Author Bill Eisele interviewed me!

I first met Sandy Ackers 20 years ago when we joined the same writing class in San Francisco.  Sandy’s writing dazzled  me at the time.  Two decades later, she’s inspiring a legion of creators as an online, certified muse for the masses.

Following is an interview I did recently with Sandy from her home in San Francisco.

Sandy, thank you for being everyone’s muse! What is the secret to phenomenal creativity?

The secret is that there is no secret! Working on your craft regularly, whether you feel inspired or not (also known as the butt-in-chair technique) is the path to opening up your creativity. I’d also add that allowing yourself to enjoy the journey, rather than focusing on the result, is crucial. That sounds simple, but many of us judge ourselves harshly if we don’t write something magnificent every time we sit down to work. When we write, we construct a reservoir of creative experience…

To read the rest of the interview: My favorite muse on inspiration, Netflix, and telling other writers what to do

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE!   (To learn more, click here)

Take a leap into this word pool celebrating spring!

Use some (or all) of these words to create a poem, jot a paragraph, capture a memory…

Write something serious, absurd, fun, reflective…go wherever your muse takes you. And, as always, I love it when you share your creations in the comments.

blueberries, breeze, sunshine, daffodil, dawn

rainshower, ripples, robin, meadow, rainbow, dance

abundance, linger, blossom, green, run, smile, warm

Here’s mine, a haiku today:

Daffodils ripple
Rainbow dances on meadows
Sun smiles at spring’s dawn

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE!   (To learn more, click here)

In a dream, I swim through a beautiful ocean of words, until I meet a very old tortoise who whispers the perfect sentence in my ear. I can’t remember the sentence when I wake, but my hair is wet.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

One of my greatest frustrations with my muse arises when she provides incomplete information. When inspiration strikes, I want to see the whole picture. To visualize the complete story, imagine exactly how the scene unfolds or clearly hear the voice of an important character. But the truth is that muses almost always provide only fragments. That’s actually the muse’s job. To offer a spark of inspiration. Then we must turn the spark into something more. So many of my best pieces of creative writing have arisen when I started with just a hint of an idea, a hazy image, a line of dialogue or a brief moment of action that I first told myself wasn’t worth pursuing. But when I push aside the voice that tells me “No,” and insist on following the flash of inspiration, I often find something lovely unfolding. Writers frequently talk about how their wonderful novels, memoirs, plays, screenplays and poems originated with such snippets. I find it really helps me to remember that when I’m annoyed at my Muse for only providing me with wet hair while leaving the perfect sentence balanced on the tip of my tongue.

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE!   (To learn more, click here)

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE!   (To learn more, click here)

Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall.

—Ray Bradbury

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-in-warehouse-cloud-of-balloons-above-high-res-stock-photography/514351089

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE!   (To learn more, click here)

Take a walk, and bring a notebook. Jot down things you see, hear, smell, feel, touch and experience. Use all your senses.

Include everything:

• bits of conversation—not just the words but also the tone of the language and the postures of the speakers
• neighborhood signs—their messages and their visual style
• changing cloud formations and the things they bring to mind for you
• the exact color of the sky
• a crying or laughing baby—how it sounds and how it makes you feel
• the scent, texture and color of blooming flowers
• dogs checking each other out or chasing squirrels
• traffic—the sound, smell and look of it
• the sights, sounds and smells of trees you encounter
• the color and texture of the hair of anyone you pass
• the items people are holding or carrying

These are just a few ideas—be sure to include everything that catches your attention. And pay attention to everything around you as you walk.

Then find a place to sit such as a park bench, cafe, picnic table, the ground, your car … whatever works for you.

Now combine several of the sensory images you’ve gathered and use them to create a story, essay, poem or any other piece of writing. Play around with the images and try different things, just as you would if you were making a collage. If one combination doesn’t work, try something else. Write something silly or dark or absurd or uncharacteristic of you. Have fun as you fit the puzzle pieces together in different ways.

I like this exercise because it combines the physical activity of walking with the mental and emotional experience of collecting bits of what you experience. It gets you away from staring at a blank piece of paper. And combining things in new ways always engages the muse.

Let me know how you like this exercise, or share your creations!

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE! (To learn more, click here)

I was looking through my blog posts, and I found this one I posted in 2010. I think it’s a fun one to do periodically, changing the tone depending on your mood. I hope you enjoy…

One of the regular readers of this blog pointed me toward the journaling exercise below (thanks, Kablooey!).

I can see many uses for these prompts:

* to use as a journal and reflect on your life…

* to go inside the head of a character in your current novel or story and gain some insight into his or her world…

* to have some fun with creative whimsy (my choice for today)…

* to use creatively in whatever way resonates with you…

As always, I’d love to see any responses you want to share in the comments!

FOR TODAY
Outside my window… the fog has turned into 20 dancing giraffes who are putting on a Broadway show for me.
I am thinking… about whether I’d rather have wings or wheels.
I am thankful for… aardvarks.
From the kitchen… the cinnamon and the butter are having a passionate affair.
I am wearing… my brain on my sleeve.
I am creating… a guest house in my mind out of gorgeous, unrealistic ideas.
I am going… to dance on the beach until the waves applaud me.
I am reading… the extravagant body language of the bent fork that’s trying to seduce one of my spoons.
I am hoping… my new wings don’t fall off when I fly into my dreams tonight.
I am hearing… ideas chattering outside my door like excited giraffes auditioning for a play.
Around the house… I have folded scientific evidence and foggy memories into every drawer.
One of my favorite things… curious elephants peeking into my windows on Sunday mornings.
A few plans for the rest of the week: thinking about giraffes, wrestling with foggy memories, waving at stars, dancing with my brain, breathing…

(journaling exercise from The Simple Woman’s Daybook via Creating Balance: My Rich Life)

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE!   (To learn more, click here)

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CREATIVE BURSTS WORKBOOK!
And receive free creativity prompts delivered to your inbox twice a week.
CLICK HERE!   (To learn more, click here)