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Sunday, August 16, 2015

Welcome To Creativity

I recently read an article that said reading 30 minutes a day (or was it a week?) will help boost creativity. I wonder if they were only talking about books or just reading in general (you know, news stories, comic books, ingredient's labels...etc).

I read a lot. Fiction, mysteries, manga, biography, fanfiction are just a few of the many things I read on a regular basis. Sometimes I'm reading to learn something new. I recently got a copy of Jimmy Carter's autobiography (which he signed 😄) and have really enjoyed hearing about where he grew up and his live before he was president. Other times I'm off in a fantasy world, possibly fighting dragons with alien parasites. Thank you "Song of Fire and Ice" books (Game of Thrones) by George R. R. Martin for those crazy dreams.

Reading is a big influence on my life (even if it did take me a long time to start). Harry Potter is a huge part of my life and I'll never forget the first time I picked up an Astrix comic book. Reading has helped me imagin undiscovered worlds and dream up situations I wouldn't have before.

Maybe that's why I write so much. A lot of my writing is based on my dreams and even my nightmares. When I'm bored I'll think up new places to explore or monsters to fight. Hey everyone has at some point dreamed of being the hero...right?



And creativity isn't just about writing or drawing comics. It's also creating music, making cloths, knitting, designing buildings, solving math equations (yes, math requires creativity, lots and lots of creativity) and solving problems that aren't intuitive (like when you're toilet explodes for no reason or there's a BBQ and no one remembered a spatula).



Since this is the age of the Internet, it has become easier for people to share their creativity with others. Some great sites to post work (or see other people's work) are listed below. I personally use a few of them (user name will not be given) and have so far had a positive experience.

From YouTube to FanFiction (you know the place "Fifty Shades Of Grey" became famous), there are plenty of places where a person can post their creative work. For the movie makers there's Vimeo, YouTube and Facebook (how's that working out by the way?), for the writer there's FanFaction, her sister site for original content FictionPress, and many blog hosting sites. There's DeviantArt, Pintrist, and Tumblr for artists. ComicFury, The Duck and more for inspiring comic book and manga creators. Heck social media is a great place to share creative work (one of the many reasons this blog is shared on Facebook).

It might be true that reading 30 minutes a week helps with creativity, but there are other things that inspire creativity. I find that taking walks is very helpful to the creative process. It's not a "one size fits all" approach. And thank the higher powers for the Internet. There might be a lot of strange and random things floating on the web, but there are a few gems too.

After all if "Fifty Shades of Grey" started on the Internet, then the next " Game of Thrones" might be floating around somewhere on here too.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Until next week.

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