Flannery O'Connor

"Writing is like giving birth to a piano sideways.  Anyone who perseveres is either talented or nuts."

— Flannery O'Connor

American Novelist

1925 - 1964

Garrison Keillor

"What keeps our faith cheerful is the extreme persistence of gentleness and humor."

— Garrison Keillor

American Writer

1942 -

Do you have faith in your creativity?  Do you believe in yourself and your work?  Do you wake up cheerful each day eager to begin creating?  Gentleness and humor go a long way to making the day joyful.  Cultivate humor in your life and heart.  Be gentle in your criticism of yourself, your work and your friends.  We all need a little more faith to help us through the challenges we face.

Here is Garrison Keillor at work.

Barbara Walters

"Success can make you go one of two ways — it can make you a prima donna, or it can smooth the edges, take away the insecurities, let the nice things come out."

— Barbara Walters

American Journalist

1929 -

Early success has destroyed both artists and writers.  Just like actors and athletes, writers and artists stumble under the weight of success and often make serious mistakes.  Some stop writing so they can live the life of a writer.  Some start drinking to overcome their anxieties.  Just because the first novel was a huge success doesn't mean the second or third will be.  Now that I am well up there in age, I am glad that I did not have success when I was young.  Success often blocks the creative spirit and one has to spend time playing the role of the great writer or artist.  My wish for you is that when you become successful that you handle it with grace and calm.

Theodore Isaac Rubin

"Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom."

— Theodore Isaac Rubin

American Author

1923 -

For me, this quote challenges much of what I believe.  While knowledge is something I am constantly seeking, wisdom is something I hope to find one day.  Wisdom has always been more important than knowledge and more difficult to reach.  Then Rubin comes along and says that kindness is even more important than wisdom.  When we look back on our lives, most of what we remember are the relationships we developed.  Have you been kind to the people in your life?  Or have you been so absorbed in your art that you have ignored the people in your life?  When I have read the life stories of some artists and writers, I have found some to be mean and cruel to those they love.  But my question is does it have to be this way.  Can an artist or writer be kind and caring to the people in his life?  What do you think?

Jane Langton

"I start with the images.  I can take off from there.  I've murdered people in all sorts of ways."

— Jane Langton

American Novelist

1922 - 

I find the work habits of writers and artists fascinating.  Each one is different and unique.  What are your creative habits?  Do you have to listen to certain music to get into the mood?  Do you have rituals that you follow?  Do you work in the morning, afternoon or evening?  Do you write by hand or on a computer?  What do you eat while you are writing?  Do you talk out loud while you are writing?

For Jane Langton, a mystery novelist who is almost 90, the book begins in images.  Take a look at this video and see how she first creates her stories through drawing pictures.

Booker T. Washington

"Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others."

— Booker T. Washington

American Writer/Speaker

1856 - 1915

If you are feeling depressed and out of sorts, commit an act of kindness for a stranger.  Or feed the homeless.  Or mow the lawn of a neighbor.  Or invite a grieving friend to dinner.  The act of helping others is one of the most powerful things we can do to increase our happiness.  Many writers and painters are often so busy with their own problems that they forget about the world around them.  If you want to solve your problems, help others solve theirs.  Give the gift of your time, your kindness, your love.

Katherine Mansfield

"Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently, but life itself would come to be different.  Life would undergo a change of appearance because we ourselves had undergone a change in attitude."

— Katherine Mansfield

New Zealand Writer

1888 - 1923

I believe that our attitude has a greater impact on our success than our talent.  I have seen very talented people fail and people with little talent succeed.  How do you get out of bed in the morning?  Are you happy to be alive?  Or do you want to crawl back under the blankets and hide from the world?  Do you see each day as another opportunity to paint or to write or to sing?  Or is each day full of gloom and doom and playing the victim?  If only the editors would buy my work?  If only a gallery would carry my paintings?  If only my spouse was more supportive of my creative work?  If only. . .  If only . . .  Change your attitude and change your life.  Believe in yourself.  Celebrate the opportunity you have to be creative.  Celebrate the creative life.

Louisa May Alcott

"I'm not afraid of storms for I'm learning how to sail my ship."

Louisa May Alcott

American Novelist

1832 - 1888

What are the storms in your life?  Can you see the lightning and hear the thunder?  Are you learning how to sail your ship safely through the storm?  Storms come and go but the ship must keep sailing.  Sometimes we let the storms we face discourage us.  Sometimes we turn around to avoid the storms.  Yet, we must realize that there will always be storms and we must learn to wait them out.  We must weather the storms in our lives.  We must learn to enjoy the rain.

Mahatma Gandhi

"Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes."

— Mahatma Gandhi

Indian Lawyer/Political Activist

1869 - 1948

Are you free to make mistakes or do you hold yourself to such high standards of perfection that you are bound to fail?  Many of us have to learn that it is okay to make mistakes.  We need to throw off the cloak of perfection and warm ourselves at the fire of mistakes.  We  need to embrace the healing power of mistakes and enjoy what they have to teach us.  No human being is perfect, but for some strange reason we try to be.  Maybe our parents, preachers and teachers set very high standards.  Maybe we set high standards for ourselves.  Maybe we are people pleasers and try to live up to the expectations of others.  Learn to encourage and accept your mistakes.  Have you given yourself the freedom to make mistakes?

Jean Anouih

"The object of art is to give life a shape."

— Jean Anouilh

French Dramatist

1910 - 1987

As human beings we seek to understand who we are and why we are here.  Art helps us to understand our lives.  Stories give shape to our lives.  Art helps us to find meaning to the human existence.  How has art shaped your life?  How have you retold your story again and again?  How has your writing helped you understand who you are?

Frank Glazer

"I feel like I'm 35.  I'm playing better than ever.  I feel I've worked all my life to get to this point.  Now is not the time to quit."

— Frank Glazer

American Musician

1915 - 

When does an artist stop learning?  According to Frank Glazer who in February turned 97: "Never."  He says he is still learning to play the piano.  Are you still learning?  Are you continuing to grow and develop?  What have you learned today?  Last week?  Last month?  What books have your read?  What seminars have you attended?  What conversations have you had with other artists?  You should never stop learning.  The older I become, the more I realize what I don't know.  I hope that like Frank Glazer I will still be writing, speaking and learning at 97.  Don't give up on yourself.

Here is a video clip of Glazer playing the piano and discussing his first public appearance.

  

(Glazer made this comments in 2010 at the age of 95 to Bill Glauber of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.)

Ishmael Reed

"No one says a novel has to be one thing.  It can be anything it wants to be, a vaudeville show, the six o'clock news, the mumblings of wild men saddled with demons."

— Ishmael Reed

American Novelist/Poet

1938 - 

What is a novel?  What makes a novel a great novel? Each generation rewrites the rules that govern creative work like poetry, novels, paintings, sculpture and music.  Each generation redefines what makes great art.  Are you a rule-breaker or a rule-follower?  Do you lead the way or do you follow the leaders?  Learn to step outside your comfort zone and become more than you are.  Learn to recreate yourself again and again.  Learn to break the rules and refashion the pieces into a new and more powerful sword that opens the mind and hearts of others.

 I first read the Free-Lance Pallbearers back in the late 1960's and fell in love with its irreverence.  Ishmael Reed changed the rules with his novels.

Barbara Hambly

"Imagination is what has driven human progress since very early times."

— Barbara Hambly

American Novelist

1951 - 

If you can imagine it, you can make it happen.  Often writers imagine the future and inspire others to create that future.  Do you remember Dick Tracy and his wrist watch that he used to communicate?  Not much smaller than the cell phones we use today.  Or how about Star Trek and their communication devices?  What is your imagination creating today that will impact human technological progress tomorrow?  How about 1984 and Big Brother?  We now have the capability of keeping track of people through the GPS in their cell phones.  Who is watching you?  Cultivate and celebrate your imagination.  

Rafael Yglesias

"The most fun thing about being a writer is that everything is interesting."

— Rafael Yglesias

American Novelist

1954 - 

 

Actors have the opportunity to become people whom they are not.  They are able to explore characters and personalities.  The same is true of novelists.  They are able to become people other than themselves.  They are able to explore what they might do if they were put in difficult circumstances.  Being a writer or an actor is fun and exciting.

Do you enjoy your creative work?  Are you having fun painting?  Is your writing interesting?

Benjamin Mays

"It is not a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream."

Dr. Benjamin Mays

American Author / Educator / Minister

1894 - 1984

We are born with dreams and hopes that change and grow over the years.  When I was in the seventh grade I wanted to be an architect.  As a highschool sophomore I committed to being a preacher.  While in college I dreamed of being a poet.  In my mid-twenties I wanted to be a theater director.  In my thirties I dreamed of being a speaker.  In my forties I struggled with writing a novel.  Some dreams take us farther than others.  Some dreams dig their claws into our souls and don't let go.  Other dreams float away like hot air balloons.  Don't be afraid of your dreams.  They give us hope.

Stephen Wilkes

"For two weeks after shooting the first group of pictures of Ellis, I was obsessed.  I couldn't sleep, I couldn't erase the buildings from my mind.  So I went back, many times, every chance I could.  What began as a one-hour editorial assignment became a five-year passion."

— Stephen Wilkes

American Photographer

 

What are you obsessed with?  What keeps you awake at night?  What haunts your waking dreams?  As creative leaders what makes us great are our obsessions.  They define who we are and whom we become.  Encourage, honor and celebrate your obsessions.

Photos of Ellis Island
by Stephen Wilkes
(Check out his book.)

Victor Hugo

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."

— Victor Hugo

French novelist, poet

1802 - 1885

I am amazed at how music more than painting and literature can touch people at a much deeper level. Filmmakers understand the power of music. Try watching a film without the music and you will understand. Unfortunately, paintings and novels don't have musical support. I am waiting to read a novel with a CD of appropriate music.

What impact has music had on your creative process? Do you write or paint to a certain type of music? Do you listen to only one type of music or are you eclectic? What music pumps you up and makes you want to dance? What music calms and heals you?



Al Hirschfeld

"Life isn't a science.  We make it up as we go."

Al Hirschfeld

American Artist

1903 - 2003

Creating art is not a science, no matter how many times people attempt to build computers that can write poetry or paint pictures.  Creativity cannot be reduced to binary numbers programed into a machine.  The human experience cannot be reduced to mathematics or science.  We create and recreate the world as we go.  Even when the world seems to be against us, we somehow survive and thrive.  Don't worry about following all the rules or what others expect and demand of you.  Be yourself.  Find your own way.

Henri-Frederic Amiel

"Learn to limit yourself, to content yourself with some definite thing, and some definite work; dare to be what you are, and to learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not and to believe in your own individuality."

Henri-Frederic Amiel

Swiss Philosopher/Poet

1821 - 1881

Sometimes the world we live in can be overwhelming.  There are too many choices.  Which direction should we take.  If I do this, then I will miss out on that.  Have you ever felt that way?  Paralyzed by too many choices?  I have.  After graduating from college, I didn't know which way to go.  I was afraid to choose because I might miss something, so I did nothing.  When we come to a fork in the road, we have to make a choice.  And when we take that path, we need to follow it to the next fork.  And again, we must make a decision.  But no one decision will destroy us.  I firmly believe that each path we choose ultimately leads us to where we are supposed to go.  In the end we become who we are supposed to be.

Amiel is also talking about strengths and weaknesses.  People tend to focus their attention on their weaknesses and try to improve them.  I believe we should focus on improving our strengths.  We need to accept our weaknesses and learn to navigate around them.  Be the person you were meant to be.  Accept your individuality and your originality.

Charles Dickens

"I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time."

Charles Dickens

English Novelist

1812 - 1870

What are your work habits?  Do you meet deadlines?  Are you able to focus and concentrate on what you are doing?  While no two people have the same work habits, you can learn to improve your work habits by studying the habits of others.  Are you organized?  Do you have a system for keeping track of your work?  There is also the business side of creative work.  You have to be of two minds — the creative mind and business mind.  Do you know how to promote yourself?  To sell your work?  What are your habits?  How can you improve your habits?  Do you rise at 5 am before everyone else wakes up?  Do you work best at night?  Do you listen to music or do you prefer silence?  Do you take long walks to clear your mind and energize your creative juices?