Creativity Is Its Own Animal: how to create when you’re froggy

You know the quintessential artist. This person does not produce much for periods at a time, but then comes up with a storm of creations all at once. I totally became this person. Just now, I came up with two stories after a long while where I was questioning my creativity. It’s like I’m as creative as a London bus; an idea does not come for a while and then, all of a sudden, I’m hit with two. This goes to show that creativity is its own animal, but there are things you can do when you become froggy.

Remember that the goal of creativity is quality and not originality. The first point I stress is not to become overly-obsessed with being original. If a thought keeps on coming up in your head, then try to turn it into a story, inspiration for a painting or something else, depending on the art form you are pursuing.

Don’t stress being to particular to begin with. Quality is in the detail, but good ideas are like diamonds in the ruff. You can rub the dirt off later, but try to find a complete gem to begin with. That is to say, complete your ideas and the rest will follow. You can basically fill in the fails of an outline, and create your works that way.

Those are my tips on how to stay creative. Please let me know in the comments section if you have any ideas yourself.

Free Book Promotion for Four Very Different Short Stories and Karen, the Misbehaved Girl

I am running a free book promotion for two of my books. The first one is my new shirt story collection Four Very Different Short Stories. I am also running a free book promotion for Karen, the Misbehaved Girl. I hope you can get your hands on them. You can find the books on Amazon.

The Archaeologist’s Secret and New Story Collection Out Soon!

I am very excited to share that my new story, The Archaeologist’s Secret, will be out soon, on November 22nd, 2019. I have added it to my other short stories to also form a new short story collection book titled Four Very Different Short Stories. It will be out soon. I cannot wait for all my future readers to get their hands on this book, or their eyes on the eBook ^_^.

Intelligence is Fluid

The static nature of intelligence is something that may be perceived by many in society. We all have an IQ and that is how it is, for life. I plan on challenging this notion. Intelligence is not such a rigid thing. This essay explores the fluidity of intelligence.

Firstly, children are the picture example of how IQs can change. Have you ever done an IQ test when you were younger? Did you take another test as an adult? We’re the scores the same? Differences in scores in individuals as children and adults could point to how IQ changes.

Furthermore, you can take two separate IQ tests, one after the other, and get different scores. That is because there are factors which influence your score. This factors include speed, distractions and whatnot. This does not prove that your intelligence has changed. It just shows that the measures are also fluid.

Just like your IQ can go up, it can also go down. Drug use and other problems can affect your intelligence, detrimentally. This may or may not have proven, but there are suggestions that drugs like marijuana can lower IQ. This may not be the most welcoming reality, but it shows that IQs are fluid. Let’s hope the change is positive for all of us.

In conclusion, intelligence of individuals can change. It may not be as static as commonly perceived. You can get different scores as a child and an adults. Heck, you can get different scores in the same day. Your score can go up and down. What’s more, this is something which can be proven with more research.

Is Writing Block Real?

A professor, some of whose courses I took, once challenged the validity of mental blocks. That inspired this article and the question is writing block real? It is not just a question whether it exists, but whether popular conceptions that it cannot be overcome are true. This paper articulates the exact opposite. Writing block may or may not be real, but it is most certainly overcomeable.

First of all, is writing block real? What is it? Writing block is the challenges faced by writers when there minds go blank and they cannot write. While this may not be problematic for a select few, a lot of professions depend on writing as a practise. Imagine choosing to be an author as your chosing career and not being able to write.

Whether it is real or not, the more important questions is are conceptions about writing block true? Can we overcome it? The answer I give is an unequivocal yes. There is nothing we cannot overcome, not least or especially writing block. Getting into a good writing habit may be difficult, but it is achievable; how else can you expand the vast and growing number of publications around the world.

The falsity that writing block is to difficult to control proves problematic. Too much time is wasted thinking one cannot write because of this so-called writing block problem. It is just a belief, holding no weight as a truth. If people believed they could write, whenever they wanted, imagine how much more output would be produced. The results could be staggering.

In conclusion, whether writing block is real or not is not important. The significant point is that it is overcomable. How else would the output of written works be explained? If people believed this, they could write even more. Here is to hoping we get past the writers’ block delusion.

Planning Your Career

“There are not 48 hours in a day.” This wise saying was first heard by me possibly when a BBC affiliate said this to do with career planning. You cannot do it all is basically the meaning of the post. Another wise saying is to be, “a jack of all trades and a master of none.” For this reason, I choose to focus my life on a few, maximum, three careers and not do anymore.

We all want to master something. Some of us may want to do many things. The key is to find the magic number. Should we all focus on one, two or, at most, three things? I myself like writing, business and philanthropy.

I also like history, art and other things. Gary Vaynerchuck said the best thing to do is to combine your passions, if you have too many. For that reason, I choose write about business, history, stories and other things. I can also do charitable work, start businesses and do some art, if I have the time. The point is I’m not juggling all the careers I wanted to do, like be a doctor, footballer, academic and whatnot.

Finally, you should choose things that you are good at. Everyone has (a) talent(s), and it is a great thing to do what you are talented at well. Einstein was good at science; Beethoven was a master pianist/composer. We can all find something we are good at and try to do it well. It does not matter if you do not find something for you can still work hard; Einstein, undoubtedly a genius, humbly said, “my only genius talent is inquisitiveness,” and, “genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work.”

In conclusion, you should plan your career to increase effectiveness. You cannot do it all as there are only 24 hours in a day. You can, however, combine things to provide a unique service to people. When in doubt, explore your talents and do what you are good at. This essay should be of most use to those struggling with their life path.

Writing Cartel Wanted!

All great writers have cartels they belong to. While this may not be necessarily true, writers have a way of grouping up to strengthen their chances of success and learn from each other. Take Ernest Hemingway, for example. He, like other great writers, belonged to a group that helped each other write better. If you want to form a group with me, then please say so in the comments section.

Writing Hacks: Ten Tips to Becoming a Better Writer

Hi there, if you are reading this, then you probably want to be a better writer. I have just the article for you. In this piece, I share ten writing hacks that I found useful. I gained inspiration from an article that I read on the same subject. I hope this proves useful to you.

1. Use Plain English

In my last semester of University, I had already written 40 or so essays towards my degree course. I realized in one exam, that my writing had become plainer. This may have garnered warm responses from professors, as I got good comments. Long story short, overly flowery language can be confusing, is difficult to follow and can take away from the message.

2. Stick to good spelling and grammar

Proper spelling and grammar are good ways to impress your readers. Polished writing has a good effect on your work. Remember, you could be writing to a potential employer, important person in your life or to a newly-acquired readership.

3. Use a thesaurus

One of the best ways I gained good grades in elementary school was by using a thesaurus. My grades dropped later in high school, and it was no coincidence that I had also stopped looking up synonyms. Thesaurases are not just great tools to help improve your writing but it also helps your vocabulary to grow.

4. Don’t use too many adjectives

Adjectives like extraordinary and incredibly can come off sounding juevenile. You don’t want your author’s voice to come off as belonging to an overly-excited 7 year-old.

5. Use more adverbs

Adverbs have a way of making your work seem more sophisticated. The source of this articke’s inspiration gave a good example that I aim to emulate. Instead of saying, “I ran the race,” say, “I grudgingly (or happily) ran the race.”

6. Avoid over-repitition

The excessive use of repetition was a problem I had in my writing and story telling. I remember a teacher telling to not say, “and then,” too much. Years later, I learned that one of the quality requirements of self-publishing with Amazon was not having too much repition feature in your work. Needless to say, I learned my lesson.

7. Don’t use too much jargon

This goes back to the plan English point, but you should not always assume prior knowledge

8. Pay attention to your audience

Continuing on the same point, if you know who your writing to then you will know what level of knowledge you can safely assume. This helps a great deal with writing style, word usage and other matters.

9. Structure is important

Try to figure out what you are writing. Are you writing an essay, story or an article? Different writing pieces have different structures. For example, a book follows a plot line with a setting, climax and resolution while an essay has an introduction, body and conclusion. There are similarities but knowing the nuisances is significant when writing.

10. Do not be afraid to use what you learned in school and elsewhere

I found that a lot of the lessons in school and uni that I learned have been really beneficial to my efforts of being a writer. I value the education I received inherently, and not just instrumentally. I’m sure a lot og you can benefit from what you learned. Even if you have not gone to University (FYI, I am yet to graduate), you probably still learned a lot that can help.

There you have the writing hacks. Please leave comments if you want to add any.

New Weight Loss Initiative!

For those who know me, I have struggled with my weight for many years. I actually manage to lose 70 kilos once and came down to a respectable weight of 100 kilos. It was still too high, but I was proud of my achievement. Due to many circumstances, I have since gained back around 40 kilos. It’s been a painful process, but I want to get back at my weight loss efforts with a new initiative. Here’s what I’m learning along the way.

Image result for weight loss

First of all, sleep is vital for weight loss. My sleep has recently improved and every time I feel well-rested, I lose some weight. Weight loss used to come easy to me, but not anymore. Due to issues such as poor sleep, I found myself eating too many meals with too big portions. Managing to get good sleep is a must to ensure you can exercise and watch what you eat.

Of all the things which help you lose weight, the simple ones are what helps the most. That’s right, there is no better way to lose weight than to simply diet and exercise. Dieting involves watching what and how much you eat. Exercise is pretty straightforward, at first thought. However, the amount of time you exercise and the intensity of your exercise can complicate matters.

Finally, getting help is a great way to lose weight. You might have issues with stress and emotional problems that you need to deal with in order to change your lifestyle. Perhaps, you may have started taking medicines with weight gain as a side effect. A trip to a nutritionist, personal trainer and/or doctor can help structure your efforts and give you a plan to ensure results. The steps you take today can help you reach a better outcome tomorrow.

In conclusion, I wanted to share what I have learned about weight loss. Sleep is essential to weight loss efforts. So too are diet and exercise. It is important to know how to go about doing these things and to get help, if necessary. Finally, you should know that weight loss is achievable and your efforts will not be in vain.