Daily Writing Prompts
by | posted in: On Creativity, Stimulus and Production | 1

So far this year, I’m a little behind on my creative goals.

As you may remember, a couple of weeks ago, I posted my Creative Resolutions for the year.
I encouraged you all to do the same, but to make them goals, rather than unobtainable resolutions.  For me, one of those goals was to do more writing in general, and more fiction writing in particular.  It’s hard to get back into that habit, but I am working on it, little by little.  Though it may not seem like an obvious step in that direction, I started taking a Zen meditation class last week, which I hope will help me clear my mind and sharpen my focus so that it’s easier for me to write.  So far, it’s been helpful in that regard.  I’ve been to two of the five class sessions and meditated every day since the first class and I can really feel the difference.
But, now that I find myself able to focus more and feel free enough to find time to write, I have to admit that I’m stumbling a bit in finding what to write about!

I have a tumble of half-formed ideas bouncing around inside my head still, but nothing that really is fully formed enough to either write about or chase with a camera to try and capture.  So, what to do?  Well, luckily, I’m not the only one with that issue and there are list after list of writing prompts available on the web.  I’m not going to share all the resources I found out there because you can Google them as easily as I can.  However, one resource stuck out for me.
The folks at The Daily Post at WordPress.com have made an ebook of prompts available to help bloggers break through writer’s block.  In fact, it’s an ebook that has 365+ Writing Prompts.  That’s a writing prompt for every day of the year!  And, just to make sure everyone could read it, they’ve got it in both .mobi for Kindle and .epub for Nook and other ereaders, not to mention PDF, just to make sure they’ve covered their bases.

So, if you’re stuck looking for what to write about, especially on your blog, check out their free book!

Photography Cheat Sheets
by | posted in: On Creativity, Photography, The Tools | 1

One-page short-cuts to basic photographic knowledge.

Well, after last week, I can tell you that I’m eager to get out and get shooting!
But, I’m also really rusty.  I mean, it’s been so long since I was shooting photos regularly that I’m not sure I know an aperture from an f-stop!  It’s bad.  Really bad.  Thankfully, I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one, because the fine people at the Photo Argus shared a post filled with links to Photography Cheat Sheets.  They’ve got cheat sheets to help you with everything from the absolute basis of aperture and ISO and shutter speed to helpful hints for night photography to detailed hints for everything from available light exposure to wedding photography.
I may not always have my cheat sheets out where other photographers can see them, but, I promise you, I almost always have at least one in my camera bag so I can look at it before I take my lens cap off and start shooting!

So, if, like me, one of your creative goals for the year was to shoot more and better photos, why not give yourself a little help and go download one or more of these photography cheat sheets to help you make some better photos?  You’ll be just in time for the weekend if you do it now!

Creative Resolutions
by | posted in: About The Author, On Creativity, Photography, Stimulus and Production | 0

No, I don’t mean New Year’s Resolutions that are “creative”.

Rather, I’m talking about making some New Year’s Resolutions regarding creative output.
I’ll be honest, this year hasn’t been my most productive, creatively.  But, to be fair, I did get married and merge my life with another person’s and that did take a lot of time and no small amount of effort, for both of us.  I think marriage is a pretty good excuse for not being as productively creative as one might hope, but that’s not going to cut it for the coming year.  So, taking a little inspiration from DIYPhotography.net, I’m going to lay out some creative goals for the coming year and encourage you all to do the same.

  • Take fewer photos, but take better ones and take them more regularly.  Quality and quantity are not directly connected!
  • Create a “Best Of” gallery of all my personal best photos from the year.  (This is right from the DIYPhotography.net post, by the way.)
  • Print at least two of my photographs to frame and hang on the wall.  As digital photographers, we almost never print any more and I think we lose something as a result of that.  When my wife and I were first dating and getting serious, she printed and framed one of my “super moon” shots and I still am moved by that and how powerful it was to have my work in a frame. (This is another resolution right from the DIYPhotography.net post.)
  • Actively pursue opportunities to make more and more interesting photos.
  • Take photographs with my “[amazon_link id=”B007FGZ1V0″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]big camera[/amazon_link]” at least once a week, even if I never process them completely or publish them in any way.  Quantity may not be quality, but regular practice does make for a better photographer!
  • Write some fiction at least once a month.  Not all my creative endeavors are photographic!  I used to write fiction all the time and now I almost never do at all, so even writing a paragraph of fiction once a month is more than I’ve done in a long, long time.
  • Blog more, on this site, and others.  I actually have two other blogs besides this one.  One has been shut down for several years and my other, mostly professional, blog has hardly had any activity on it.  I have several ideas for adding more content there, but I’ve had some psychological blocks to getting started.  I really want to get over myself and just dive it.  After all, starting is everything!
  • Branch out into creative areas that I haven’t tried, or haven’t tried in a long time, like drawing and computer graphics.  At one point, I was getting pretty good at Photoshop, but, like any skill, as I used it less and less, it got harder and harder.  So, this year, I’d like to improve that somewhat.  And, I really want to rediscover Blender, the free, open source 3D graphics program.  It’s pretty awesome, and I’d like to be able to use it comfortably.

So, those are my creative resolutions for the year.  I may not get to all of them this year, but, like any goal, I figure if I at least set them and work toward achieving them, I’ll be better off than where I am now, even if I’m not 100% successful.

Now, what are your creative resolutions for the year?  How do you want to grow and expand your creative life in 2014?

 

Basin Wrench
by | posted in: Pressgram | 0


This made an ugly job, namely replacing the faucet in our master bath, a whole lot easier. Seriously, the last time I did this, it took me all afternoon. This time, thanks to my new friend, the basin wrench, it took about an hour, with a break in the middle to let me stretch out my shoulders. Not my first choice of things to do on New Year’s Eve, but it beats having a leak that destroys my bathroom sometime later in the new year!
Besides, my blushing bride, the decorator, picked out the new, prettier faucet, so, really, everyone wins!

Published via Pressgram

Resolution Generator
by | posted in: Red Herrings | 2

Christmas is over and the New Year looms near!

Traditionally, this time of year is when we review our lives and find fault with everything we didn’t accomplish in the preceding year, then make ridiculous promises to ourselves about how we’re going to do better in the coming year.  We call them “New Year’s Resolutions”, but most of them don’t last more than a month.  At least, mine almost never have, with few exceptions.  So, here’s an idea for you; this year, make a fun, silly resolution that you can either keep or don’t mind breaking!
Not sure what fits the bill?  Well, you’re in luck!  A number of years ago, I coded up a simple, little bit of web-programming that lets you randomly create a New Year’s Resolution.  I called it The Network Geek’s Amazing New Year’s Resolution Generator.  I know, right?  Total genius!

Well, okay, maybe not “genius”, but it was good enough to get linked to by Comedy Central one year.  And, it’s still fun.  So don’t wait until New Year’s Eve, click that link and make an easy-to-keep resolution today!
(And, on a serious note, stay safe on New Year’s Eve and have a great 2014!)

Expanded Santa Tracker
by | posted in: Red Herrings | 1

I do this every year.

I guess I’m just a kid at heart, because I feel the need to link to the Official NORAD Santa Tracker every year.
I doubt most of the readers of either of my blogs either bother with this because they don’t have kids, or they already know about it because, well, they’re geeks like me and have kids.  Still, the old softie in me can’t help but get warm feelings when I think about the possibility of kids tracking Santa Claus across the world, waiting for him to come and deliver their presents.
Also, I notice that this year, there seem to be some updates to this venerable old site!  Now there are games you can play, and a new one each day until Christmas Day, too!  And they have Christmas music and Santa-related videos.  The site also has some information about Santa himself and a technical paper about how, theoretically, his sleigh works.  And, if you’re really interested, they even have the history of the NORAD Santa Tracker and the story of how NORAD started tracking the jolly, old elf in the first place.

So, hey, it’s Friday, why not indulge your inner child and check it out?
Also?  I hope everyone is having a very happy holiday season!

A little inspiration
by | posted in: About The Author, Red Herrings | 1

I’m not one who’s all that huge on inspirational writing or self-help books.

But, I have to admit, as I get older, I’ve learned to appreciate the more spiritual side of that particular market.
I’ve read [amazon_link id=”080701429X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Man’s Search For Meaning[/amazon_link] by Viktor Frankl.  In fact, I was reading it when I was waiting to be diagnosed with cancer back in 2007.  It was pretty timely.  And, yes, I’ve read Napoleon Hill’s classic [amazon_link id=”0091900212″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Think And Grow Rich[/amazon_link], but I’ll be honest, I didn’t find it all that engaging or particularly helpful to me.  Generally, I prefer spiritual books like offerings from[amazon_link id=”1570629218″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] Pema Chodron[/amazon_link] or[amazon_link id=”0385092199″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] Thomas Merton[/amazon_link].
Still, there is something to be said for some of the more obscure motivational titles and Time.com has a list of ten self-help books you’ve probably never heard of to help you find something “new”.  I, personally, have only read one on this list; [amazon_link id=”B003L24AIM” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Kybalion[/amazon_link], though I have to admit that I didn’t think of it as a “self help” book, per se.

Also, for real inspiration, a therapist I used to see suggested[amazon_link id=”0553245767″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] The Choice[/amazon_link] by Og Mandino and I really liked it.  I’d say he’s pretty obscure, too, and it really was helpful, so that might be worth checking out.
And, in spite of my resistance to self-help books, I’m currently reading [amazon_link id=”159285849X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Gifts of Imperfection[/amazon_link] by Brene Brown and, no matter who you are or what you like to read, it’s a fantastic book.

So, not my usual fare for a Friday, but, hey, I got officially middle-aged yesterday, so, you know, indulge me.

Another Year Older…
by | posted in: About The Author, Red Herrings | 1

..And deeper in debt!

So, it’s my birthday again. It seems like they just keep coming, like an on-rushing train in that proverbial tunnel where the light isn’t quite what we think it will be when it arrives. Honestly, it seems kind of impossible to me that I’m still chugging along, but, according to the actuarial tables, I should expect about another 30-odd years of life. Which is a good thing because, in spite of being statistically middle-aged, I come from fairly long-lived stock and there are so many things still undone in my life.

It’s been a good year, all things considered.
For instance, I got married again this year, which is something I never thought I’d do.  If you read last year’s birthday missive, you know that story already, of course.  Well, here we are a year later and not only has Sharon cleaned up my house and made it a pretty nice place to live, but she moved in and, amazingly, agreed to marry me.  We joined forces, so to speak, on September 28th in a small ceremony attended by a handful of close friends and the family available to attend.  Though, naturally, being the geek that I am, I simulcast that via the web for those who couldn’t be in attendance.  It was fun, casual and there was great BBQ.  It was a special and memorable day.
I haven’t done as much photography as I’d like this year, or written as much.  Neither here nor on Diary of a Network Geek, which is my other, “original”, blog.  It’s been a busy year, though, so I suppose I can forgive myself for all that, if you few who still read these sad scribblings can forgive my lack of content and the low quality of what I do manage to put out there.  I hope next year will be better in that regard.  I’ve got a few old ideas for some fiction that I’m trying to dust off and polish up into a setting I can use to write stories about.  And, to get my photography restarted, I’ve been contemplating doing another 365 Days project like I did when I first got my DSLR a couple years ago.  (If you’re not familiar with that, it’s basically taking and sharing a photo every day for a year.  Why do it?  There are lots of reasons, and others have said them better than I can right now.)  I can’t make any promises about any of that, though.  Creatively, it’s been a rough year for me.
But, it’s been a good year.  Relationships may not be the only source of happiness in the world, but, damn, my relationship with Sharon sure does make everything else I do seem more worthwhile and important.

And, of course, my birthday wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention all the other famous people who had the good luck to be born on this particular day. Famous people like Frank “Chairman of the Board” Sinatra, Jennifer Connelly, Bob Barker, Gustave Flaubert, who is the author of Madame Bovary, the painter Edvard Munch, and Wells Fargo founder, Henry Wells. Not to mention, Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues, Tim Hauser of Manhattan Transfer, Dickey Betts of the Allman Bros, jazz musician Grover Washington Jr, and former mayor of New York City, Ed Koch.
All heady company to be sure, but for whatever reason, it tickles me the most that I share a birthday with Frank Sinatra. I guess it’s because he was such a unique and original character who really fought against and beat some long odds to become an amazingly famous, generally well thought of character. I can only hope to do the same, one day.
Also, I think it’s interesting to note that on this day in 1896 Marconi first demoed radio and, again on this day, in 1901 made his first Trans-Atlantic transmission. (Though, of course, all right-thinking people know that Tesla was really responsible for those first advances in radio.)
And I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the computer mouse made its debut just four days before my birth!  How crazy is that?  The mouse, which makes graphic interfaces so practical and easy to use, is actually four days older than I am!

So, once again, I’ve survived and prospered for another year, but I still have no idea what the next one will bring.  Either way, I’m sure I’ll be relatively happy, just like I wrote last year. And, again, not just because I’ve found someone foolish enough to marry me, but because being with Sharon has taught me something about life; happiness is a choice. That’s more or less her philosophy, that happiness is a choice that we all can make, even when things aren’t going our way. It’s one of the reasons I love her, because she reminds me of that and helps me to make that choice every day.
And, of course, it’s a choice I’m making and glad to be making along with her this year, and for many, many more years, too.

A Month of Photographic Ideas
by | posted in: On Creativity, Photography, Stimulus and Production | 1

It’s never too late to get inspired!

I know that I’ve missed almost a full week of December, but, well, I don’t think it’s too late to share a month-long photo challenge.
Daniela Bowker, over at Photocritic.org, shared a 30 Day Photo Challenge she found via Twitter a couple of days ago, and I thought I’d kick off this month’s Friday links by passing it along.  The idea originally comes from the folks behind the Twitter account @Just_Go_Do_It and is a different idea for a photo for every day of the month in December.  The idea is simple; we get “stuck” creatively sometimes and need a prompt to get going again.  These folks have provided us with thirty photographic prompts to try and help those of us who are “stuck” creatively get, well, un-stuck and get out there shooting photos again.

I know when I got stuck, just shortly after getting my first DSLR, I did a year’s worth of self-portraits to try and get my photography started and get past my own inhibitions.  It worked really well.  In fact, it worked so well, I may do it again!
But, either way, this shorter challenge may be just what you need to get started, or get out of a creative rut.

DIY eBook Cover
by | posted in: The Tools | 1

So, at this point, you should be just about done with your novel for NaNoWriMo.

If you’ve kept pace, in the next 24 to 48 hours, you should be wrapping up your 50,000+ pages and breathing a giant sigh of relief.
You’ll want to step away from the writing tools of your choice and take a break before editing your fledgling star into something that people will want to not only read, but tell their friends about having read.  But, first, you’re going to want to rest your brain.  And what better way to do that than to create a virtual cover for the future release of your baby!?
And, yes, that’s how I’m going to finish out this month, with a tutorial from Thomas Sinfield at Standout Blogger called How To Create An Ebook Cover with Photoshop.

This tutorial takes you step-by-step through the process of making a nice virtual book to advertise your ebook and help it stand out on whatever sales platform you plan to use.  It even gives you templates to help get you started!
(I’ll be honest, it IS a pretty basic tutorial, but it does give you those templates and a good place to start.  Besides, it also gives you something to think about besides your word count for a little bit!)

Good luck and if you haven’t hit your word count yet, or given up, get back to writing!

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