blog to blog, you can keep up to date on the news and study all sides of a story in real time. Because the newspapers delivered to our homes are almost out of date before they come off the press, most newspapers have blogs today, as well. The entertainment industry uses blogs to keep the world up to date on all the happenings with the stars and the TV and movie industries.

Blogs aren’t just for the rich and famous and newsworthy. In addition, many individuals use blogs to keep family members informed on what’s happening in their corner of the world. Here are some of the common uses of blogs:

1.       Businesses use them to create a stir about their product.

2.       Others use them to bring traffic to their website. If you post blogs frequently (daily or at least 3 times per week) search engines will begin to send traffic your way.

3.       Artists and writers use them to show the processes they use to create their art or to show works-in-progress. For example, an artist might use a blog to show sketches of the current concept for a painting or a photographer could use it to show clients their latest landscapes. 

4.       Others use blogs to share recipes or “how to” information for home projects.

In order for a blog to be successful, the creator of the blog must post blog entries frequently. Because some people aren’t interested in writing the blogs themselves, they often hire writers to write the entries for them. This has opened a new industry for writers. There are many writers who are beginning to specialize in writing blog pots. If you’re a writer looking for work, writing for blogs is something you might want to investigate.

How to become a leader who coaches effectively.

An effective leader is, by definition, adept at guiding those he/she leads. In business or in any group, a leader is wise to rely on those he leads to help him accomplish the goals of the organization. To do this he must coach those under him to do their part of the job to his specifications. Here are some ways to effectively coach others:

1.       Determine the specific talents of those you are coaching in terms of the job that must be done.

2.       Assign those you are coaching specific parts of the job based on their talents.

3.       If there is no one who has the skill needed for a certain part of the job, train someone to do it, or train a group of two or more employees together how to accomplish the task or tasks. A good coach is always ready to help those he is coaching improve their skills and broaden their talents.

4.       Create a non-threatening environment for accomplishing tasks, so staff members feel comfortable expressing concerns and asking for help.

5.       Set clear parameters for completion of the job. The good coach makes it clear what is expected, so staff members are not surprised when their work is rejected. It is difficult to accomplish a task if no specifications are given.

6.       Set specific deadlines to ensure the job is finished on time. Be sure to set deadlines before the job is due, so parts can be tweaked if necessary.

7.       Periodically the leader should check the quality and progress of staff in meeting the goals so assignments can be adjusted.

8.       Check to ensure that questions have not arisen that may be holding the team back.

The main attributes of an effective coach are good listening and communication skills. A coach must communicate what needs to be done, how to do it, and how to handle barricades to the progress of the project. Most leaders become leaders because they have good communication skills.

To increase the effectiveness of your communication during coaching remember to keep the assignments you make easy to understand. State instructions in concrete terms that are measurable. Leaders make sure that they don’t talk down to staff during coaching, but treat the staff with respect. By doing so, staff will feel more at ease about asking questions or asking for clarification if they don’t understand part of the assignment.