by jlouden | May 4, 2016 | Creativity, Self-Care & Comfort
I attended a writing class in Denver recently and the teacher began by saying she had prizes for us. Who doesn’t love a prize! She blindfolded a student and told her to reach for prize – a book – but “Wait, just a second.” And then she placed a...
by jlouden | Apr 27, 2016 | Creativity, Self-Care & Comfort
I used to struggle oh so desperately with getting into, let alone staying, in the “zone” when creating. Friends would talk about getting lost for hours in their writing and I feel a twinge of shame. Maybe I wasn’t a real writer since I rarely experienced the fabled...
by jlouden | Apr 20, 2016 | Creativity, Self-Care & Comfort
If you visit Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / YouTube, do you keep scrolling and clicking — even when you want to stop? Do you ever find yourself fighting the urge to look at your smartphone while hanging out with people you love? Do you ever freak out at how long...
by jlouden | Apr 13, 2016 | Creativity, Self-Care & Comfort
At the Oasis we are musing about what it takes to stick with an idea, a project, a business. We’ve been talking about how more delightful it is to dream up new ideas. Oh, the zing of beginning! The flush of possibility is a powerful kind of drug. Of course, this can...
by jlouden | Apr 6, 2016 | Creativity, Self-Care & Comfort
It’s time for a post where upon I gush upon the books I’ve been loving reading. I make a (somewhat) regular habit of reviewing what I read for 3 reasons: To improve my writing. Why did I like this book? Why did I find myself skimming this one? Why does this one haunt...
by jlouden | Mar 30, 2016 | Creativity, Self-Care & Comfort
Not too long after my first book was published, my editor made an off-hand remark over a dinner one night that my first book proposal hadn’t been well written. I froze. Mumbled something. Tried to pretend as though her words were not about to throw me into an...
