I read an interesting article yesterday that argued rest and downtime can fuel our creativity. The author asserts that rest and strategic laziness are necessary for not only resetting our brains, but also for allowing creativity to happen naturally. I agree that creativity can’t be forced. I’ve tried. I’ve stared…
Category: Fiction
Books
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Review – The Last Dangerous Visions
The Last Dangerous Visions has been a long-time coming. Originally announced in 1973 by Harlan Ellison, the last book of the anthology series became a legend in the science fiction community for the simple fact that it didn’t seem it would ever be published. This was a mind-boggling situation after…
Creativity
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Words from the Past
Tidying up my home office is a constant work in progress. Partly due to all the books I own, but also all the writing I’ve done over the years. Even after the advent of home computers, I still tend to scribble and take notes manually – pen and paper. It…
Abstract Art
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A Little Inspiration – The Finding (a short story)
I was flattered to learn that a recent post of mine – Red Abstract (Two Versions) – inspired another blogger to write a short story. Michelle, over at Book Quotes (Mostly) Out of Context, posted her story earlier this week and I found it a wonderful accompaniment to my canvases. …
Art
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Why We Need Art
I had an interesting video pop up in my YouTube feed last week. Most of the videos I watch tend to be art and creativity related, so it wasn’t a surprise to see this one. In fact, it was something I needed to watch at the moment as the national…
Art
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Public Domain Day 2026
January 1st is Public Domain Day in many countries. What this means is, certain works – music, books, artwork, etc. – have reached the end of their copyright protection and are now available to the general public for free. On January 1, many works from 1930 will transfer to public…
Books
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My 2026 Reading List
I’m sad to report that I read fewer books this past year than I did the year before. Partly because last year I was doing freelance book reviews, and that allowed me access to many more books than I usually have. And there were deadlines. Deadlines can be quite motivational. …
Art
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Hypnagogic Creativity
I read an article this past weekend about the hypnagogic state. It’s that moment between wakefulness and sleep, the semi-dream state when we’re still aware but our minds are untethered to conscious thought. Research is now showing that this can be a creative time for people, a time to work…
Art
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Being Creative
“To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” – Osho…
Books
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November is Family Literacy Month
One of my earliest memories is my father teaching me to read. We’d sit on the sofa together and work our way through one of my school books, sounding out words and learning how to string them together. While we weren’t necessarily close, this is one fond memory I have…