A to Z Challenge: Zeal, Zest and Zipadeedoodah!

Theme: Creativity Toolbox

Zeal, and Zest are tools that every writer and artist need to have in their daily creativity toolbox.

Zeal keeps us working tirelessly and enthusiastically towards our goals.

Zest keeps our work spicy and fresh!

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah! - We are done! Although I love A to Z, I also love this last day, and the feeling of accomplishment it brings.

Many thanks to all awesome

A to Z Team for 2012

Tossing It Out (Arlee Bird)

Amlokiblogs (Damyanti Biswas)

Alex J. Cavanaugh (Alex J. Cavanaugh)

Life is Good (Tina Downey)

Cruising Altitude 2.0 (DL Hammons)

Retro-Zombie (Jeremy Hawkins)

The Warrior Muse (Shannon Lawrence)

The QQQE (Matthew MacNish)

Author Elizabeth Mueller (Elizabeth Mueller)

Pearson Report (Jenny Pearson)

No Thought 2 Small (Konstanz Silverbow)

Breakthrough Blogs (Stephen Tremp)Coming Down The Mountain (Karen Jones Gowen)

Sing with me now:




Next up for blog challenges: check out that sidebar on the right for some of my upcoming participations in blog hops and my special guest Karen Lange, whose guest post will be here this Thursday.

Next up for writing challenges: I'll be entering into my planned 100 Day Final Revision (final meaning as far as I can take it without professional editorial help) starting May 1st, and although I won't update on that every day, I'll be adding updates to my blog posts.

On a thankfulness for small things side note:

In real life, as I was sitting down to dinner on late Saturday night exhausted from 5 hours of yardwork and a 4 mile bike ride, my daughters' friend shouted, "There's blood on the floor! It's everywhere!"

Our beagle dog, Jumper, had come in earlier and taken up his usual spot on the top of the stairway. He stayed there, apparently wiped out from his excursions while I fussed around the house and made dinner. Actually, he was hiding a two inch long gash in his hind paw that went down to the bone. He didn't get up and walk until I set the table for dinner, when he trailed pools of blood around the house.

We took him to an emergency vet clinic and he stayed overnight for surgery. The vet called us at 11:30 p.m. to let us know that although he had lost a lot of blood, and his tendon had to be stitched back together, he looked like he would be all right.

I picked him up Sunday morning, and he's groggy, unhappy with his "cone of shame" and the big bandage on his leg, but otherwise his usual cheerful self.

 Right now, I'm just thankful that I don't have to deal with any puddles of blood today, and that my family, including my four footers are ok.

A to Z Challenge: Y

Theme: Creativity Toolbox

Y = Yield

Yield:
1. To provide as return for effort or investment.
2. To give over possessin of, to surrender.

One of my husband's co-workers recently retired, and since he is planning a retirement celebration vacation down in Las Vegas (where his son works as a professional poker player), the send off included a slide show set to Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler":

"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away, and know when to run"

Due to an interesting childhood raised in a home where Broadway musical scores, Beethoven, Bach, Tchaikovsky were played alongside Harry Belanfonte, The Kingston Trio, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, I happen to know the lyrics to that song really well . . . and when my husband told me about the retirement party, they just stuck in my head the rest of the week and became mixed up with today's post.

As creative artists/writers, we need to know when to hold onto our work, and when to let it go.

Yielding isn't something that comes to most of us naturally, and most of the time we pride ourselves as creative writers, artists, and thinkers as being UNyielding.

However, if we want someone to read our work, we have to let it go and let others read it, give us feedback, help us make it stronger. If we truly want our work to yield a good harvest, we have to let others help us prune and weed.

Sometimes, we also need to know when to walk away, and when to run.

I have a book with several attempts at revisions sitting in a plastic box in my closet. Someday I want to return to it. I still love those characters. But I realized several years ago that I had to set it aside, fold it up, and walk away from it for a while. I yearn for it, but I know I'm not ready to tackle it yet. I've yielded it up to a future time, when I'm ready to tell that story.

Do you know when to yield and when to remain unyielding in your creative endeavors?

Have you ever yielded your work to someone else for constructive criticism?



BTW: my laptop had some major issues, so for the past few days I've been working somewhat haphazardly from my husband's pc (usually in use by him), and my laptop was cleaned off and rebooted (by my hubby who probably has better "tech"ese to describe the process) So, hopefully now I'll be able to visit a few more people in the last few days of A to Z.

A to Z Challenge: X

Theme: Creativity Toolbox
The Source of this Image
X = Xylem

What?

Xylem: plant tissue consisting of thick walled cells that provide support and through which water and dissolved minerals are conducted to the various plant parts.

Years ago, my kids and I did an awesome science experiment with a stalk of celery and colored water. The xylem in the celery brought the colored water from the bottom of the stalk to the top. This experiement is pretty cool with carnations, daffodils and other plants too, but you can see the xylem in the celery stalk and watch the process take place over a few hours.

So what in the world do xylem have to do with writing and creativity?

I think we need to root ourselves in creativity, and let that creativity be conducted to the various parts of our lives.

However, I'm going to take a little step further because of something I truly believe, and know.

To truly be creative, I think we need to root ourselves in God, the Creator and Redeemer of our world. When we soak up creativity and life-giving goodness from our Creator, our souls are going to conduct all of that into every part of our lives.


“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6,7).


Where have you planted your roots?

Creativity Challenge: Try a science experiment, or write about what conducts life to your system.

A to Z Challenge: W

from Scenic Reflections

A to Z Challenge

Theme: Creativity Toolbox

When we want to boost our creativity, I think we need to learn to be wayfarers of wonder, whimsy, and wisdom.

Wayfarers are foot travelers. When we walk places we move slowly enough to experience the angle of the path beneath our feet, the sounds of wind rushing through tree branches, the smell of cherry blossoms, the changing patterns of the weather, and the flittering of birds in a bush.

Wayfarers have time for wonder, whimsy and even moments of wisdom.

So, today, I highly encourage you all to take a walk and be a wayfarer. Experience the world of wonder around you, let yourself be whimsical, or even wise.

If walking is tough for you, find another way to get outside and be a wayfarer. My husband prefers to bike, and although it does speed by a little faster, I think it still gives him time to wonder as he travels from one place to another.

A to Z Challenge: Vision

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” by Marcel Proust

Vision: 1. the act or power of sensing with the eyes; sight
2. a vivid, imaginative conception

Vivid vision is an essential part of writing, and creative thinking.

Our vision of the world, shaped by our world view, and made even brighter with our vivid imaginations can be the source of many creative endeavors.

Creativity Toolbox Exercise: Take a look at the world around you with new eyes, then close your eyes and take a vivid visionary voyage of creativity.
"The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades,
I gotta wear shades" - Timbuk3


BTW - I had a pic for this post, but my pc and blogger seem to be having an argument and I can't seem to paste pictures or even see pictures on my blog at the moment.