art inspiration

The Van Gogh Chair

I’m not sure what it is about this chair, but it reminds me of a Van Gogh painting. Perhaps it’s the slight lean or corded seat or general tattiness, but it looks like something Van Gogh would put in a painting. (I can even imagine it in thick brushstrokes and vivid colors.) Hubby and I were taking pictures of inventory for our business this morning. We purchased a great lighting set that came with 3…

Continue reading

ideas thought fodder

Zombies: Come for the mayhem, stay for the social commentary

I just finished reading “World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War” by Max Brooks. The book was not on my list for the Year of Creative Reading, but I chose it in order to see how the author presented his story as oral histories. Working in the history field, one of our primary sources of information is oral history, so it was interesting to see how someone adapted this form to fiction.…

Continue reading

ideas process writing

Improving Your Writing

There are loads of books, blog posts, and web articles about ways to improve your writing. Google just returned 152 million results to the search query “how to improve your writing.” 743,927** of these online articles are listicles: 5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Writing – http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2012/05/22/5-simple-ways-to-improve-your-writing/ 10 Quick Tips to Improve Your Writing – http://grammar.about.com/od/developingessays/a/quicktips.htm 21 Ways to Improve Your Writing – http://www.writingforward.com/better-writing/improve-your-writing 8 Simple Scientifically Proven Ways to Improve Your Writing – http://www.fastcompany.com/3023616/work-smart/8-simple-scientifically-proven-ways-to-improve-your-writing…

Continue reading