Tina Haapala, Excuse Editor

Fueling the Creative Fire Saturday, November 10 2:30-4:30PM Breathe Yoga Studio 508 Indiana Street $25 or $20 for Breathe Yoga Studio Class Package Holders Do you use creativity in your daily life? Maybe you’re a writer, artist, dancer, painter, crafter, chef, designer, sculptor, musician or yogi? This workshop will blend specific yoga poses (beginner friendly!) to help move the body and mind toward new perspectives. By opening space in the body, you’re able to open up space in the mind for new possibilities. Join us for two hours of juicy brainstorming, creativity and movement to help inspire you toward your next creative project. Great for artists and creatives of all types. Bring a yoga mat (extras will be available at the studio) and journal, writing utensils, markers, colored pencils or whatever inspires you to create. SPACE IS LIMITED , so reserve your spot today by email: tina (at) excuseeditor.com or ashley (at) ashleyjosephine.com Payment (c...

Today is the last installment of my literary journey through George Carlin's " Last Words ". I expected to get a bit of insight into Carlin's life (I did) and a few laughs (yep!), but I never expected to get such inspiration about writing from this comedian's life story. You never know what will rev up the creative engines! Some Last Words About " Last Words " The Creative Well Doesn't Go Dry "The truth is, I can't run out of ideas--not as long as I keep getting new information and I can keep processing it." --George Carlin You have no choice but to keep filling up your creative well. It may not seem like this is the case, especially when you're struggling to get the words out from the deep recesses of your well, but the ideas are there. The problem is not running out of ideas, but nurturing the ideas that you do have. Allowing yourself to worry that what you are writing now is the last great idea you will ever have will paralyz...

Last time , I began to share the lessons I learned from George Carlin's " Last Words ". Some of the more concrete advice, such as "know what your accountants are doing with your money" and "don't fry your brains with drugs and alcohol", while important, did not move me as much as the ideas he had about comedy and writing as an art. So today, I will continue...  "All I really need to know (about writing) I learned from George Carlin." Express Yourself Writing is one thing, but writing to express your own truth is another. Last time, I had mentioned the idea of "paying your dues" in order to get to the where want to be with your work. That may include ghost writing for blogs or books that don't really interest you that much, or editing loads of other people's copy instead of writing your own. While this is true, if you are the type who strives to do a good job no matter the task at hand, you may become successful...

A year before George Carlin died, he appeared on The View. Like most writers, whenever anyone within earshot starts discussing the creative process, I pay attention. In the first few minutes of this interview, Carlin explained the influence a mindset shift had on his work: he said he had transformed from a "comedian who wrote his own material" to a "writer who performed his own material". He felt this reflected a maturity in his work, and he was able to delve deeper into his subject matter. Of course, his subject matter has been controversial for years (even prompting a case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court ), but whether you loved or hated him, you can't deny that his voice touched the hearts, minds, and funny bones of many. I recently finished his book, " Last Words" , which was published after he died. I suppose it's technically an autobiography, and you gain an understanding of how his views were formed from an early age. However, with my...

Filomena Scalise / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Fun Fact: The average person has over 1460 dreams a year, according to the backside of one of the pages in my page-a-day calendar. What does this mean for a writer? Morning Pages Many writers are familiar with Julia Cameron 's morning pages , usually a three page free-write to get the creative juices flowing before anything else in your day. When I am in the habit of morning pages, I have the notebook, a pen, and my glasses within stretching distance so I can start writing before I'm entirely awake. You can imagine, some interesting, albeit sloppy, writing finds its way to those college-ruled pages. More often than not, a shadow of a dream is still clouding my mind's eye, so I start to write about the dream. I may go into detail about the dream, telling it like a story. I may only remember fragments of the dream--who was in it, how I felt--so the writing may turn to wondering why that particular scene visited my early morning...

In honor of the season of things that go bump in the night, I thought I would share this video. The guy is promoting his production company, but in the meantime, he's asking the question--Is this a time traveler? The video was shot in the 1920's, but he's sure that there's someone who gets caught in the shot-- talking on a cell phone! The fact that this video has almost a quarter million views after just 5 days proves that we are all hungry for a story. What kind of story does this inspire for you? Time Travel? Hoax? A commentary on the prevalence of cell phones in modern society (would viewing this footage 20 years ago had even caused a second glance?) That's the great thing about writing. You can take a mystery on and try and to solve it. You can take a common day and turn it into an adventure on the page. And, like the guy who posted this video, you can take something that has been overlooked for years and turn it into a main attraction. Besides a fun...