Enjoy the jump-rope talent of World Champion, Adrienn Banhegyi. Breathtaking!
Do you see yourself as a writer jumping over various obstacles? Sometimes over and over again? But with each jump, the next one is “easier” and less of a challenge. But you have to start somewhere!
(If you cannot see the embedded video in your newsletter email, please click the headline and go directly to our site to view it.)
By Steve Laube
The novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, is a series of stories linked together in the small town of Macondo in South America. It is surrounded by a swamp and thus is known for its isolation.
One day the town was infected by a plague which causes insomnia. The people of the town were not unhappy at first because it meant there was more time to get things done. But there was more to this plague. In addition to insomnia they began to lose their memory. Marquez called it the loss of “the name and notion of things.”
They countered these symptoms by writing names on things or pinning signs to them. You would walk around the town and see the words “clock,” “chair,” “dog,” “wall,” and so on. But they were afraid they would forget the purpose of the items. So they would write longer and more elaborate signs with instructions.
Human creativity seems to know no bounds. Today’s video is a road in Hungary that plays music as you drive over the grooves in the asphalt. You have to go the speed limit You have to go the speed limit Hah! Watch the video and then imagine a Ferrari zipping …
I have an odd habit born of being in this industry for four decades. Whenever I pick up a physical book, I look at the front cover, back cover, and then the copyright page. I know, it’s a rather nerdy thing to do; but you would be surprised what information …
Take a moment to read the verses below, then watch the video. Let awe and wonder be your worship today. Our God is an awesome God. He holds the universe in His hand and yet cares for you today. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above …
Yesterday, August 1, was the 40th anniversary of the launch of MTV. Back in 1981 Music Television (MTV) debuted on a cable channel initially only available in New Jersey. It eventually changed the way music was consumed in the pre-Internet era. It quickly became a vital part of the music …
With the Olympics happening in Japan, I thought this video would be enjoyed by all. Watch some very clever gymnasts create new feats of athleticism using hula hoops! Writers? Again, this proves that creativity can come from anywhere! (If you cannot see the embedded video in your newsletter email, please …
A reader asked, “What is the difference between a preface, a foreword, and an introduction? And do I need them all?” There so much publishing lingo used every day that we forget there was a time when we didn’t know what the words meant. It’s one reason I have a …
Today’s video features yours and my favorite classical piano piece, “Chopsticks.” Done the right way for six minutes. (More info below the video.) Enjoy! (If you cannot see the embedded video in your newsletter email, please click the headline and go directly to our site to view it.) From the …
by Steve Laube
A clean slate. An empty canvas. A fresh start. A new beginning.
Or a potential nightmare of guilt, failure, and shame.
Thus begins the process of each writing project. This blog post began with a blank page. I wondered why I ever agreed to write a blog. I procrastinated with enough excuses to be described as legion. I told myself that no one cares what I think on any subject.
Once my episode of complaining was done I began to write. Each of my posts begins in a Moleskine notebook written by hand. The pages are littered with half-started ideas and incomplete thoughts. And this was no exception. Today’s post is the fourth one that received some scratches.
The blank page is the universal place where every writer begins. And in that moment and in that place all things are equal.
A place where the artist begins creating verba ex nihilo.*
A place of immeasurable potential and endless possibilities.
A place upon which a treasure map is drawn leading a reader to riches unimagined.
A place where worlds are spun into existence.
A place of creation, inspiration, and wonder.
Remember this as you fill today’s blank page:
The world will be a little different tomorrow because of what you write today.
