Rani Divine's Blog, page 36

Six

I have a sinking feeling that I may have a lot of disagreement garnered from the topic I’ve chosen for today, mostly because I know a lot of people who hate what I’m going to suggest for you to do. But I’m going to do it anyway, because, well, I think it’s a good idea. And I use it to keep my creative juices flowing, which is of course our topic of the month.
Listen to Lectures
My primary suggestion is TED Talks. You can go to their site and choose what talks you want to listen to, and most of them are relatively short if you don’t have a lot of time to devote to it. There are thousands if not millions of talks available, so you can't complain of not having enough to choose from.
Just like there are a lot of things we can glean from reading other people’s fiction, or learn from reading up on things that pertain to our work, we can also develop a much deeper understanding of what we’re doing when we listen to other people—successful people—talking about the thing they do best.
In this instance, I don’t even think it matters if the lectures you listen to have anything to do with what you’re doing. For me personally, I can feel the ideas in my head growing when I listen to people talking about the thing they most enjoy doing. Whether that’s a comedian talking about replying to spam messages or a film maker talking about the thing that helps him do his work, I’ve gotten a lot out of sitting down for half an hour and listening to a few lectures (or even putting them on autoplay on YouTube in the background while I do my busywork).
It’s a great way to both learn and connect with new subjects and new ideas, which is great for creativity. Maybe you’ll listen to someone and get a new idea for a character, or hear someone say a certain phrase and have a brilliant vision of something you’ve never painted before. In either case, the lecture will have helped you get somewhere—and that’s what we’re really trying to do.
If you’re interested in TED Talks, here are links to two of my favorites, one funny, one extremely beneficial:
JJ Abrams “The Mystery Box”
I heard about this one from Kevin Kaiser, one of my favorite people to follow online. Kevin usually has some fun thing going on for writers, if you want to look him up as well. But I've learned a great deal from this JJ Abrams video, and I think you will too.
James Veitch “The Agony of Trying to Unsubscribe”
I stumbled upon Veitch while I was looking for a different video, but this guy is hilarious. For those of you who prefer a comedic view to life, I think you’ll enjoy him. And for those of you who hate spam email, you definitely need to check it out. He has a few more videos of this sort on YouTube, if you have a mind to check them out.
I hope you enjoy, and I hope the talks give you some wonderful new ideas!
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Five

Two days ago, I told you to read fiction. Today, I’m telling you to read the opposite.
Read Nonfiction
I’m a fiction writer, through and through. I really am. I don’t like writing nonfiction, I’m not very confident in my abilities as a nonfiction writer, and I don’t enjoy reading nonfiction as much as I enjoy reading fiction.
But that’s beside the point when it comes to the upkeep of your creativity, and the betterment of your creativity when it does come to pass.
See, every form of fiction, every form of art, really, is grounded in the real world. We don’t have another way of looking at things, because we’re a part of the world. We’re not part of anything else, really, so we wouldn’t know how else to be looking at things.
With that in mind, maybe you’ll see where I’m going.
Nonfiction helps us stay rooted in realism, in reality, and keep our feet on the ground. That’s extra important when you’re writing science fiction or fantasy, because they’re dealing with a subject matter that is so very foreign to us, as people who live on normal ol Earth.
I know we don’t always like to spend time reading things like this, to take time out of our days to research, basically, but it really does help you maintain your creativity. Some people may tell you that it stunts your creativity, but I think they’re lying. See, our work, whether it’s fiction writing or fantasy painting, needs to be grounded in something. If it’s not, the people we’re marketing to won’t have a chance of understanding what we’re doing.
And I’m not saying you should go out there and read something that you have no interest in at all. No! That would be a horrible idea. No, no. What you should do is find something that pertains to what you’re working on. Maybe find a book about your craft, or one about that might help you better understand your own subject matter.
For instance, when I was writing my Earth-Spaceseries, I bought a bunch of books on outer space. I wanted to have a better idea of what my characters were getting themselves into, and I wanted to maintain a certain realism that my readers could latch onto. And the fun part was that in reading those books, I got even more ideas for my own books!
So there. It’s not creativity ruining. It’s creativity thriving.
Huzzah!
[love]
{Rani D.}

Four

All this month we’re talking about ways to keep those creative juices flowing, things that will help us not fall into the trap of no longer creating, which somehow often comes at the start of a new year. And today, I have a good one for you.
Hopefully, most of you writers out there are already doing this.
Read Fiction
Okay, okay, maybe it sounds obvious, but it’s one of the best ways to keep yourself creative. Read someone else’s creativity, and build off it. Use it as a platform for your own creativity. Whether that means you’re writing fan fiction, using an idea you read in a book, or drawing a character from a novel you’ve read—use it.
See, to have creativity, sometimes it helps to know that someone else out there has creativity too. For some reason, we tend to think that we’re the only ones who have creativity, if we’re not surrounded by creatives. We think that we’re alone out there, that no one else will understand what we’re going through when we want to create but don’t have any of those juices.
Sheesh, we can be dramatic, can’t we? That comes with creativity too. And it’s not a bad thing. But by reading fiction, we get to see creativity done by someone else. It’s a constant reminder that there are other people out there who are just like us, who do the same thing we do.
The trick here is not to get into the “but they’re better than I am” trap.
Sure, Stephen King has a ton of books out there. The man writes like a maniac. But you know what? He’s not the only good writer out there. There are millions of others who have followings, and you could be one of those. Heck, you could be the next Stephen King!
For you artists out there, remember, you don’t have to be Michelangelo to be a great artist. Art is subjective, creativity is subjective. No one’s work is better than anyone else’s, if you ask me. The playing field is level.
So go out there and read a book.
I’ll admit, I was bad at this last year. I think I read a grand total of three books, aside from the ones I have to read for work. So this year, to keep that creativity flowing, I’m reading. I’m starting the year out with Lord of the Rings, and we’ll see where I go from there.
But you know what? I haven’t had any problems writing, drawing, or painting—since I started reading.
Don’t take my word for it. Try it.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Three

Hey-O! This month we’re talking about the creativity-zapping month of January, and ways to keep those creative juices flowing all throughout the year. You can check out my first two pointers from Monday and Wednesday if you haven’t yet, but today we’re talking about a new one I’ve gotten into in the last year.
I know that this is one I’ve been talking about a lot lately, but that should show you just how important it is, and how helpful I’ve found it to be in the last year or so. It’s really helped me in the effort to keep my head clearer in the midst of vast amounts of work and varying levels of stress, and I believe it can do the same for you, if you'll let it. 
New Forms of Creativity
Yeah, that’s right, I mean you should be exploring multiple outlets for your creative juices.
If you’re an artist, you might be having trouble creating your art this month. I know I've run into that problem not infrequently in January. So instead of doing what you normally do, maybe you should try a different medium for a while. It’ll get you out of your box and help you get some new juices flowing.
That’s what I’ve been doing, this past year.
Primarily, I consider myself a writer. That should be obvious to all of you by now, even if you’ve only been here a short while. But in 2016 I took up drawing. I try to spend at least an hour or so every week on either drawing or painting, even if it’s only on my tablet or in a coloring book. Yes, I count that. It uses creativity, doesn’t it?
But do you know what I found, when I started drawing?
I found that writing came more easily. I had more ideas, when I sat down to write. It became simpler for me to start putting words down on a page, because I’d thought through them already while I was drawing (even though I didn’t realize I’d done it). I found myself able to stare at a screen for a longer period of time, to write more words in a single sitting than I’d done in the past.
How cool is that?
And I honestly believe that it’ll be the same for you, if you make time for a new creative outlet. Try it out. Even if all that entails is buying a coloring book and some pencils, try it. It works for me, and I believe it’ll work for you. And if you’re really serious, go all out with it. Artists, start writing. Poets, start painting. Writers, start sculpting. Do something different.
Who knows—you might end up finding a new passion.
[love]
{Rani D.}

Two

You know how January can be a bit drained of motivation for creativity? The holidays try to sap all creativity from the air, and when the new year begins we’re stuck here thinking we should be doing something, but unsure where to start…
And my favorite way to get back into the swing of things is to
Take Time for Yourself
Somehow, we forget to do this a lot of the time, especially around the holidays. We work, work, work until we have no energy to even consider doing anything else, and then we get mad at the world for taking up all of our time and energy, and then we end up doing more work because it’s the only thing we can think to do anymore, and eventually, our minds end up trapped in a cycle of chaos where our creative centers are either drained or dead or wired so tight that we can’t even hope to untangle the mess. 
And during the holidays it can be worse, because there are presents to buy and events to go to and things that need to be done aside from our usual amounts of work, which leaves us with even less time to be creative, and it's just... well, it's not good. 
To that end, it’s important that we take time for ourselves.
And I don’t mean taking time to be creative. I mean taking time to sit and be, and do nothing but think and clear our thoughts, maybe read or study something we enjoy, or talk to a friend about anything and everything but work and creativity.
It’s good for us.
It’s difficult to create if our minds are utter chaos. I would know. If I haven’t written in a while, all the ideas turn to a jumble in my head and I usually have to take a few days to clear everything up and get back into the zone. Not very time efficient, if you ask me, and it could’ve been fixed by my taking time to myself, time when I can just jot down my ideas and get them out of my head before I go on to something else.
We need that.
So remember to take some time for yourself, to relax and rejuvenate, to clear your mind and make way for creativity. Make some space in that brain of yours, clear out some room for things that you really want to do, not just the monotony of everyday life, of work.
My suggestion is to take some time for yourself every week, at least once a week. For me, that time is Sunday. It’s the day that I go to church to worship, to learn, and the day when I get to veg and do whatever I want to do. Sometimes I spend my day with family or friends, but most of the time I stay by myself and let my brain rewire back to the way it’s supposed to be, the way it was meant to be, with all sorts of room for learning, and for releasing that creativity.
It also makes Mondays a whole lot easier, let me tell you.
:)
[love]
{Rani Divine}

One

Happy New Year!
Can you believe it’s 2017 already? 2016 just flew by for me. It was a great year, really, and I’m a little sad to say goodbye… but 2017 is already shaping up to be an even better year, and I look forward to what it has to bring!
For the month of January, I wanted to focus on something that would be beneficial to us all in the new year. And since I’m a writer (obviously) I thought we should talk a bit about creativity.
I don’t know what it is about the holidays, but for me they can be a bit of a creativity zapper. I have very few good ideas this time of year, and occasionally I struggle to find the time to make creativity a part of my life. So when January comes around, I’m always looking for ways to get creative again, to get that part of my life back.
And that’s what I’ve decided to talk about this month.
Twelve Ways to Keep the Creativity Rolling
Part one is today! Woo! I actually have the day off from everything else, but I didn’t want to leave you all high and dry.
Let’s get started!
#1: Use a planner
Actually, I’m only just starting to take my own advice here. I got a planner for Christmas, called a Passion Planner, which was recommended to me by another writer. This planner in particular seems to encourage creativity, which was what I really liked about it. But it’s not just for creativity’s sake that I suggest you get one.
There’s something about January, that makes it one of the busiest months of the year for a lot of us. There’s so much more that needs to be done at the beginning of a year, so much that needs our attention, and it’s hard to make everything happen when it needs to happen—even moments of creativity.
And so, I’m suggesting a planner. Both to you and to me.
See, I have a lot more work these days than I’ve had in the past. It’s a good thing. It means Mavguard is growing, that RAD Writing is starting to really make a name for itself, but it also means that I have less time to do all the creative things I used to do. (don't worry, it doesn't mean there will be any delay in getting the Druid Novels released)
Fortunately, I know approximately how long it takes me to write a scene, or draw a picture, or paint something on my tablet. So I can pencil it into my new planner!
I know for a lot of us though, that it can be difficult to pencil in something like creativity, because it just comes to us on the spot.
But that’s also where the planner comes in. Pencil in everything else that you need to get done, with time stamps for how long those things should take you. And make sure you leave an hour or two of free time, every day. That time is what I’m calling “wiggle room.” If you have a creative moment, a time when you just need to creative, bump up that free time and move everything else down in line. Then you'll have an hour or two to create, and then you can get back to the rest of the things you need to do. The thing here is that you have to keep to the schedule, which means you can’t go too far overboard in your creativity time. At least it’s something though, and a way to make sure we always have some creative time every single day.
That’s suggestion #1! Be sure to check back on Wednesday and Friday for 2 & 3!
[love]
{Rani D.}

The Last Day

Oh my goodness tomorrow is the last day of the year. How on earth did that happen? Seriously. Someone please tell me. Last I knew it was September and I was just leaving for Europe. Can we go back in time and do that over again? I really enjoyed that trip, man…

And like that, I’m off track.
Okay, so there’s one more thing that causes a lot of artists and authors to freak out and not want to submit anything for publication, and that's what we're going to talk about today: 
The selection process.
Reading is the easy part. That takes a few days. But the next part can take a while, for the RAD Editors and Mavguard volunteers to debate which works are going to make it into the next edition. I know, even thinking about someone deliberating over my work can just be insane. For me, that's always the hardest part.
That’s why I’m writing this.
This is the one part of the process where we really can’t tell you what’s going on. We can’t say when we’re discussing your work, because we don’t want you to try to sway us. But I can tell you that we’re usually agreed from the beginning on what will be going in the magazine. We know good work when we see it, and most of us have the same preferences when it comes to what we'd like to see published.
And really, it only takes us about two weeks to decipher everything. Trouble is that we have to find a time when all of us can get together to state our case for every single piece, and that can take a while. Our volunteers all have day jobs, you know.
But we promise that we’ll get back to you as soon as we possibly can!
I’m the one who sends out the submissions responses, the one who’ll talk to you at this point if you have any questions. And if your work isn’t accepted, I’ll be the one to write your rejection letter. I’ll tell you specifically why your work wasn’t chosen, and I’ll let you know what needs to be done to fix it. I’ll even help you with it, if you want. And this only happens if the changes are significant enough to be beyond what our team can do in a short period of time.
Most of the time, if you send in five submissions, we’ll publish at least one of them. At least, that’s statistically been the case.
And it’s pretty great, because even one thing published is better than nothing published, isn’t it?
Woo!
Tomorrow is your last day, so head over to www.MavguardMagazine.com NOW to send in your work!
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Four Days

The countdown to the end of the year continues! Monday we talked a bit about submitting, and how ridiculously easy it is to send your work in. Today, I’m telling you about the next phase of the submissions process:
The reading period.
For Edition V, it’ll begin on January 1. For Edition VI, it’ll be July 1. It usually lasts under a month, and in this time we read every short story and poem, and view every piece of art under a magnifying glass. Well, okay, I don’t actually use a magnifying glass, but I do zoom in on my computer. Close enough?
I can’t tell you how many creatives I know who haven’t submitted because they’re afraid of this period, this length of time in which they’ll know that someone is looking at their work, but they won’t know whether or not it’s being well received.
I know, it can be a trying thing, especially for those prone to anxiety.
Here’s the thing. You’re more than welcome to email us during the reading period. We’ll have a chat with you. More often than not, you’ll end up talking to RAD Writing’s senior editor, Kristina, and she’s awesome. She’ll do her best to make you feel comfortable with the process, and in some cases she can even tell you what day our editors will be reading your specific piece.
We’re nice like that.
We have two primary goals during this period: keep you comfortable, and get you published.
That means that we’re more than willing to work with you to make your piece publishable (if it’s not there yet), and we’ll do whatever we can to make sure you’re not going stir crazy while we’re in the reading phase.
So send us an email. Talk to us. Let us know if you’re nervous, and we’ll see what we can do to help. We’ve all sent our work places too. We know what it’s like to be in this situation. And we know how to make it easier for you. 
Trust me.
You have nothing to worry about.
Go to www.MavguardMagazine.com now to send something in, and remember, you’ll only have a few days before the reading period begins!
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Six days

Happy Boxing Day, everyone! ...Whatever that is. I hope you all had a great Christmas with your family's, and thank you for your understanding when I thought Friday was Saturday. 

Today though, I want to talk about something other than Christmas. 
 
Today marks the start of the last week of 2016. Some of us are glad, others are saddened to know that this year is coming to a close. But for those of us who call ourselves creatives, those of us who write, who create art, this week marks something else.
You guessed it.
Only a few more days to submit your work for Mavguard Edition V.
It seems so crazy to already be at this point, to have only a few more days before we’ll close the submissions window and start looking over everything you’ve sent in. But that’s what happens for us at RAD Writing, when the end of the year rolls around. We put our heads down and start reading. And it’s such great fun.
Today, I wanted to talk you to a little bit about the submissions process. I know it can be scary for some people, that some of us get so nervous that we can’t even think of sending anything in, and so I want to take a little time to talk to you about it.
All it takes is a simple form.
You go to www.MavguardMagazine.com, click on submit, scroll to the bottom of the page, and select what form you need. If you have art, go to the art form. If you have a short story or poem, click literary.
The form is really easy. We only need some basic information about you: your name, what name you’d like to be published as, your email, address, phone number, the usual stuff. You have to give that every time you order something online anyway. And we don’t give any of your information away for any reason, so you don’t have to worry about getting spammed because you gave us your information. We’ll add your email to our mailing list, but if you don’t want to be on it, all you have to do is let us know.
You can only submit one piece per form, but you can send in up to fifteen forms: five poems, five short stories, and five art.
That means you have fifteen chances at publication, if your a multi-faceted creative. How cool is that?
Honestly, that’s really all there is to it. One of us will send you an email to let you know we’ve received your submission, and if you have any questions you can send us an email. We reply as soon as we can, and we’re very friendly.
I know this, because I read all the emails. I’m a snoop. Don’t judge me. I want to know that everyone’s being nice to you.
Easy peasy. And you’re guaranteed to be emailed by a nice person!
What’s so scary about that?
Seriously though. Whatever you create, I want to see it. I honestly do.
Go on over to www.MavguardMagazine.com now to submit something! Really. Go do it!
[love]
{Rani D.}

Venues

Well, apparently yesterday was Friday... and nobody told me that. So this morning, I'm finally posting what I meant to post yesterday. Because today is Saturday, and yesterday was Friday. But it felt like Saturday. 
Oops. 
The final gift idea I’ve selected for you, on this now last day before your time is up for shopping, is one that a lot of writers don’t even think of considering.
Other Creativity Venues
What does that mean? Well, it means a lot of things, and gives you a lot of options.
Basically, find us some other creative outlet we can explore, for the times when we might be in research mode, editing mode, or just don’t feel like writing. That does happen from time to time, you know.
Maybe that means you get us some painting supplies, a coloring book and markers, or take us to one of those wine and painting nights. Maybe it’s getting us calligraphy supplies, inks and pens we can play with in our spare time. Just try to find something that’s creative, something where we might be able to get our hands dirty and play around with something new.
I’ll use me as an example. I know me pretty well, you know.
I both paint and draw, though I just started on the drawing side of things. Painting I did a lot in high school, nearly entirely abstracts, but in drawing I like to achieve a little more realism. I also have a few coloring books, some markers, and colored pencils. Do I use them all the time? No. My main focus is on writing. But by exploring these other venues, I open my mind up more and more in the world of writing. Writers like to do stuff like that.
So try it. Go to Hobby Lobby or Michael’s and see what you can find. If your writer friend likes to bake, maybe get them some supplies for cake decorating. If they like photography, find an accessory they don’t yet have for their camera. Or if they’re like me and they draw or paint, get them some new supplies they might not have yet.
All of these are things that your writer friend will absolutely enjoy. It shows that you thought about us and the things we like to do outside of writing (even though we probably very rarely if ever speak about those sorts of things). And that’s pretty darn cool, in my eyes.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
I hope you got some great gifts for all your family and friends out there, and that you get some awesome things yourself. Nothing’s more fun than giving!
[love]
{Rani Divine}