Cheating the Muse - Letter H

Hey creative friend!

Have you ever asked for help? Or have someone ask you to help them? Of course, you have. Everyone does because we cannot do everything we want to get done. The same applies to our creative endeavours.

Three weeks ago I had a problem. The book I am currently busy with is getting long, and I was stuck between three options for the ending. I liked all three options, so it was nearly impossible to choose. I asked a friend. She is a fantastic writer, editor and the perfect person to ask what would work best.

To be honest, while I explained the three options, I just knew which one would be the best. Did she agree? Yes and no. Because of the length of the story, a long, drawn-out ending would frustrate the reader. However, the story also has a second book, which makes one of the endings seem like a bad idea. So, in the end, the choice was pretty obvious, but I just needed someone to help me think through the process.

Feedback for a story or a piece of art does not require a friend but a knowledgeable friend who can give you the right feedback to help the project be better.

Do you have someone you can turn to for constructive feedback?

Thank you for visiting my blog today.

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé

Cheating the Muse - Letter G

Hey there, creative!

Today, we are getting practical. And it has worked for me many times in the past. It is my go-to for #the100dayproject when things are not working out, and I don't have the time or the energy to do a "project". So, I go small.

In some instances, small is time. Five minutes tops. Other times, it is literally a paragraph in the manuscript I am writing.

Or the tiniest sketchbook I have, where drawing anything bigger than half a credit card is physically impossible. Yup, I have really tiny sketchbooks for just that reason.

I also have tiny palettes but for a completely different reason. LOL!

Until tomorrow!

💜Linzé

Cheating the Muse - Letter F

Hey there, creative friend!

Today, I want to talk about Fear. That thing is a creative killer. It manifests itself in various forms. No matter what form it takes, it just feels like you are banging your head against the same wall over and over, and still, nothing changes.

It starts with that voice inside our heads that tells us all kinds of lies. Lies that we believe, despite the evidence that it is lying.

Lies like: you are not good enough. Or you will never amount to anything. Or you don't have the talent to be a writer, artist, or creative in any way.

All those lies are driven by fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of other people's opinions. Fear of failure.

Well, I have only one thing to say to fear...fuck off!

If we let fear in, it has won. What does it matter what others think? And will the world end if that painting is a mess instead of the perfection we envisaged?

Perfection is for people driven by fear. Fear to do anything unless it is perfect. No one is perfect, so nothing we do can be perfect. But it can be damn good if you just do it. Doing nothing achieves nothing.

But here is the kicker: practice is the only way to kick Fear in its pants and do that thing you want no matter what the outcome is. Because you can always repaint it. Edit that story to make it better. Or learn a new skill to do that thing you have always wanted.

Give Fear the finger, and just do it!

Until tomorrow! 😃

💜Linzé

The 100 day project Week 6 (Day 36 to Day 42)

Hey there creative friend!

With the A-to-Z blog challenge underway, I suddenly found myself in trouble: I forgot the date! Ouch. The A-to-Z blog posts are featuring every day of the week, and Saturdays, whereas this summary of my 100 day challenge projects, are posted on Sundays.

There is not a blog conflict, but my brain has clearly needed a reboot to make sure time for both challenges are put on my daily schedule. Now they have, so here is to smooth sailing during April. I hope! 😉

Until next week!

💜 Linzé

Day 36

Finishing the Artkula photo challenge project for March is a good way to start the new week. It's an oil pastel painting on Canson Sand Grain A4 paper. I did the tiny details with a black Polychromos pencil.

Time: 3 hours

Total time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Day 37

Transcribing handwritten words again. Many more to go.

Time: 2 hours

Day 38

Origami pocket for junk journal. Left is the pocket, right I put some ephemera in so you can see the pockets.

I was working and had a YouTube video playing as background noise. Then this came up. I grabbed a sheet of paper, and voila! I learned something new, and it's something for my junk journal. Win-win 😄

Time: 3 minutes

Day 39

I did the gouache paint a few days ago and didn't check the time. Today I was too tired to paint, so I pulled out a Faber-Castell PITT brush pen to draw the connecting stems for the abstract flowers.

Time: 5 minutes

Day 40

Another session with my big project. Lots of erasing because I made a mistake where I drew the outlines on the right bottom, but it's fixed now. Still a WIP as I am sure you can see.

Time: 3 hours

Total time: 13 hours

Day 41

And the words continue to come. 😄 I keep track of the number of words that I write and so far this year I have 46k on my spreadsheet. Not bad for just over 3 months.

Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Day 42

Almost forgot that I still have some of these flowers left on my list. So here is the next one. Ink on an old dictionary page.

Time: 15 minutes

Cheating the Muse - Letter E

Exciting times, isn't it? Lots of creative things to do, a workload that could drive anyone to drink, and unlimited time to do everything. Sorry, I was being sarcastic for a moment, but I think you get the idea.

Doing anything creative is fun. Often relaxing. Most of the time, it's incredibly satisfying. And yet, it is not always easy.

Sometimes, it is downright difficult. And might even feel impossible. And yet, the urge to draw, paint, sculpt, write or collage is an inherent part of all of us.

I get excited thinking about the projects I have planned. Projects that are in the making. So why is it so hard when we feel like nothing is working? Or the effort to do something small feel too much?

Unless I am too tired to think, which does happen, or overwhelmed with my todo list, I remain enthusiastic about my creative endeavours. Then, I have to take a step back. I take a day, or even three, to rest or reevaluate that todo list.

We often feel that everything is out of control when very little is within our control. So, when life happens, I remind myself that my projects are still there, as exciting and fun as always. I need to recharge my energies or prioritise my todo list, and then the enthusiasm returns. And often the time and energy to create.

Tomorrow I give you another overview of the past week in #the100daychallenge. The blog challenge, Letter F, will be back on Monday.

Stay creative!

💜Linzé

Cheating the Muse - Letter D

 

Downtime. Today, I want to talk about doing nothing. Or almost nothing.

I am exhausted as I sit here writing this post. It's been a long day. I had to have my car serviced, which meant braving the traffic during peak time.

Then, I had challenges with the tests I had planned. Not problems, but the preparation time took much longer, so I couldn't do everything I had planned.

Of course, I am not letting the project slip past the planned date because I have some extra time built in. With years of experience doing this work, I have learned to add a day or sometimes two days to ensure I finish the job as promised.

But now I am home, too tired to think, and now I have a challenge to attend to. Did I mention a list? So, for today, I will pick something that won't take more than 5 minutes.

Challenge fulfilled. And that is a success in my book.

Until tomorrow!

💜Linzé

Cheating the Muse - Letter C

Hey there, fellow creative!

I mentioned a list yesterday. Like many (or maybe most) people, I use lists in several forms to plan. Whether it be daily, weekly, or monthly. I don't have many monthlies, but daily and weekly? Absolutely!

Since my effort last year to do #the100dayproject was such a dismal disaster, I got bored and stopped after day 10. I decided to take a different approach: I would commit to time, not a specific project.

Today, April 3, is day 40 of the 100 day challenge, and I have yet to wonder what to do. Hence, the list.

So, what does that list entail?

• The answer is simple: things I like to do—art, craft, or writing. My list does have some details, such as working on the raven drawing or editing the novella Rowan, I Dare You.
• Other items are not specific. There, I have binding a journal or making collage ephemera.
• One item on the list is something I have wanted to do for a while now: finish nearly full sketchbooks. They take up space, but a completed sketchbook is a satisfying thing. I love that feeling!

I have completed several of these but have many more to go. Am I sticking to the list? Oh no, it's a guide to help me when I am too tired to think about something to do. And that is the point of the list: it's a guide, a support for difficult days.

If you're a writer, watch for my post for the Letter I. I will share some exciting ideas specifically aimed at you.

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé