Category: Uncategorized

In which a bunch of authors & editors are invited to answer the question: How do you deal with creative exhaustion? Author Stephen Dedman gave me this exact advice some years back. It helped me then, & it’s making me think now. When I run writers’ workshops, I ask everyone to write a list of their…

In which a bunch of authors & editors are invited to answer the question: How do you deal with creative exhaustion? Author Cat Sparks demonstrates how to access those pieces of yourself that aren’t burned out – because they’re still glowing.   When all else fails, I grab an A4 legal pad and a smooth-flowing pen…

A friend sent a link to this warm & inspiring TEDx talk on creativity by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of EAT PRAY LOVE. It’s a fabulous reminder to honour the creative spirit that ‘possesses’ you: “The tricky bit comes the next morning for the dancer himself when he wakes up and realises that it’s Tuesday at…

In which a bunch of authors & editors are invited to answer the question: How do you deal with creative exhaustion? Author Alan Baxter proves that the art of war and the war of art are one and the same. I LOVE this advice as Alan answers the question, What strategies do you recommend to writers &…

In which a bunch of authors & editors are invited to answer the question: How do you deal with creative exhaustion? Jim Lewis is one of my favourite authors. His books have predicted my life, so naturally I’m waiting for the next one. Creative exhaustion is my default.  The question is how to deal with those rare…

In which a bunch of authors & editors are invited to answer the question: How do you deal with creative exhaustion? Author Kirstyn McDermott has a breath-taking thirst for life. Here, she creates exactly the kind of catch-phrase I want on a t-shirt.   Just stop it. That thing you do, that thing that keeps you…

In keeping with our burnout theme, & via Ellen Kushner, comes this marvellous blog post by Terri Windling:   I don’t often get blocked creatively, but when I do, the Big Hairy Monsters of Difficult Life Stuff are most often the cause. And yes, once you blast through blocks and Beasts, it is usually (maybealways)…

In which a bunch of authors & editors are invited to answer the question: How do you deal with creative exhaustion? Author Delia Sherman provides a stylish analogy for keeping up your creative energy. You MUST read this one! For me, creative energy is like an old-fashioned ground-water well.  When the well is dry, it’s dry.…

In which a bunch of authors & editors are invited to answer the question: How do you deal with creative exhaustion? Author Jenny Blackford studied the classics – as you’ll see from her current inspiration! My creative work comes fairly directly from my unconscious mind, almost untouched by deliberate conscious thought, so when creative exhaustion strikes,…

In which a bunch of authors & editors are invited to answer the question: How do you deal with creative exhaustion?   Mark Deniz handed me one of the most invigorating pieces of inspiration some years ago when he said, ‘write a novella about Ishtar’. I’m still grateful.   I find following TV series to be…