A child’s favorite question is invariably, “why?” They will also throw in a “who, what, when, where, and how”, as well. They want to know more. Having a beginner’s mindset allows them to see the world with new eyes. You can use that same beginner’s mindset to take a fresh look at any hurdles that are in your way. Children are learning machines. They are born with the innate desire to create and to experience the cause and effect of the world around them. I remember when my first child was about two years old. She discovered the stereo and Read more…
I remember the week before I started art school. At age 16, I had just moved into the dormitory where I would live Monday through Friday, and then go home for the weekends. I soon made a few friends. The art school was no different than other schools in the way that students quickly clustered into cliques. There were also some outcasts, about whom, assumptions were made. One of them was a guy named Rikk. Alright, that was the first problem. He spelled his name with 2 Ks which came off as trying too hard to be cool or unique. Read more…
It’s that time of year again! This April, I will be participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Every day (except Sundays) participants will post to their blogs something that pertains to a specific theme (usually) and corresponds to the letter of the alphabet assigned to that day. Today is the day when participants reveal their chosen theme. Last year my theme was “Creativity.” This year I’m going to expand on that theme and challenge myself by using prompts from Brainsparker’s free Kickstart Course email series. Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker’s theme in 2019 is… Thinking Creatively Often, writers, musicians, artists, Read more…
As a writer, it’s essential for me to have a constant spark of creativity. So, whenever a tool comes along that helps generate ideas, I have to try it out. I’m excited to share my favorite creativity app with you. It is called the brainsparker app. I can’t think of a better name for it. “Brainsparker is a creativity app designed to spark your imagination, disrupt your routine thinking and trigger your brain to come up with new ideas and better solutions.” What I love about the brainsparker app The brainsparker app is easy to use and it puts creativity at your Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. I encourage you to check out their website and even sign up for the IWSG Newsletter. This month I will be discussing carving a duck decoy, as I answer the Insecure Writer’s Support group question for February 6th… Besides writing, what other creative outlets do you have? When I was younger I easily could have answered this question. I was actually a talented artist. I especially loved watercolor painting and drawing portraits. It’s been years since I’ve done either (although, I Read more…
Sometimes life hands you lemonade right after you’ve brushed your teeth. That’s how the last few weeks have felt for me. Dealing with a medical emergency for one of my children as well as a turn of events in my husband’s cancer, left me little time to write. That happens sometimes, doesn’t it? The problem is that writing is almost as necessary as air for a writer. How do you get out of a writer’s rut? Getting out of a writer’s rut can be a chore In physics, there is a principle known as Newton’s first law of motion – Read more…
This year, for the A to Z Blogging Challenge, participated with both of my blogs, Facing Cancer with Grace and Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker. That meant doing the A to Z posts for 2 blogs (26×2) plus the Theme Reveal for each blog (+2 more) and the retrospective (I’m only doing this one and linking to it from Facing Cancer with Grace). That’s a total of 55 posts in one month! For the Facing Cancer with Grace site… I chose to write with caregivers in mind. At this time, I have been deep in the mire of caregiving, so this would Read more…
It’s spring! It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. I encourage you to check out their website and even sign up for the IWSG Newsletter. Even though it seemed like it would never arrive, spring is here! Today I will explore whether the season inspires me to write, or not, as I answer this month’s IWSG Day question: It’s spring! Does this season inspire you to write more than other seasons, or not? The Short Answer No.  I always want to write. But… But each season inspires me Read more…
I’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here at Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker, I will share ways to increase your creativity. I’ll also be doing the challenge at Facing Cancer with Grace, where I will share posts that focus on caregiving. I hope you’ll visit me at both sites. While you’re here, sign up for my email list. Today’s post is Z Black and White: Approach Zebras with Caution. What do zebras have to do with creativity? Not much, but avoiding them has a lot to do with being more creative, more responsibly. To introduce Read more…
I’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here at Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker, I will share ways to increase your creativity. I’ll also be doing the challenge at Facing Cancer with Grace, where I will share posts that focus on caregiving. I hope you’ll visit me at both sites. While you’re here, sign up for my email list. Today’s post is Y for Your Addictions Have to Go. Many people think of novelists (of all writers, really) as deep thinking older men who find their muse in the bottom of a bottle of bourbon. This Read more…
I’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here at Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker, I will share ways to increase your creativity. I’ll also be doing the challenge at Facing Cancer with Grace, where I will share posts that focus on caregiving. I hope you’ll visit me at both sites. While you’re here, sign up for my email list. Today’s post is X for Eliminate eXpectations. Expectations are a good thing, though…right? Well, sometimes. But usually, when you eliminate expectations you are also removing psychological roadblocks in the way of your creativity. What do I mean Read more…
I’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here at Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker, I will share ways to increase your creativity. I’ll also be doing the challenge at Facing Cancer with Grace, where I will share posts that focus on caregiving. I hope you’ll visit me at both sites. While you’re here, sign up for my email list. Today’s post is X is for Xylophone- Happy Music and Creativity. Recently a study was done which shows a correlation between listening to happy music and creativity. Happy Music By listening to happy music, study participants were Read more…
I’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here at Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker, I will share ways to increase your creativity. I’ll also be doing the challenge at Facing Cancer with Grace, where I will share posts that focus on caregiving. I hope you’ll visit me at both sites. While you’re here, sign up for my email list. Today’s post is W is for World Building. One sure way to get your creative juices flowing is to create an imaginary universe (and everything in it). This is known as world building. World building is something Read more…
I’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here at Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker, I will share ways to increase your creativity. I’ll also be doing the challenge at Facing Cancer with Grace, where I will share posts that focus on caregiving. I hope you’ll visit me at both sites. While you’re here, sign up for my email list. Today’s post is V is for Experiment with Variety. Once in a while as a creative, you might find yourself getting into a rut. You can’t bring yourself to write one more page or draw one more Read more…
I’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here at Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker, I will share ways to increase your creativity. I’ll also be doing the challenge at Facing Cancer with Grace, where I will share posts that focus on caregiving. I hope you’ll visit me at both sites. While you’re here, sign up for my email list. Today’s post is U is for Up the Stakes. What makes a reader keep reading a story, or a viewer binge-watch their favorite series on Netflix? It’s the amazing art of upping the stakes. When you up Read more…
I’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here at Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker, I will share ways to increase your creativity. I’ll also be doing the challenge at Facing Cancer with Grace, where I will share posts that focus on caregiving. I hope you’ll visit me at both sites. While you’re here, sign up for my email list. Today’s post is T is for Travel & Creativity. One of the coolest ways to increase your creative thinking abilities is to travel. The distance on the map isn’t nearly as important as crossing the cultural divide. Read more…
I’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here at Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker, I will share ways to increase your creativity. I’ll also be doing the challenge at Facing Cancer with Grace, where I will share posts that focus on caregiving. I hope you’ll visit me at both sites. While you’re here, sign up for my email list. Today’s post is S is for Senses. The 5 Senses Writers usually try to sprinkle each of the 5 senses throughout the story to make it come alive. This gives the reader a more vivid reading experience. Read more…
I’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here at Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker, I will share ways to increase your creativity. I’ll also be doing the challenge at Facing Cancer with Grace, where I will share posts that focus on caregiving. I hope you’ll visit me at both sites. While you’re here, sign up for my email list. Today’s post is R is for, Read Books, Be More Creative. You gain knowledge when you read books People seem to be moving from reading books to reading short pieces on the internet such as this blog. I Read more…
I’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here at Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker, I will share ways to increase your creativity. I’ll also be doing the challenge at Facing Cancer with Grace, where I will share posts that focus on caregiving. I hope you’ll visit me at both sites. While you’re here, sign up for my email list. Today’s post is Q is for Quiet Your Mind. Recently a friend came to drop off a meal after my husband had a round of chemo. As soon as she entered our home, she lowered her voice Read more…
I’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here at Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker, I will share ways to increase your creativity. I’ll also be doing the challenge at Facing Cancer with Grace, where I will share posts that focus on caregiving. I hope you’ll visit me at both sites. While you’re here, sign up for my email list. Today’s post is P for Change Your Perspective. .When you change your perspective you can be more creative, whether you are writing, doing visual art or any of the other artistic endeavor. Even outside of the arts, Read more…
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