Archives: 2012 January

Archive for January, 2012

Procrastination Tip #9: Learn The Art of Kicking Your Own Ass

As creatives, there’s nothing quite like those moments where we annoy ourselves into a frenzy.

I mean, it’s not like we can storm out on ourselves and slam the door dramatically to prove our point, or ignore our own phone calls, or break up with ourselves.

So when we need clarity, how do we step away from ourselves long enough to regain our creative focus (in a way that doesn’t involve alcohol)?

It’s not me, it’s… me.
First of all, admit you’re weird. It’s okay to be weird. What stifles our creativity the most is the barrier between how we want our lives to be, and how society says they should be. We always feel we’re on the sidelines, when in fact, we’re in the lead.

Let yourself be aimless.
Because of the daily grind we have to go through to pay our bills until our creative projects become our main source of income, the structure we have to maintain for survival keeps our minds in analytical mode for way longer than they should be. That’s why during our time off, we feel stuck and frustrated, and our creative projects begin collecting dust.

Dedicate a small amount of time each day to letting your mind wander—watch a movie you think is ingenious, listen to music that matches the tone of your creative project—doing so will get you into the habit of mentally brewing your creativity for when it’s time to sit down and work.

Learn the art of kicking your own ass.
When all else fails, drag your ass out of bed, and as soon as you feel the urge to have yet another mediocre day where you barely accomplish anything, yell at yourself in the mirror if you have to. Swear. Stomp around. Throw the stupid candle holder that keeps tipping over off your front porch once and for all. Whatever it is that’s eating you up and stifling your creativity, get it out of your system! Kids have hissy fits all the time and their well-being isn’t questioned, why should ours?

Eventually, it will get easier, and your creativity will become more fluent. I promise.

Krissy Brady

Junior Procrastinator/Internet Ninja

Twitter - Facebook

Stoplight

Sitting at a light.
Silence, except for the tick tick tick of the left turn signal.
Nobody has uttered a word since we got in.
Four people, in their own worlds but the same car.
Driver: husband, father of seven, late fifties, balding.
Passenger #1: mom, mid-thirties, teenage daughter, alone but has a headache.
Passenger #2: husband, father of at least two, mid-forties.
Passenger #1 wonders if passenger #2 has any regrets.
Passenger #3: flustered woman, mid-forties, must remember to pick up milk and cat food on the way home.
She must have regrets too.

Rebekah Boisvert

Executive Procrastinator/Ambassador of Creativity

Twitter - Facebook

Revive Your Creativity by… Not Being Creative

I’m sure you have many plans for your creative projects this year, and maybe you’re reaching every goal successfully so far. If so, congratulations! I’m very proud of you.

If you’re not reaching them successfully yet, don’t beat yourself up. Your goal list is not set in stone and can be altered at any time, which I think is something we forget when we’re so passionate about what we want to accomplish. When our goals don’t go exactly to plan the first time, we let our defeat take over. This is especially true if we’re in a position where we’re used to them not going right—when we’ve spent years spinning our tires, balance feels like an impossibility, and we give up way too easily.

Instead of falling back into bad habits and routines that are counterproductive, here are a few tips to keep you on track:

1. Spend one week observing your life as it stands now.
If you’re feeling especially lost with how to amp up your creative projects, I’ve found the best way to improve my strategy is by spending one week observing how I spend my time. You’d be amazed at how much you learn about yourself and your habits! With your observations in front of you, you can then create a more manageable goal list, because you’ll know exactly where to cut the fat to create more time.

2. Compliment your must-dos with your want-to-dos.
We all have tasks and chores we have to do that make us want to vomit. We dread them, so we put them off, and the more we put them off, the more weighed down we feel (especially once they pile up and overwhelm us). To keep you going, use your creative projects as your reward system. For example, “When I finish the dishes, I’ll spend an hour on my manuscript/screenplay/painting/product.” I find that because I want to work on my creative projects so badly I borderline on desperate, it pushes me through the crap I could care less about, and the reward system automatically integrates more time for my creative projects into my schedule.

3. Boost your creativity by not being creative. At all.
Just before the new year, I spent the last few days of 2011 doing absolutely nothing. Nada. Zilch. It was a very surreal experience, after years of push, push, push, go, go, go. But when it came time to bite down and move forward on my creative projects again, I felt as if I had a clean slate to start from. Taking time away makes it so that when you return to your responsibilities and creative projects, you start over with a fresh perspective, and you naturally find ways to better balance out your time.

As you can see, none of these tips have anything to do with your creativity itself, but the things in your life that surround and sometimes hinder your creativity. We all want a better balance, but life’s a mess, and it’s important to accept that and keep pushing forward in whatever way works best for you. Find a way for your personal and professional obligations to compliment your creativity, and you’ll be ahead of the game in no time!

Krissy Brady

Junior Procrastinator/Internet Ninja

Twitter - Facebook

What Will You Put Off to Finish Your Screenplay?

When it comes to living a creative life, we’re in the director’s chair—so why don’t we act like it?

While most of the time it’s frustrating, I sometimes find it comical that we end up procrastinating on the things we want to accomplish the most, such as completing and marketing a screenplay. Yet, we manage to push ourselves through the things we dread—work obligations, household chores, and the expectations of others. We put off the things that will fulfill us, so much so we become drained and let every opportunity for our creative projects pass us by.

Here is where our productive procrastination skills will be put to the test. If you want to amp up your creativity this year:

1. Instead of facebook stalking while your laundry dries…
…read a book that will help you learn more about the craft of screenwriting, such as Essentials of Screenwriting by Richard Walter.

2. Instead of watching a mindless reality show to unwind…
…choose a movie that is similar in genre to the screenplay you want to write, and wind up! Keep a notebook nearby in case you think of new ideas for your own movie while you’re watching.

3. Instead of leafing through a catalogue of products you’ll never use/can’t afford…
…leaf through the screenplays of your favourite movies so you can become more fluent with structuring your own.

4. Instead of checking your e-mail every 15 seconds and replying to text messages the moment you receive them…
…turn your e-mail notifications off. Turn both your cell phone and home phone ringers off. Turn the television off. Turn the radio off. Kick everybody out. Practice the art of quiet so that the constant chatter going through your mind can subside, and you can reconnect with your creativity.

5. Instead of going to the same damn bar on the same damn night every week…
…stay home (gasp!), create a relaxed setting, and write! If you want to write a screenplay, then write a screenplay (I know, right?). You’ll have to find the time somewhere, and the easiest way to find the time is by chipping away at your social calendar and prioritizing. Setting yourself apart from the rest will be hard, but only at first. Eventually, you’ll feel so liberated, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

Look over your daily tasks: which ones must be done? Which ones can be put off until the next day? Which ones have no expiry date?

If you procrastinate on the right things, this time next year you and I (and that sister of mine) will be marketing our kick-ass screenplays!

Krissy Brady

Junior Procrastinator/Internet Ninja

Twitter - Facebook

Need a Read? My Year in Books: A Review

There is a reason you’ll probably never see a book rated one star on my list… I look up almost every book I read on goodreads before I decide whether it will get more of my attention. If something doesn’t have at least three stars on goodreads, I won’t waste my time. Keep in mind, just like goodreads, my stars don’t come in half sizes.

★★★★★ It was ok.
★★★★★ I liked it.
★★★★★ I REALLY liked it.
★★★★★ Hauntingly well done.

1. Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
★★★★★
If you enjoy memoirs, Augusten Burroughs is an always entertaining contemporary pillar of this genre. Running With Scissors is his fascinating account of the complex family dynamic that coloured his childhood.

2. Room by Emma Donoghue
★★★★★
I didn’t love this book as much as most people who read it, but it wasnt completely without merit.

3. House Rules by Rachel Sontag
★★★★★
Though I cannot agree with the claim “House Rules will stand beside Running With Scissors and The Glass Castle as a memoir that cracks open the shell of a desperately dysfunctional family with impressive grace and humour,” I still gave it three stars. I felt, at times, that the author was a whining, spoiled brat with a grudge. Celebrated authors Augusten Burroughs and Jeanette Walls were both able to portray their stories with grace and humour. Sontag reeks of immaturity, bitterness and blame.

4. Butterbox Babies by Bette L. Cahill
★★★★★
I love just about anything historical, but that Butterbox Babies exposes some very disturbing and unflattering Canadiana, made it even more intriguing.

5. Write Your Memoir: The Soul Work of Telling Your Story by Dr. Allan G. Hunter
★★★★★

6. Bottle Rocket Hearts by Zoe Whittall
★★★★★
Well written, clean and polished. The vivid, honest characters are a testament to Zoe Whittall’s genuine talent. She made writing a first novel look easy.

7. Chastened: The Unexpected Story of My Year Without Sex by Hephzibah Anderson
★★★★★
The premise was promising, but with the exception of maybe one or two thought provoking sentences, this book was lacking in almost every way.

8. Inter Alia by David Seymour
★★★★★
A first collection of poetry by one of Canada’s talented young poets.

9. Rush Home Road by Lori Lansens
★★★★★

10. Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
★★★★★
If you’re planning on writing a novel any time soon, this is a must-read.

11. How to Find the Work You Love by Laurence G. Boldt
★★★★★

12. The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn
★★★★★
This was an indulgence of my curiosity. Considered a pioneer in the genre of “self-help” books, it was written in 1925.

13. Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss
★★★★★
Intersting food for thought.

14. Worlds of Childhood: The Art and Craft of Writing for Children by William Zinsser
★★★★★

15. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
★★★★★
This was definitely one of my favourite books of the year. I don’t underestimate the amount of research and effort required to rebuild real-life characters and create believable dialogue. The Paris Wife is a captivating work of historical fiction told in the voice of Hadley, Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, as she recounts their years together.

16. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
★★★★★
After reading The Paris Wife, I was inspired to re-read this memoir by Hemingway. I may have enjoyed it even more second time around.

17. Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh McLeod
★★★★★
This was a quick, inspiring read for any creative types looking to maintain momentum. Check out Hugh’s website for more fun: http://www.gapingvoid.com/

18. The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok
★★★★★
This was a good read, though I did struggle with my judgments. I was slightly perplexed that the author and her sister could abandon their mother. Maybe I was just jealous because I feel more bound to my family ties. Her freedom and disconnection from her family did sound lonely though.

19. Live Through This: A Mothers Memoir of Runaway Daughters and Reclaimed Love by Debra Gwartney
★★★★★

20. Crush It!: Why Now Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk
★★★★★
Im not sure how many nonfiction books (or any for that matter) this author has read, but I felt his hot air and arrogance overshadowed his efforts. There were a few useful tidbits, but he certainly did not reinvent the wheel.

21. Bossypants by Tina Fey
★★★★★
Love. Tina. Fey. I had a healthy curiosity about her, and this book satisfied. There were some pleasant surprises and I respect her even more. She comes across as sharp-witted and disarmingly honest. I also enjoyed reading about how the scar on her face has shaped her life and personality.

22. Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Aspergers by John Elder Robinson
★★★★★
Another first time author, although Robinson shares pedigree and talent with his brother, Augusten Burroughs. This was a compelling, entertaining and educational read.

23. Notes to Myself: My Struggle to Become a Person by Hugh Prather
★★★★★
I highly doubt this book would ever meet a publisher these days, but I got the impression it was sort of a marker of the times when it was published back in 1970.

24. A Spy in the House of Love by Anais Nin
★★★★★
This book may not be considered overly risque on todays standards, but when you take into consideration it was published in 1954, it reads a little more daring; a classy and dirty classic read.

25. Blue Nights by Joan Didion
★★★★★
I like Joan Didion, even though sometimes she sounds very pretentious. I think (hope) the pretentiousness is unintentional. With only the occassional cringe and eyeroll on my part, ultimately, I was fond of this book.

26. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
★★★★★
Full of cliches, albeit refurbished in an intelligent and charming way, I very much enjoyed the first two thirds of this book. Unfortunately, it slightly missed the mark. However, I do commend this first time novelist for the vibrant imagery and clever prose.

Feel free to add me on goodreads to see my complete virtual bookshelf.