The Emotional and the Technical

June 18, 2013 by spaghettipie

I wish I could find where I heard this quote. I’ve been thinking a lot about how the center of my artistic process is found in the tension between the emotional and the technical (the editor and the creator, the improvisation and the hard work, the open and closed). “Find what moves you emotionally, and inspiration and vision will follow. You can’t technically move the emotion. These days, you don’t get paid for the technical. You have to get to […]

Categories: Creativity, Inspiration • Tags: creativity, emotional, technical, vision

Authenticity

June 15, 2013 by spaghettipie

I’m new to running, so I have to put on some headphones and let my mind roam free so I will think about anything other than running. So as I was out on my little jaunt last night, my mind floated to a recent discussion I’d had with a group of ladies about Brene Brown’s definition of authenticity. Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be […]

Categories: Daily Life

I Will Not Die an Unlived Life

June 15, 2013 by spaghettipie

I will not die an unlived life I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance, to live so that which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom, and that which came to me as […]

Categories: Inspiration • Tags: Dawna Markova, I Will Not Die an Unlived Life, inspiration, quotes

River Flows in You

June 12, 2013 by spaghettipie

When I need some inspiration or to quiet the voices in my head, I often turn to the pianist Yiruma. River Flows in You is one of my favorites.

Categories: Daily Life • Tags: inspiration, piano, River Flows in You, Yiruma

The Art of Flight

June 9, 2013 by spaghettipie

Ahhhh, I love this movie. Here’s the trailer. This movie is one I will have to watch multiple times. Once for just the story and snowboarding – because it’s pretty badass. But I think there are lots of other layers there – a desire to go out an experience life rather than living second hand, the fearlessness to just jump off a cliff and go without the ability to plan every last detail, the idea of watching for the ideal […]

Categories: Creativity • Tags: Art of Flight, Chad Jackson, Chase Jarvis, inspiration, motivation, snowboarding, Travis Rice

Making Stuff for the Web

June 6, 2013 by spaghettipie

Yeah, the Oatmeal cracks me up. Here’s a funny comic about making things for the web. Again, beware the language. (image: The Oatmeal’s logo)

Categories: Humor • Tags: content creation, Humor, The Oatmeal, web

Junot Diaz on Writing

June 4, 2013 by spaghettipie

A Grantland article on Junot Diaz stuck out to me for two main reasons. One, it gave me permission to write at the pace that suits me. So, yes, Junot Díaz writes slow: “You work and you throw out and you look and you hunt and you try to find a sentence. You spend a lot of time staring at a screen.” Yes, it’s tortured him that he writes slow. Secondly, it speaks to the idea I’ve been pondering: Nothing […]

Categories: Writing • Tags: Junot Diaz, Writing

What I Really Really Want

March 20, 2013 by spaghettipie

The cursor blinks at me. I find myself in a dilemma. Where do I begin? What do I write? JT croons in my ear, “Dance. Don’t hold the wall.” I want to write. I do. But something keeps me holding the wall. And I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I want to know what it is. Whatever it is, I’m evidently content to let it entrap me because why else would I let it keep me from doing what I […]

Categories: Writing • Tags: Writing

Resolutions

January 2, 2013 by spaghettipie

She asked a simple question: “New Year’s Resolutions: Yes or No?” I was surprised to find I was the only person who said “Yes.” At least, a partial yes. I am realistic enough to know that setting goals for the entire year doesn’t work for me. Too far out and I get discouraged and give up. Or just forget. But there’s something about this time of year . . . as I take down Christmas decorations, reset my house, assimilate […]

Categories: Daily Life • Tags: 2013, hope, New Year's resolutions, possibility

Writing with An Open Hand

December 9, 2012 by spaghettipie

I’m working on my own writing project. Like, for real working on one. For the first time. Ever. I’m excited. And scared. And overwhelmed. I tell you, writing for me is letting my heart bleed on the page. So to work on a project of this length feels a lot like death at times. As I’ve pondered this idea, I come back to the question: isn’t that what we authors ought to be doing? Dying to ourselves and our preconceived […]

Categories: Writing • Tags: Writing