Parisian Phoenix Publishing

Tip One: Allow yourself some brain-dead time

If you’ve been stressed or in a rut, find something that doesn’t require effort to lean you toward creative productivity. I’m not talking about spending all day on the couch or sleeping until 2 p.m., but watch a favorite movie or one that mirrors the direction you hope to head in.

Example: I recently started the new HBO Max sitcom Rooster. The main character is a bestselling author. What’s amazing is that the writers designed it so it can be enjoyed by multiple demographics. I wrote about that here. It’s too early to give a full review, because when I left home there were only two episodes out (but I see there is now a third.)

That link also offers my reviews of books and movies with writing themes. Speaking of books, grab one. Grab any book that sounds like it would be mindless and fun. Read in a spot where you are cozy and let the world go. I recently read The Pirate and His Lady by Margaret St. George from the 90s, an old Silhouette Dreamscapes mass market paperback. It was ridiculous. A pirate time-travels from 200 years ago and falls in love…

Bottom line: Rest, when planned, can restore in addition to relax.

Tip Two: Take a road trip to a new bookstore

On my way to Washington, D.C., I visited Midtown Scholar Bookstore in downtown Harrisburg, Pa. In my case, it was a good halfway point for a road trip to stop, stretch, do an explore. But it’s okay if you want to get in the car and drive an hour or more away to visit a new bookstore in a new or familiar town. Make an outing of it. Set a budget and let yourself go. Changing your environment can give you new energy.

Review of Midtown Scholar here.

Tip Three: Be Artsy

It’s a tried-and-true technique that using different parts of the brain can change our outlook and allow us to return to projects we thought we couldn’t do. My daughter took college-level Drawing One this semester. It’s been a wild joy to see her try what had previously intimidated her. Our whole family has now joined her to attend the free community drawing events.

Am I an artist? No. But trying to draw what I see does something profound. And in my case, it may spur me to make new fashion drawings again. As the newest volume of the Fashion and Fiends series approaches its release, I think my Chez d’Amille fashion house needs some new collections.

Maybe you aren’t brave enough to draw. I encourage you to try a themed journal with blank pages. I always start a new journal specifically for each trip. I don’t even bring my at-home one, my AlphaBooks. I pick something new. And if you struggle to fill the pages, make it a junk journal. Key elements: lots of colors of pens, so much

If you don’t have anything to put in a special journal, consider making a journal of who you are: talk about your home, your pets, your family, your hobbies, your goals.