How do you get your audience in the tent? And how do you send them home happy at the end? Journalists have the lede and the kicker; entertainers have the opener and the closer. But they're not the only creative people with tricks. Every art form has them, and if you dig into them you can see some of the wiring that holds all creative work together. Also: Coco Chanel, Spot is a dog, a bowler hat with a chess piece on the top, and that time Bill had a chance to alter the course of history and declined to do so.
"Forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable." -- Octavia Butler It's almost impossible to get creative work done without discipline, but not all of us...
How do you know if what you're creating is any good? This week: Juggling the internal and external critics. Plus: Humility, shouting at clouds,...
This week we're talking about criticism, including the trickiest kind: Self-criticism. We'll also look at the buzzing neon sign hanging outside the hotel room...
