Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “creativity”
@bethvogt I accepted a challenge this week. Not a physical challenge involving upping my exercise. Not a health challenge to decrease my calories or carbs. Not a decluttering challenge to attack my closets or my garage. What did I say yes to? I accepted an invitation to a Five-Day Card and Note Writing Challenge, thanks to my writer …
@bethvogt I’ve had a wind chime hanging in my office for years. I know, I know – wind chimes belong outside, not inside. I found this wind chime at a craft show, fascinated by the crafter’s display. Two copper tubes, along with a thin piece of agate, are suspended from a piece of burnt wood retrieved from one of Colorado’s …
@bethvogt Sometimes our well-thought-out plans don’t work. Frustrating, isn’t it? Last year wasn’t a great writing year for me. Too many disruptions meant very little creative writing. I spent some time evaluating what I needed to ensure I had a more productive year in 2021. Solid blocks of time. Dedicated space. No interruptions. Then I made my plan. It wasn’t …
We all have different goals. Different dreams. Different opportunities. But no matter what we’re aiming for, we all hope to succeed. I’ve attended lots of writers conferences in years past. (Not lately. It’s been more about my daughter’s volleyball tournaments — and I’m okay with that.) When I’m with writers, we talk about the books we’re writing. The books we …
Whatever an artist creates, it is an echo of their life. When a reader turns the pages of one of my novels, if she listens closely, she’ll hear whispers of my life escaping from between the lines. Yes, I’ve plotted fictional characters facing obstacles that I placed in a specific order leading to “the end” of my design. But often, …
There was a time when I tried desperately to come up with a new story idea. As the saying goes, I had nothing. I played the writer’s “what if?” mind game while I drove around town. While I moved laundry from the washer to the dryer to the laundry basket. While I grocery shopped. While I loaded the dishwasher. While …
Every time I write a book, I have to get my brave on. Some of you are probably chuckling, wanting to ask: Oh, come on, Beth! What’s so scary about writing a novel? All of it. Figuring out what the book is about. Developing the characters. The first page. The messy middle. The end — oh, my word! The end! …
Attitude changes things, doesn’t it? From our perspective in time, most likely we don’t consider Michelangelo a “learner.” Being able to look at his works of art, to read about and marvel over his accomplishments, we call the man one of the greatest, most inspired artists of all time. Michelangelo’s willingness to keep on learning could only help him be …
My husband laughed and summed up today’s blog post in two words: Change happens. You can’t argue with the man. January was a month of change for me as a writer. I started on book 2 in my Thatcher Sisters Series — always fun to develop new characters and plot a new story. “Why?” is the repeated question during this …
So … the robot. I came upon him while walking with my husband and youngest daughter during a a foggy day in Carlsbad, California last summer. Some ingenious artist painted him on the side of a building. And yes, this painting told a story. You can come upon stories in the most unlikely places. We expect them within the covers …
