Episode 23: Taking Creative Breaks

The Time is Right: Living A Creative Life
The Time is Right: Living A Creative Life
Episode 23: Taking Creative Breaks
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In this episode, John and Kevin discuss why taking a break or slowing down our creativity can actually make us more creatively productive. Taking the time to consider our work: the content, techniques, and approaches, even our mindset, will benefit our overall effort.

  • The need to recharge
  • First Ideas: taking time to think of and generate better ideas
  • Living—experiencing life, which fuels creativity

Bonus! Stay tuned for a special, surprise ending.

Resources:

Kevin suggested The Art of Slow Writing, by Louise DeSalvo – not just for writers. DeSalvo discusses the idea that our best work comes when we’ve taken our time to let ideas filter to us. First blush ideas are the easy ones. Lots of examples of famous books that took years not just to write, but for authors to figure out what their story idea was about.

John suggested Laura Veirs’s Kaleidoscope Creativity Cards. Draw three cards and put them together as a creativity prompt.

Note: Links to books are affiliate links to Bookshop.org supporting independent bookstores.

The Perfect Episode! Pitfalls of Perfection

The Time is Right
The Time is Right
The Perfect Episode! Pitfalls of Perfection
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In this episode, John and Kevin dig into how the pursuit of perfection in our creative work can hold us back. They discuss how and when perfectionism can manifest during the creative process and ways they have overcome the pitfalls.

Resources

Psychology Today primer on the psychological definitions of perfectionism: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/perfectionism

Mindful Art Studio: How Perfectionism is Killing Your Creativity:

https://mindfulartstudio.com/how-perfectionism-is-killing-your-creativity/

Psychology Today: Getting Creative by Striving for Excellence Vs. Perfection:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/our-innovating-minds/202110/getting-creative-striving-excellence-vs-perfection

Episode 19: Interview with Dewi Hargreaves Artist and Author

The Time is Right
The Time is Right
Episode 19: Interview with Dewi Hargreaves Artist and Author
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In this episode, we’re joined by Dewi Hargreaves, who is an author and artist. He shares his creative mindset and process, and his journey to living a creative life. You can find him here.

Resources Mentioned

Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity by Felicia Day

You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): A Memoir, by Felicia Day

The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron

John is reading The Creative Act: A Way of Being, by Rick Rubin but has not finished it yet.

Find Your Prompt! If you’re stuck or just looking to do something new, find a resource for prompts in whatever creative endeavor you do, and unlock your creativity.

Episode 18: Valuing the Creative Process

The Time is Right
The Time is Right
Episode 18: Valuing the Creative Process
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This month, we go deeper into the idea that the process is more important than the outcome. We discuss why valuing, even honoring, the creative process is so important to our creativity. We explore the significance of practice, experimentation, and intention. Also, why it’s important to create our creative spaces and time.

For a creative: if time is money, then process is the currency and the outcome is what you’ve purchased.

Resources Mentioned

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

The Slowdown podcast