Treasures that have been centuries in the making, found along the hiking trail, have the power to inspire.
Growth Behind the Scenes
Making Space for What Counts
Making space for what counts is not so much a resolution as a life goal. Here's how I'm doing it this year.
How Four Words Got Me Back on the Writing Track
The long road to epic: When you put your own priorities first, you'll finish your novel.
Where Do Ideas Come From? Crazy Places
Inspiration and creativity may not be as mysterious as the experts would have us think.
Finding the Light at Day’s End
From golden time to twilight to dusk, the best light can be found when it's waning.
Knowing When to Stop
Having a framework for writing is almost as important as the writing itself. We can learn from the writing rituals of the great ones.
How to Create Just to Create
Just create to create: It sounds so easy! But what if you can't get in the flow? Here are seven tricks to inspire you.
Blogging Rocked My World—And Showed Me the Greater Good
Unexpectedly, my newfound blogging habit pushed me into more positive territory than the morning news ever could.
Practice Awareness to Tap Your Creativity
The benefits of being mindful are many and well-noted. But perhaps not so acknowledged is the way awareness turns on the creative spigot.
Mirror Images
Take time for a series of mirror images from quiet waters with reflective quotes to accompany them.
Shimmering in the Late Sun
Shimmering in the late afternoon sun, these river birches whispered in collusion and begged for a photo.
There Is Truth In What You Paint: Yours
Perfection isn’t what painting is about. It’s about finding your truth, and you can remain committed to that by letting go of art fear.
Collecting Eye Candy for Inspiration—and Fun
Collecting eye candy is a snap for most visual types. And it’s a harmless way to find inspiration for your own work.
Ebb and Flow on the Water
There’s an ebb and flow to life, like day and night, on Maine’s coastal waters.
What’s Your Creative Personality?
Is your creative personality fed by travel, productivity, fashion, caffeine or . . . what? Here's what stokes eight different creative types.
Why Cities Are Ideal for Creative Voyeurs
As practitioners of creativity, we're inspired by our voyeuristic natures. And cities offer much room to look inside for ideas.
My Room With a View
My room with a view is dedicated to inspiration for my writing, distraction-free save for my view.
The Best 2014 Buzz Words in a Fable of Our Times
Challenge to Self: Write a short story for our times, using the oddest additions to Webster’s this year, including words I had to look up.
On Searching for Brilliance
A short tale of finding what I wasn't searching for, with a twist—of color.
Yes, Ideas Flow from Life—And Also from Inspirational Aids
There’s no doubt that some of our best ideas come when we’re away from the office, in the flow of life. But when we’re stuck at our desks, there are aids to help the flow.
Jann Alexander :: Pairings 