Here’s an article about people who REALLY are good at remembering things … champions, in fact.
I found it particularly interesting that using visual images (the more vivid, the better) is key to establishing a lasting memory. Also that anyone can do this, with practice.
Forget Me Not – How to win the U.S. memory championship. By Joshua Foer
In the early days of LASS (Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase — no longer around), I was puzzled by the fact that only about 1/4 of the writer/artists who auditioned were women.
We thought, maybe it was just because women weren’t as aggressive as men about promoting themselves and subjecting themselves to the rejection process in getting their songs heard by the music industry. We didn’t doubt for a minute though that there were as many women as men who were being musically and lyrically creative.
Today, the Internet has provided options for women to network and they have created and joined organizations for women songwriter/performers that offer moral and business support from other women. This may have been what was missing ‘back in the day.’ Here are some examples:
Informative articles, especially for women in the music business …
Rockrgrl magazine – “Supporting a Woman’s Right to Rock.”
Publisher/editor is Carla DeSantis in Seattle.GoGirlsMusic, is an old hand at “Promoting Women in Music.” Madalyn Sklar started the organization in 1996 with a vision of bringing together independent women musicians from around the country. A welcome destination for women in music through networking and events.
Mamapalooza. “The Festival for Moms Who Rock!” I heard about this event on Nat’l Public Radio as they interviewed one of the bands on the air, “Housewives on Prozac” … so I HAD to look them up. Events are held in several U.S. cities.
Indiegrrl.com, “For Women in the Independent Music Industry.”
All genres of music. Indiegrrl was founded by Holly Figueroa in May of 1998 as a forum for information, networking, and conversation about independent music from a female perspective. They have about 1,300 members internationally.Women in Music National Network promotes the development, advancement and recognition of women in the music industry. Committed to helping you build a successful career in the music industry by providing you with services to take your career to the next level. Our world-wide exposure offers you a network to many contacts and resources.
Register now for Song and Word 3-day retreats for women writers and songwriters. Maggie Savage and Sharon Wootton generously share their glorious scenery and home (with hot tub and grand piano, but not in the same room!) on Shaw Island — in the San Juan Islands, off the Coast of Washington. UPCOMING EVENT: April 29, 30 – May 1st, 2005 — GOOSING YOUR SONG MUSE Songwriting Retreat. Registration: 10 women only (due to limited facilities). Presentations on the Craft and Business of Songwriting, Co-Writing Tools, Creativity Exercises, and much more in a relaxing Pacific Northwest setting.
What I like about this, is that you can view 16 Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs and also hear commentary from the photographers who have won journalism’s most prestigious award. (About 10 minutes in length.)
Perfect for Goosing Your Muse … thanks to John Gabree for sending this along to us.
Good news!
Starting today, the New York Public Library Digital Gallery will make available online 275,000 images, to be increased to 500,000 images over
the next few months, that can be used freely for personal purposes.
This project has been several years in the making and includes everything from illuminated manuscripts to historical maps to vintage photographs — an extraordinary treasury of our visual heritage.
See article in today’s New York Times.
Truth be told, I’ve stayed away from Stephen King’s books and films because they’re always so darned scary. But recently, my Belgian friend, singer/songwriter Hilde Sevens, put the book ON WRITING by Stephen King in my hand and suggested I check it out. She promised it wouldn’t scare me.
You may have read it already (it’s a few years old), but hey, good is still good. And it’s such a a pleasant surprise from an author famous for his horror stories.
Much of what Stephen King advises writers is similar to what we, John Braheny and I, cover in our seminars, but Stephen King embeds the writing lessons in his personal growing-up experiences, some of which are very funny. So, now, I guess, I’m a fan. But I’ll still watch his movies pulling a blanket up under my chin.
Here’s an article from the book, Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully: in Ten Minutes by Stephen King.
You know how, when you just wake up, or you’re taking a shower, or just driving around … you get a brilliant idea and wish you could just remember it long enough to write it down, or record it …
Well, INNOVATION TOOLS provides us with a gaggle of great tools (from high-tech to cheapo) to nail ’em down.
You’re probably already using one or more on this list, but if you have any others that work well for you, just enter them in “Comments’ below this post. (Someone once told me they use a soap that writes on shower walls … look for it in toy stores.)
Thanks again to Douglas E. Welch for this excellent site.
Enjoy!
My Valentine’s Day gift to you …
When I came across this article, which is a “summarized extract” from Brenda Ueland’s book, If You Want to Write, at the Global:Ideas:Bank site, I got so excited. I just had to post this even though the book is no longer in print (140,000 copies sold).
In my work doing career consultations with artists, musicians and songwriters, I hear them repeat some form of the phrase, “I just want to be heard.” (Often this is the driving force behind their yearning to express themselves, their thoughts or dreams or feelings … and just as often, it doesn’t seem to matter too much who is listening to them, so long as they’re heard.) At any rate, I’m made aware that many of us, as children, were not listened to, certainly not in any serious way. This is not to be confused with merely wanting attention. It’s a much higher ambition.
On the contrary, it’s clearly evident to me when I find someone who has had someone in his/her life who feels he or she was listened to (and taken seriously) in his/her youth … and also has someone in his/her life who is still listening to them, as Brenda Ueland says, “… with love and affection.”
When I worked (years ago) in Talent Development at Walt Disney Imagineering, several of us took an extremely helpful 3-day workshop called Leader Effectiveness Training. One of the most difficult sessions for all of us was the part on Listening. We all thought we had been doing that “all our lives.”
In one exercise, we were given scripts based on work-related problems. One person read his script and another was asked to repeat back what he thought he’d heard. What we learned was that anyone can repeat words back and say, “I hear you.” But what frequently is missing is the true essence underlying what is being said. Many of us in the exercise leaped to solve the work-related problem before completely understanding what the “real” problem was. This type of listening was difficult for us … much more intense and yet, invaluable. Listening that closely takes practice and patience!
My husband, John Braheny, is a consultant in the music business … and has, over the years, interviewed hundreds of music business celebrities (and behind-the-scenes stars too). His interviews have been printed in several magazines as well as broadcast “in flight” on United Airlines. He says he’s learned to make it a practice to get to the interview recording session early, and begin the interview with some easy “talk” because it often takes a few minutes (or longer) to have the interviewee relax and “open up.” He often gets them to tell stories they’d forgotten they knew. He’s very patient and is the best listener I know.
The Brenda Ueland article here is particularly good for writers, but whether you’re in the arts or not, I believe it has something to say to all of us, as a friend, a lover, a parent, a teacher, a manager, a husband or wife. Heck, if you’re around people at all, this is something you should read. And maybe pass it along to your Valentine!
Enjoy!
Brilliant … it’s harder than it looks … plus I laughed a lot. You just have to move your mouse in the OPPOSITE direction than you think you should. Up is down, for example.
Click here to try this fast little challenging game called
REVERSE.
?Thanks to John Gabree for this one.
Enjoy!
This is a cool blog … especially the entry Danny Gregory made on January 03, 2005, “Early Morning Habits.”
He tells us how he managed to make “doing something creative” into a daily ritual, a habit. Yes, yes, I’m trying to do it too, so this is a good reinforcement.
P.S. Thanks again, Doug, for telling me about this.
Enjoy!
That old adage, “Beware of what you ask (because you may get it)” is ringing true for me.
When I put the word out that I was looking for Web sites about the Creative Process, I wasn’t expecting to be overwhelmed with excellent info, all found on one site. But here’s one that knocked me out…
Take a minute (ha!) to explore Mycoted “… a small UK company which offers a range of services to assist in creativity and innovation.”
I was turned on to their super-organized database of Creativity Techniques which you will find very useful if you’re a Product Design Manager, or if you work on a creative team of any kind, or are simply working alone on your art/craft/script/novel/music. My favorites on the list thus far are “Brainstorming,” “Keeping a dream diary” and “Who are you.”
Finally [and I swear I’m not doing a paid advertisement for them], I really appreciate their list of Quotes … especially if you’ve ever come up with a concept and your client looks at you with a blank stare, telling you how “that won’t work…” These quotes will make you smile!
Example: “We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.”
–Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
In fact, these quotes remind me of a great book called THE EXPERTS SPEAK. We refer to it often to remind our workshop attendees that even experts can be downright wrong in some of their judgments about creative ideas …
Enjoy!