Inspiration
My Eye!
So, I just had eye surgery. Not cataracts, something trickier and scarier. I will spare you the details except to note that the surgery is called a “vitrectomy.” Those who want to look up the icky details are welcome to. It took almost a year from my initial diagnosis to get my surgery—and not so…
Read MoreWe’re All Done With Pandemic Shaming!
Happy to report that there’s been a swift and strong pushback on the whole “use your pandemic time productively” push. From the meme world… From the New York Times… …and from J.K. Rowling herself! No quote tweeting, but if you’re a ‘life coach’ who’s on here implying people are losers if they aren’t learning a…
Read MoreThe Conversation You Have With Your Work
Creative / scholarly work is actually a conversation between yourself (your ideas, emotions, perceptions) and your materials and influences. Or, as glass artist Davide Penso recently put it in an interview in Glass Art Magazine: “I didn’t and don’t presume to work in glass, but to support it and assign it the task of molding…
Read MoreInspiration from Michael Jordan and Garry Kasparov to Start Your Work/School Year
I hope everyone had a fantastic summer! Let’s get the work/school year going with a great quote from Michael Jordan: I quoted chess champ / democracy activist Garry Kasparov saying something similar in my book The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: “Years ago, I was fortunate to hear one of…
Read MoreYou’ve Got Time…
Our society tend to fetishize early success, but lest we forget… Toni Morrison: 40 Mark Twain: 41 Marcel Proust: 43 Henry Miller: 44 JRR Tolkien: 45 Raymond Chandler: 51 Richard Adams: 52 Annie Proulx: 57 Laura Ingalls Wilder: 65 Frank McCourt: 66 Harriett Doerr: 74 Harry Bernstein: 96 No, you’re not too old to publish…
Read MoreWhy an Anime Girl (or Raccoon!) Might Be Your Next Productivity Buddy
Back in Cambridge, MA, where I used to live, a group of writers used to meet regularly to get some work done. After a quick hello – no chit chat, latte ordering, or other delays – they all sat down and started working. It was so quiet you could hear the proverbial pin drop, and…
Read MoreThank you Fast Company!
I’m kvelling! A few weeks ago a wonderful Fast Company writer, Stephanie Vozza, approached me for input into an article on how to be as productive as possible during the summer. I told her that I actually thought the opposite: that summer should be for relaxing, and, moreover, that in summer people often relax into…
Read MoreWhat to Do When Your Gingerbread House Collapses
I have no idea what went through the mind of whoever built this gingerbread house when it collapsed. But I’m guessing she (or he) didn’t get all self-critical and perfectionist about it. Perfectionism is an obstacle to creative problem solving, admirably on display here. Happy holidays, and remember that the secret ingredient is always compassionate…
Read MoreDo You Have a “Room of ReQUIETment?”
Continuing on last week’s Harry Potter theme, I want to ask you: Do you have a “Room of ReQUIETment?” Of course that’s a play on Room of Requirement, the fantastic room at Hogwarts that could be anything, supply anything, a student needed. Back in 1929, Virginia Woolf published A Room of One’s Own, which discussed,…
Read MoreFan Mail From Novosibirsk
I was thrilled to get some fan mail from Novosibirsk today: Hello, miss Rettig! My name is Alexander, I’m writer from Russia. Couple weeks ago I found your book – and it was like a revelation for me. I always want to be a writer. I was started to write seriously three or four times…
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