C: Creativity

Creativity is another favorite subject of mine.



Creativity is limitless. One person's creativity may lie in music, yet another in advertising. Creativity is as unique as we are.



In my Artist's Way group, we have writers, photographers, painters, musicians, visual artists, dancers...you name it. I love being surrounded by the diversity. I am...not the best drawer/painter/artist. I would LOVE to be, but my skills are rudamentary at best. However, being surrounded by people whose mediums are so diverse ignites something in me. I am more willing to take risks and try new things because of this group. Though I feel my artwork is juvenile, they somehow make me feel as though my art is in fact art and can be appreciated as such. They allow me to be creative in whatever way I choose.



I love that. I love just creating. Even if it's something a two year old can do, just to take part in the creative process heals me. It is cathartic, healing, joyous and freeing. Creation is more than just expression.



How creative are you? In what ways are you creative? When was the last time you allowed yourself to be creative?

B: Books

Books.



Now we're talking my cup of tea.

I love books.



I have many of them. I would like many more.




I get a high by smelling that new book smell in a book store (dear God, is there any scent better than that?! I think not!). I love big books, little books, blank books, coloring books, new books, old books, your books, my books. Call me a bibliophile, but I simply cannot get enough.




In terms of possessions, they say you can't take it with you. Books are different, though. Books give you memories. Books give you knowledge. Books give you wisdom. Books are the one possession you can (and do) take with you.



Books are simply wonderful.


To me, books are an incredible art form for their potential is limitless. A book may contain words, images, both or nothing at all. Books can be found in many languages, or just in one. Books have so much to offer within their pages. To give a person the gift of a book is to literally place the infinite universe in the palm of their hand.




Books are a blessing! ;)

A: Art

First off, I want to thank Arlee Bird, the creator of this blog hop/challenge. Though I have not met him in person, I am inclined to think he's gotta be a pretty darn good guy & awfully smart to have come up with this! Thank you for this wonderful opportunity, Arlee! :)

And now onto today's letter: A.



Art. Art is. Art is subjective. Art is expression. Art is political. Art is thought-provoking. What is art? What isn't art?

When I was in college, I adored these statements and questions. For as universal as they are, the answers are also always unique. I love that about art. I love that what is art to me is not art to you, but we can still respect the medium, regardless of what it is.

Dance.


Music.


Writing.


Visual.



...art is indeed limitless. That, in my opinion, is the greatest gift of art.

A to Z

Hi gang!

This year, I am going to try something completely new. This will be quite a challenge for me, but my new year's resolution was to grow, challenge and improve myself as a writer, so here we go!

Starting next week, I am beginning the A to Z blog challenge. It's a blog hop of sorts with one major challenge: save for Sundays, writing a blog post every day in the month of April and each post must pertain to a letter of the alphabet. The calendar is as follows:

Week One:
April 01, Monday - Letter "A"
April 02, Tuesday - Letter "B"
April 03, Wednesday - Letter "C"
April 04, Thursday - Letter "D"
April 05, Friday - Letter "E"
April 06, Saturday - Letter "F"


Week Two:
April 07, Sunday - BREAK
April 08, Monday - Letter "G"
April 09, Tuesday - Letter "H"
April 10, Wednesday - Letter "I"
April 11, Thursday - Letter "J"
April 12, Friday - Letter "K"
April 13, Saturday - Letter "L"


Week Three:
April 14, Sunday - BREAK
April 15, Monday - Letter "M"
April 16, Tuesday - Letter "N"
April 17, Wednesday - Letter "O"
April 18, Thursday - Letter "P"
April 19, Friday - Letter "Q"
April 20, Saturday - Letter "R"


Week Four:
April 21, Sunday - BREAK
April 22, Monday - Letter "S"
April 23, Tuesday - Letter "T"
April 24, Wednesday - Letter "U"
April 25, Thursday - Letter "V"
April 26, Friday - Letter "W"
April 27, Saturday - Letter "X"


Week Five:
April 28, Sunday - BREAK
April 29, Monday - Letter "Y"
April 30, Tuesday - Letter "Z"


Am I up for this? I don't know. But I am willing to try. I want to improve as a writer, and there is no better way to do that than by something like this.

My theme will be creativity and the arts. As a person who grew up in and appreciating all art forms, I didn't want to limit myself to one medium. So, I will be discussing the arts in their various forms and creativity.

I hope you like all of my posts and I hope I can win this challenge! :)

So, until Monday, happy reading! :)

Repetition and Redundancy

Happy Thursday, gang!

This week has been an usual one, to say the least.

I have spent the past few days with my family. My stepfather was dealing with a medical issue, so I made the six hour trekk in order to help my mother.




Because my routine had changed and my time was limited, I ended up using the same entry for my columns on gaylifenewsletter and gayleeds.


This is the first time I have ever done this, and I hope to make it the last. I absolutely advise against it as readers do not enjoy repetition nor redundancy.



As a writer, I do my best to keep my blog and various columns interesting and unique. Each has its own voice and audience/readership. I don't want to bore any of my readers, so I work diligently to keep every post different.


At times, that can be a bit overwhelming. After so much, is there anything new to say? I'm writing stories, blogs and columns. How much can one person say? There were times I definitely questioned my ability to come up with fresh, original work. Yet, to date, I have only reused a column once. This time now. That's not to shabby.


Readers want originality. They don't want to read the same story endlessly. Now, I'm not talking about re-reading a favorite novel. We all do that, and it is wonderful to experience your favorite story time and again. But, would you want to read a story where the cover art is different and the characters' names are different, but the storyline is the same? I wouldn't. If these stories were by different authors, I'd assume someone plagerized. If it was the same author retelling the same story, I'd call them a formula writer (something I abhore severely). Either way, I as the reader, lose.



I don't like losing, nor do I like causing other people to lose. So, I focus on originality. I do my best to ensure that you as a reader do not lose because I could not create something new. I push through the occasional block so that you are not disappointed.



This is not me claiming to be a saint or the best writer out there. I'm just explaining that it isn't always easy to have something fresh when you're constantly writing.


On the flip side, creating causes creativity. The more one paints, the more one's artwork improves and increases. The more a singer sings, the more opporunities the singer has to sing. Creativity begets creativity. Er go, the more I write, the more original my writing becomes. And that, my friends, is the best part about writing - or any art form, really. It is a gift to have the creative juices flowing.



That is the other reason why I diligently work to keep my writing unique. I am giving you, the reader, the gift of originality and I am giving myself, the writer, the gift of more creativity. It's absolutely a win-win situation.


Yes, currently if you were to visit both sites, you'd see the same column. I'm not proud of it, but extenuating circumstances made it necessary. Again, this is my first offense, and I don't ever plan on repeating this mistake again. After all, who likes repetition? ;)



Happy reading, y'all!