Creative Business Archives

How to find the time to write or be…

October 25, 2018October 25, 2018

How to find the time to write or be creative

How to find the time to write or be creative is the thing people tell me often that they struggle with. I get it, either it feels indulgent and there are too many other things to do, or, (hard truth time) sometimes it’s that we simply don’t want to be creative. That is ok, for a while, but eventually, we may feel we need to express our selves creatively because it is the way we work out problems or find our freedom.

We get sucked into the latest series on Netflix or scroll through Instagram easily. But the benefits of finding the time to be creative are scientifically proven. It is true that we can find slithers of time throughout our day to fit in some creative time, but for larger creative endeavours or projects we don’t ‘find’ the time like lost keys, we ‘make’ the time. We schedule it, we prioritise it and we reward ourselves for being creative.

Making time

Creativity on demand is not always easy, it ebbs and flows. With any creative passion project if we want to get to a certain point then we have to make the time and give ourselves deadlines. With iola magazine I have to schedule in my own time to be creative or it won’t get done and I have writers and readers to serve. I have the drive to do so because I love it and I feel alive when I get to express myself creatively. That’s not to say that there aren’t times when it feels like hard work but anything worth doing will have times of resistance. That is when rewarding yourself for the effort is essential.

Creativity as a lifestyle

I have also made creativity part of my daily lifestyle, I make time for noticing things and being more mindful of the moments. I write down notes and thoughts or turns of phrases, if I see some design I love or colour combinations I note them or photograph them or pin them. This, in turn, inspires creativity in other areas.

Planning for creativity

However much I love working on iola magazine I know that I need to schedule the plan for it. I have different ways of planning my time and although I like a loose-ish schedule and like to go with what I feel like doing within that time period, I still have deadlines to meet. For example the deadline for submissions for the next issue is coming up. Then there will be a period of time where I consider the articles, work out an order for them, then I’ll need to allow so many hours for layout and design, picture research, then marketing creation and general admin. All so that the issue is ready to buy when I have told people it will be ready. I use this Moleskin diary notebook (affiliate link) for my week to week work plan, it has a week to view on one page and notes on the other. For my overall month plan I like to have a month to view for the whole year with all the deadlines marked in. For the iola schedule I use a paper copy of a month to view. I find that writing things down as opposed to typing them helps me to remember them better.

I made a pretty monthly planner to use and I’ll send you your own printable version if you click here

What to do when you feel stuck creatively

Creativity to order is hard, sometimes we just get stuck, however much time we have allowed ourselves. It’s a slippery thing, the creative vibe and it seems counterintuitive to do the things that are needed to spark inspiration again. But here’s my best advice, take a break, a rest, go somewhere that makes your soul breathe. Release yourself from the pressure to produce. Then when the creative idea sparks, run with it for a while, even if it feels like a bad idea to start with. You’ll find your way again!

It’s time for creative block to leave the room

September 8, 2018September 8, 2018

It’s that time of year, there is nothing quite like that light in September. The soft, golden light of mornings and waning light of the evenings reflected in the colour of tree leaves waiting to fall. The warmth of a shiny conker picked up on a walk in the woods. Feeling that first chill in the air and the smell of rain.

I love this season, it sparks something in my creative heart which is longing to curl up cosily in a chunky cardigan, with a hot coffee and my favourite books. I feel the stirring to start something, to write something down. It’s a new term, a fresh blank notebook – beckoning me to start again. I’ve come to realise that there is something about feeling safe and cosy or maybe when I’m most comfortable in my own skin when I’m most encouraged to be creative. Can you relate?

But I’ve struggled to write words for the last few months. Oh, I can write about practical things and have been writing 5 steps to this and how to do that, but the deep and true things, I’ve not been able to get too. It took some digging and there was some dirt. Some big piles of dirt on top of those deep things. I got a spade.

When I feel safe, free from fear, free from comparing my work to others, free from that critical voice in my head, then I can create most truly and honestly. It is a battle to create, we have to fight these mental and emotional blocks. We need to silence the noise outside of the art being made, and then we also have to stop thinking about the finished art’s outcome. September is reminding me that I can feel safe enough to branch out again, make a fresh mark.

The cure for creative block

They say the cure for writer’s block is to write. Some say writer’s block isn’t even a thing. This year I’ve felt blocked from what I want to say, for fear of saying the wrong thing or creating energy in a space that deserves none. Eventually, I’ve had to push past that and find something to say because I need to put some words down or they begin to eat me up inside. So I come back to you, dear reader – what most helps you? What most helps me is that which helps you. It doesn’t feel good if my writing falls flat, writing needs to be read by someone, to reach and touch another’s heart and stir something. There is an energy in the collection of words that needs to be transferred to another’s heart or mind or soul.

I want to encourage others past these points of resistance to create their own art. To recover of a part of you that may have been forgotten or not even discovered yet. That is why I adore working on iola magazine. I love to create in the way that feels most natural to me; with words, graphics and layout, but I love that I get to share the creativity of other artists. Other artists who know the struggle, who have fought the good fight and produced art. It is not always pretty. iola may look beautiful finished but the art from the writers and creatives is embodied hope – those words and art and heart behind them always started in a struggle.

September is the time for starting again, it’s that post-summer burst of energy before the end of the year. Autumn is the last laugh, the final bloom, the blossom turned to apple. The collective energy seems to transfer amongst ourselves sparking each other’s creativity with a new rhythm.

Hope together

There is hope in being surrounded by others who are also pushing back on the critics scorn and the lies in the mind to bring something good and true for others gasping for it. I’m grateful for writers that have encouraged me by pushing through their own resistance. I’ve been listening to Christa Well’s beautiful song Holy ground and as she says:

“You think singers & dreamers

Invent escape from the real

Oh, but they have eyes to see

What must be revealed”

I need others to write the things, to give words to what I feel but can’t describe. Words that get to the truth of what is. I need you to create your art.

The best I offer you is this hope that if I can beat down the critics, the fear, the nonsense and misdirects – then so can you. We can do this together. If you need some others to stand with you, to champion you through that dirt I am here for you. Push through, get strong, you have it in you, you can do it and we need you to come alive. When the creatives bloom, we all do.

If you would like a little weekly encouragement to be creative, to write, create, make your art by way of a letter from me, including words and hope from others who are showing up to their creative soul, join the list here.

Links mentioned in this post.

iola magazine

Christa Wells: Holy ground

How to create a stop motion for Instagram

May 24, 2018August 21, 2018

Have you seen a stop motion on Instagram or elsewhere and thought you would like to have a go? Or wondered how they are made? I have made a few lately. Whilst I am still learning I thought I would share all I know so far.

If you are new to the world of stop motions then effectively they are a mini movie made up of still photos. The ‘movement’ of the items in the movie is made manually by yourself in increments and a photo is taken at each stage. They work much like a flip book you may have had as a child. A stop motion is a great way to make items move that wouldn’t normally move and visually represent something in a way that will delight or surprise others.

To make the stop motions below I used my iphone 6, a small grip tripod on a larger camera tripod, and a bluetooth remote. I had a white back drop which is a piece of shelving placed on a table. Props such as flowers, pencils, pencil case, notebook.

The apps I used were Photoshop (not essential) and iMovie on my Mac laptop. There are apps on your phone which you can use but I haven’t used any yet.

I have written this guide to share how to make the simplest and shortest stop motions. The one’s I have made are no longer than 14 seconds.

How to make a stop motion

Concept first

Before starting it is a good idea to come up with a creative idea and maybe storyboard or plan what you are going to make. For the three below I wanted to convey the idea of creating beauty with words so I thought about how to visually represent that. Hence, pencils for the action of writing words and flowers for the beauty created.

Then I needed to think what I wanted them to do. For one stop motion I thought that I would like the pencils to dance a bit and then shoot out the flowers and the flowers to dance. In another I wanted the pen to write something so it made a number with petals. Then in another stop motion I wanted the flowers to appear in a notebook as if from a pencil and then for them to dance.

Here are some stop motions I have made:

Weekends are for playing. This one is for the writers who create beauty. . . #hopewriters #bloomandgrowtogether #dayofsmallthings #awakethelight #tinytinymoments #simplepleasures #abmlifeisbeautiful #beautyinthemundane #flowersofig #lovelysquares #dayslikethese #graceupongrace #stopmotion #WHPoddlysatisfying

A post shared by Abi Partridge (@abipartridge) on Apr 28, 2018 at 1:36pm PDT

There’s so much information out there on writing and publishing it’s hard to know where to start and who to trust. . There is a process and it doesn’t have to feel like a mystery. . From a blog post to an article, to a book, publishing is about sharing your work. . You are already on the writing path! . The hope*writers have created a short fun quiz to discover where you are in the writing path and how to move forward. . Access the quiz via link in my profile. You’ll discover your stage in writing process and tips to get you to the next stage! . 🎼bensound.com

A post shared by Abi Partridge (@abipartridge) on May 15, 2018 at 4:07am PDT

This is your one week left to submit warning! See iolamagazine.com/submit for more details on having your writing published in iola magazine this September. . 🎼bensound.com

A post shared by iola (@iolamagazine) on May 8, 2018 at 3:10am PDT

Set up

It is really important that you set up your camera on a tripod so that all your photos are of the same area. I used a camera tripod and as I was using my phone and don’t have an adapter for the larger tripod, I used the mini grip phone tripod to grip around the tripod. You will need to face the camera/phone as face down as you can get it. Here’s my set up in front of a window but not on a bright sunny day – despite the paddling pool in the background!

Photos

Then I took a series of photos moving items a small amount each time. I use a Bluetooth camera remote so I don’t have to touch the phone and risk jogging it. It also makes the process quicker. You can use apple headphones as a shutter release. For example here is a series of the first few shots of the ‘How’ movie. There were 42 stills in the movie in total. (If you are looking for a letter board like mine, here is a link.)

I edited the photos in Photoshop by brightening them (recording the action and batch processing so that it is consistent across the whole movie) but if you have good enough photos, that are lit well then you may not need to do this.

Making the stop motion in iMovie

Here is a mini movie of making the movie!

Make a new movie with no theme, add media – your photos to project media. (my photos are all square because I want a square movie for instagram)

Select all and drag to your movie time line window.

Make sure all the stills are selected and go to the crop button and select fit.

Make sure all the stills are selected and you want to change the duration to something between 0.2 -0.6 seconds.

Press play and watch your movie!

You may notice the flow isn’t quite right (or like I did, a rogue hand is in one of my stills), so you can go back and delete or add more stills or add stills again to repeat a section. You can also add music if you want to, but this is just a basic guide.

Share on Instagram

To share the movie on Instagram, I put the finished movie file into my Dropbox which I can then access on my phone to share on instagram.

This post contains affiliate links.