The process of taking a painting, or sculpture, or story from concept to completion is such an important part. That feeling you get when you’ve just spent an afternoon completely absorbed in your project is unrivaled. Nothing else can duplicate that excitement, or fullfillment.

So, the next time you sit down to get those thoughts or images on paper, remember that the time you spend doing it is just as important as what comes out.

Well, not this time. I returned from my trip scattered, distracted, and ready to start about 20 new projects. Time went by, many things got started, and others that I really enjoy got pushed to the side.

Here then, is my Top 10 list of ways to help refocus your attention and regain inspiration. All tried personally by me. Recently. No guarantees, but at least most are fun, and easy to do.

1. Get back to the basics. Reread some of the classic literary tales, write only in a journal, put the painting away and grab a pencil and a piece of paper.

2. Write down everything that’s on your mind in one long, stream-of-consciousness ramble.

3. Promise yourself something you’ve been wanting as a reward if you spend a certain amount of hours this week on something creative. Maybe not that new BMW, but I’m sure you can come up with something.

4. Pick some projects that you abandoned awhile ago, and work on them. It’s a good way to get past the blank page or blank canvas stage and just dive right in.

5. Get organized. Use one calendar, and write down everything in that one place. Use that rambling in #2 to see what’s distracting you, write down how to solve or handle the fixable things, and schedule all those things you have to do. Clear your desk, clear your space, and clear your mind.

6. Allow yourself to not do anything. Some guilt-free time when you don’t have to feel like you should be doing something. Just for today…

7. Try a vow of silence. This can be especially helpful to writers, but I also know of some artists who swear by it. It can be for just a day, or as long as you like. Complete silence is impossible unless you live alone, but just limiting any unecessary conversation can help regenerate your well of inspiration. Return those phone calls tomorrow, skip happy hour, or that dinner party. Reflect and observe.

8. Take a short artist’s sojourn. It really does wrok most of the time, I swear. Anything from an afternoon at an art gallery, a weekend in the country, or one spent exploring your area’s architecture. Remember what excites you, and surround yourself with it.

9. Hold your breath and jump in. Just write that first sentence, make that first brushstroke. Then the next, and the next. Before you know it…

10. Be kind to yourself. Always.

Sometimes it takes a combination of things, sometimes it’s just one thing that can trigger a surge of creativity. The most important thing is to not give up. Pull out a project or painting that you’re especially proud of, and remember the feeling you had when you were working on it. Now, hold that thought…

The premise is this-we all have that budding novel inside of us, if only we had the time, if only we had the resources, if only we had the energy, if only…

So here’s the goal: Starting at midnight on November 1st, and running until midnight on November 30th, you start pounding that keyboard, every spare minute you can get, and get it all down on paper. In 30 days. No editing, no crossing out, no starting over. Just write it.

The average novel runs about 50,000 words, so that translates into about 1667 words a day. It’s a blast. There’s online support with dozens of forums, and local get togethers all over the country.

I tried it 2 years ago, and although I didn’t finish, I did have a good time. There’s also “Script Frenzy” in April, where the challenge is to write a movie script or play in 30 days. That one I did finish, and it fueled me for quite some time.

At the end of the month, you’ll have a novel ready for editing, a huge feeling of accomplishment, and bragging rights that you are now a novelist. The book is called “No Plot? No Problem” by Chris Baty, one of the founders, and it’s a fun read, if nothing else. Really gets you thinking that you can do it. The website is nanowrimo.org, and has all the information you need.

Check it out. Let me know if you’d like to join me. I’m going to try it again this year.

Wrote 2 articles for a publication in what I felt was a very reasonable amount of time. Often I let myself get caught up in writing, rewriting, rewriting again, and again… Way over the necessary amount of time. I guess they don’t call it obsessive/compulsive disorder for nothing. So I wrote these articles fairly quickly, and I was pleased with the way they turned out.

Needed a photo to go with each, which by the way will bump up your payment considerably, and finally settled on 2 out of the 20 or so that I took. Just fill out a couple of contracts and invoices, attach an e-mail, and I’m good to go. Or so I thought.

Well, by the time I got done downloading photos and scanning contracts on one computer to a flash drive so I could put them in another computer, rescanning contracts because they were too light, then too dark, creating files, deleting files so I wouldn’t get them mixed up, turning them into zip files, writing the e-mail to go with it, printing copies, and sending them on their way, only to find the mail had been returned because the files were too big, and I now needed to now turn it into 2 files.

Many, many, many hours later, my project is done. The one I wrote in such a reasonable amount of time. Sometimes it’s the little things that really get you.

Finding other creative outlets that are completely outside the realm of writing has often helped me to get excited about writing again, and generate new ideas and subjects to explore.

Art has always been one of my favorites. Drawing, painting, sculpting, ceramics and photography have all served to to help reawaken my sleeping creative energy. Sometimes even stirring the borderline comatose.

There are art projects for everyone. From a simple paint by number, which is a great stress reliever, by the way, to building model cars, to painting huge landscapes in oil, and everything in between. The book “Art Escapes”, by Dory Kanter, has some fun and easy ideas for creative doodling and artistic journaling to more complicated projects like panorama paintings and collaging. Art galleries and museums are also great for getting ideas and inspiration.

Art classes for beginners are always a worthwhile investment as well. You can’t go wrong learning something new, building on skills you already have, or just meeting other creative people.

No matter what your skill level, any kind of creative endeavor will just add to your writing abilities and productivity. Don’t be afraid to spend the time. And with that in mind, I’m heading off to the easel. I feel an abstract watercolor coming on.

It’ll take a little reminding in the beginning if you’re not used to referring to yourself as such. I suggest starting when you wake up in the morning. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll use poet as the example. The first thing you say to yourself every day: “I’m a poet, and I’m going to live like one and think like one today.”

Now I’m not advocating quitting your day job to be a strolling bard, as we all like living indoors and being able to feed ourselves. What I am saying is that you can still be yourself, whatever you have to do to earn a living. That’s only 40 or so hours a week, which leaves 128 hours. If you’re fortunate enough to have a job you like, or that incorporates your creativity, that’s even better.

Getting yourself out of your comfort zone, away from your home, and around other people with similar interests are all great ways to ignite some creative sparks. Find yourself a French cafe, have a cafe au lait, and write, or sketch everything and everyone around you. Have a beer at an English pub, a bottle of wine at an Italian ristorante, or a cafe con leche at a Cuban cafe. Get out of your house, and out of your regular routine.

Joining a writer’s group, taking an art class, going to poetry readings, hanging out in the library…are all great ways to meet other people who can join you on your sojourns if you’d rather have company. Do some research online to see what’s available in your area.

You can also find great character studies at airports, bus stations, train stations, and hotel lobbies. Or go to the park, the beach, the woods, and use nature, the world’s greatest artwork, as your muse. Have a notebook or sketchbook with you every minute of the day, and challenge yourself to fill it as quickly as you can, then another, then another.

The key to living the life is to get out of your regular routine and your comfort zone. Start living a life of exploration and discovery; what’s around you, and what’s inside you.

And remember, when you’re at work, and a customer just got finished chewing you out, or the boss dumped a huge pile of someone else’s work in your inbox, remind yourself, “I’M A POET, DAMMIT.” Consider it suffering for your art. Could be worse.

I have pictures of people I admire, rooms I’d like to have, travel photos of places I’d like to go, pictures of paintings, buildings, graffiti, cool advertisements, doodles I’ve drawn, and of course, quotes I like. Anything that pleases your eye, gets your attention, or that you just think is cool. Cut them out, and save them in a box or folder, or put them right up.

Sometimes, when I’m feeling really distracted and having problems getting anything done, which is way more often than I’d like it to be, I put up a 10×14 board with just quotes, randomly written across, sideways, even upside down.

Finishing up, here are a few of my favorites:

“To be great is to be misunderstood”  Ralph Waldo Emerson (Self Reliance)

“There are no days in life so memorable as those which vibrated to some stroke of the imagination.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Don’t dream it, be it.”  Dr Frankenfurter (Rocky Horror Picture Show)

Been thinking about that all day. If you don’t like what you write, what makes you think anyone else would, or even want to read it? You’re either assuming (a) that you’re smarter than your readers, or (b) that people will read anything. Neither one is going to endear you to your readers, create any kind of a following, or do anything good for your reputation.

If you don’t like what you’ve written, well, fix it! Edit it, rewrite it, rephrase it, tear it up and start over. You should always be proud of your work; proud to put your name on it. Make it as good as you can, whatever you’re writing, whatever you’re doing.

Take others advice with a grain of salt. Everyone has an opinion on how to do everything, and some carry more weight than others. I’d be more inclined to take writing advice from someone like Stephen King than the person in line behind me at the grocery store. Unless of course the person in line behind me was David Sedaris. Have your own opinion, and follow your heart, your gut, and your instincts. You know the way. Go there.

My baseball memorabilia, cool posters, jars of paints and paintbrushes, photos, books, books, and more books, future art projects, really interesting wooden boxes, a bowl of rocks, and on and on.

My first reaction is to box everything up and put it in the closet. The room instantly turned cold, boring and empty. Then came the guilt for buying and collecting so many things just to take up space in the closet. So I went through everything, picked out my absolute favorites, and keep only those things out. Turns out I have a lot of favorite things, for a minimalist. I love looking at all these things, but they can be very distracting. I came up with the idea of having a wall of inspiration, hopefully to help me have better focus and keep the ideas and finished projects flowing.

This “wall” will be made of heavyweight cardboard, heavy enough to not buckle, but light enough to hang without pulling the plaster or paint off of the walls. It can be covered with fabric and ribbons, wrapping paper, with or without foam underneath, depending on how the pictures, quotes, photos, etc will be attached. I noticed some great scrapbook paper in the craft store the other day. It comes in 12×12 inch squares, and only costs about 60 cents each. They have everything from surfboards, skulls and wild abstract patterns to subtle garden and ocean scenes, as well as every solid color you can imagine. I liked the ones that looked like old newspapers. Also thinking about some large adhesive letters to put up the most inspiring quotes. Starting with my favorite, from Henry David Thoreau:

“Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.”

Something fun to try: pretend you’re someone you idolize. Who in your field do you think is the greatest that ever lived? Are you a Hemingway fan? A Picasso admirer? Dorothy Parker devotee? You most likely already know many details about their personalities and lifestyles, but, if not, start reading. Now, be that person today. Dress the dress, walk the walk, talk the talk. Have some fun, and do the work.