The other day I read a beautiful post that was a tribute to a dearly departed pet. It was so touching and zinged me right where there’s a sore spot from missing my beloved dog, Biscuit, who died six years ago. I had to walk away for about 30 minutes before I could write a … More Writing From The Heart
When I started putting together the memoir I wrote about my father, I had the good fortune of connecting with a great writing coach, Sheila. As she explained it to me, her job was to be the “ultimate reader” – the person who asked the questions about temporal lapses, gaps in the storyline, or unexplained … More The Ultimate Reader
High stake situations require complete and utmost concentration. Any distraction or lapse of judgement can shift your attention away from the present moment, hindering your efforts to achieve a state of effortless flow. This could make all the difference in the final moments of a championship game or dictate whether you are in peak performance … More Reverse Engineering Bliss: Hacking the Flow State
So I hit a roadblock with my writing recently. I stalled. Ironically while writing a book about stalling and the need to let go to regain lift in life. Instead of doing that, I kept smacking my head against a brick wall. I am the master of not following my own advice. Eventually, I ceded … More Writer’s Roadblock
Alone we go faster, together we go further – African proverb To understand why collective intelligence is so powerful, I would like to invite you to think about bees. I find bees fascinating insects. They are hard-working insects. All day long, bees look for and carry nectar from flowers to their beehive to produce very … More Why Collective Intelligence is Powerful
With January upon us, what better way to start the year than by convincing ourselves the movements of indifferent heavenly objects hundreds of millions miles away, oblivious to our existence, are actually enacting a well-designed choreography designed to guide our every decision. ARIES ♈️ : Now is a good time to rekindle old friendships, restraining … More Your Wise and Shine January Horoscope
It’s Tuesday! That means we’ve posted a new podcast. In this episode, I have a cool conversation with Jack Canfora, one of Wise & Shine’s writers and our resident humorist. We discuss writing, blogging, the writing process, humor, and sundry related topics. Check it out. Show Notes: About the participants: Troy Headrick started writing before … More New Podcast!
The other day I clicked through to the blog of someone that had commented and read their latest post. It was interesting and well-written but I wasn’t sure how to take it. Was it intended to be a little humorous or totally serious? It reminded me of the importance of the about me section of … More About Me
I realise that writing a book is like doing a giant jigsaw puzzle. Except you have to make the pieces first. You make the pieces and then work out where they go. You move them around until everything just sort of clicks into place. Then you flesh out the spaces in between. The hardest part … More Piecing Together My Thanks
Have you thought about the effectiveness of lists in writing? Take a moment and think of the famous lists that come to mind like My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music or the Ten Commandments from the Bible. Even when we can’t name them all, I bet we can name a few or most. … More Give Me a List
Among the many stories my ex-husband told me of his precarious childhood, there is one that sticks out. He was five or six years old, living in Florida and his mom was dating the Hat Man, a man who wove and sold palm frond hats to tourists by the side of the road. One night … More The Power of Story
In March 2020 when Seattle went into lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic, my 4-year-old daughter and I were scheduled to go to a show at the puppet theater. The theater company founder and director was a Seattle fixture who had been delighting families with shows for over 30 years with her troupe of … More Adding Innovation to Grand Theatrical Tradition
“Openness is seen in the breadth, depth and permeability of consciousness, and in the recurrent need to enlarge and examine experience.” – MCCRAE & COSTA, 1997, P. 826 Openness (which is actually Openness to experience) breaks down into Intellect and Openness. Intellects like grappling with ideas. They love to solve complex problems and debate philosophical matters. … More Openness: The Gates of Mind
So my muse decided to take a holiday recently. He packed his bags and went to Hawaii or somewhere. And I know he’s been sitting in the sun drinking Pina Coladas the whole time. That smug bastard. Now, I should say I told him to take a break. The problem is, I’ve found it hard … More A Creative Leave of Absence
I write to call myself a writer and be called a writer, because that means more to me than words could ever convey. … More Why I Write
I was watching an interview with John Cleese recently and he said something that got me thinking. When asked about his creative process he said, “You cannot bully the subconscious. It simply doesn’t work.” He went on to say that his best work always happened spontaneously. He still had a process of course, it’s just … More How To Unlock Your Creative Genius
By Jack Canfora John Lennon was 40 when he was killed; that murder took place 40 years ago today. I spent most of my teenage years trying to be John Lennon; eventually I realized that position was permanently filled. The whole band (you know who I’m talking about, right?) grabbed my imagination and still hasn’t … More The Witty One
I think there is great beauty in the space between: The space between sleep. The space between our brown-bagged lunches. The space between radio commercials. Life. It clicks by: In the flashes of headlights. The clanking of spoons. The aching of hands and feet. And no matter how hard we try, there is never enough … More SnapDragon Speaks: On The Space Between.
It’s That Simple Life is so simple and beautiful. More than anything, it so magical and alive. I can see it dancing everywhere around me in the form of my surroundings. A few minutes earlier, I was sitting in my balcony. Luckily, my head slowly tilted upwards as I looked into the sky to watch the … More Life Is The Dancer And We Are The Dance