A Few Things I've Learned About Creativity

Create for yourself. Write the song you want to hear, or the book you want to read.

Strive toward excellence, but don't become obsessed with perfection. Perfection is not only impossible, but boring as well. Some of the best records or books have obvious mistakes or flaws that make them all the more endearing.

If you're stuck, try changing your surroundings.

Always be on the lookout for new sources of inspiration.

Playing with your band or working on your novel should be fun. It won't always be, but the more that it can be, the better.

Patience and persistence. Patience and persistence. Patience and persistence.

Do something - anything - every day, even if it's just playing random licks on your guitar for five minutes or writing a single paragraph.

Remember: happiness is a state of mind, worrying is a waste of time, and sometimes, you just gotta say, what the heck. And go with it.

Special Announcement!

This coming Friday, 11/22, I'll be doing a joint live interview with Jonathan Murphy on Autism Empowerment Radio! Jonathan is the very talented actor who narrated the audiobook version of Book One (to be released very soon).

The interview will take place from 11am - 12pm PST, but will be archived and available for future listening via BlogTalkRadio or iTunes.

We'll be talking about the upcoming audiobook, of course, as well as other projects that we each have going on. We may even do - drum roll - a live reading!

So be sure to tune in at this link or check back later for the archived version. If you tune in live, you can call (602) 753-1530 to listen by phone and ask questions.

Orycon, Write To Publish, SPS, Other Stuffs

Hey, so Orycon was a blast! I was able to meet some fellow NIWA authors for the first time, which is always cool. Like last year, our booth was situated close to the entrance, so we were able to corral greet potential new readers and members as they came in and out of the dealer's room.

Tomorrow night, I'll be at the 2nd Anniversary Party for SW WA/OR Write To Publish at the Brickhouse in downtown Vancouver from 6-10pm. After a workshop presentation from group organizer and published author Linda Stirling, there'll be readings, pitch practices, and general debauchery.

On the music front, Second Player Score has been working hard in the woodshed, refining our sound, preparing to record some demos, and putting together some cool merchandise for y'all to spend your hard-earned money on. More details to come.

And also coming soon: the official release of Secret of the Songshell, the audiobook version!

Art's Quotes of the Day:
"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet." -- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
"All we need is just a little patience." -- Guns 'N' Roses

Thursday News Flashes

I'll be at Orycon this coming Saturday! In case you don't remember from last year, Orycon is Oregon's premier science fiction convention, now in its 35th year. Come down, hang out all day, check out the cool stuff and interesting panels, and don't forget to swing by the NIWA booth from 11am - noon, when I'll be the featured author. And come back often to see the other awesome indie authors, who will be there all weekend!

In other news, the audio version of Book One is nearing completion, and I can say that it is sounding amazing, thanks to some stellar efforts from voice actor Jonathan Murphy and sound editor Michael Meyer. Much more on this to come soon.

See you this weekend!

Quote of the Day #1: "Don't try." - Charles Bukowski
Quote of the Day #2: "Try not." - Yoda