Focus

This was my preferred writing view for a few days in November. Yeah, its a rough life....I know.

I got to join the Pilot Guy in Phoenix for a litte extra fall sun. Part of the time I was there, he was flying so I had the hotel all to myself. Wow, what a way to write. I see why writers love retreats. For three full days I had the advantage of a hotel buffet breakfast and a manager's social hour every evening. No cooking or kitchen clean up. The only food I had to rustle up was a salad each day for lunch. Not hard.

I'd write a couple of thousand words in a morning session in my room -- with the windows open to fresh air. Then an afternoon session out beside the pool for another couple thousand words. After a workout or a walk, I'd have supper downstairs and come back to relax with a movie and or get in a few hundred more words on my manuscript. In the six days I was in Phoenix, I doubled my word count, writing four and five thousand words a day. What a huge difference not to have the distractions of daily life interfering with the creative process. No phone calls, no laundry, no pets or offspring to deal with. No grocery shopping, no cooking, no clean up.

The only thing I had to think about was my story.

What an indulgent, wonderful way to write! Just the small taste of this life has me hooked. I so want to create enough income from the writing to have this kind of creative flexibility on a regular basis.

Big goal. Big.

Want To Be More Creative?

Maybe you should paint your studio blue.

A recent study finds the color blue promotes creative thought while the color red helps emphasise detail. Given the same question of how many uses they could come up with for a brick, testers answered with practical answers when the question was displayed on a red background. 'Build a house' for example. Asked the same question but with a blue background, testers responded with more creative plans for the brick. "Make a paperweight or build a cat scratching post' type ideas.

From what I read, we associate red with caution, precision, and danger. Red traffic lights, red teacher marks, red alert lights. Previous studies found sports teams wearing red won more games and seemed more intimidating. (Is this why the Texas Rangers have added a new red uniform to this season's selections? Is it a coincidence that the team was a powerhouse in the late ninties when their uniforms were red?)

Red increases precision and attention to detail...great for proofreading, don't you think?

Blue, on the other hand, makes us think relaxing thoughts. Sunny skies, calm seas. Freedom. Happiness.

Naturally, the study of color's effect on creativity is still in the baby stages. More will come. It is still my personal belief that colors which make you happy are the colors an artist needs to surround him or herself with. For me, that remains yellows, greens, and purples. Interesting though, that purple is a combination of both red and blue.

In the meantime, can it hurt to add some lush blue accents to your creative space? Even something small to rest your eyes on can prove diverting. A piece of art. A book whose cover is predominately blue. A rich blue fabric. A pot of blue flowers. Try it and see if you think it makes a difference. I'd like to hear what you think.

Creative Spaces ~ Beth's Cave

Creative spaces are some of the best spaces in the world. Beth from Being Beth sent photos of her creative space. The Cave she calls it. Doesn't look like a dark, dank place to me, but you can judge for yourself.

Her worktable:



An idea I'm going to steal...Her Wall of Inspiration


Files and Plotting Board


Her trusty computer just waiting for her fingers to fly


Yes, an important element. Creative souls must be able to lock out the world. (Or is it lock themselves in?) Either way, limiting outside influences until you are ready for them is important.


I love seeing creative spaces. Wonderful, magical, mystical, incredible, happy things happen in areas devoted to creation.