Archive for August, 2009

So far, we have covered Lust and Gluttony. The next in line is Greed. Traditionally, Greed in the 7 sins stood for the desire for copious amounts of wealth and a person who would stop at nothing to acquire that wealth. Over time, greed has been more loosely associated with the desire for too much of anything.

Whenever I think of greediness, the first thing that comes to mind is a book my mother used to make me read every time I was being greedy… The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies. Whenever I would start asking for too much, or acting ungrateful for what I had, she would threaten to make me read it again. It worked really well.

*honestly, if you have children and don’t have this book, I’d be surprised. The entire series of Berenstain Bears is actually worth owning as they cover almost all of the ‘lessons’ kids go through…I cherish the set I have of them.*

So, what does writing and creativity have to do with Greed?

Unfortunately, a lot!

Writers and creative types tend to be very greedy – and I am not sure why. I just know that anyone who I know who is creative or a writer (sadly, including myself) tends to be a bit greedy by nature.  As a person, I think those who are creative tend to want more out of everything. They want more attention, they want more appreciation and they want more recognition. Creative people do not make their money in basic 9-5, doing what someone tells them to, jobs. At least not those who are really hell bent on being creative. The creative types go out on their own and create their own businesses. Which means in order to do well, they must get noticed. So they talk about themselves, promote their work and show off. They gather a little bit of attention and all of a sudden, boom! They become greedier and greedier for that attention. They don’t want to share it, they don’t want anyone else to get that attention, they want it all to themselves.

I know what you’re thinking, “not all creative people/writers are like this. There are plenty of writers/creative types that show off other peoples work and are happy to share the spotlight”. I have to disagree. There are some, yes, that share the spotlight now that they are super successful, but have you noticed that even when they share the spotlight, they still have at least 51% of the attention? It is a challenge of personality that I think all creative people need to face, and realize, otherwise they risk it overpowering them.

Now, with this all said, I am not saying that creative/writers are the most greedy, or even in the top 10% (hello Bernie Maddoff? Imedla Marcos? George Steinbrenner?). But, I do believe that there is an inherently greedy nature to those involved in creative fields, and definitely in writers.

What do you think? Is there an inherent greediness or am I just assuming based on those whom I know?

Yesterday, I started my 7 sins of creativity and writing with lust. Today, we are on to sin #2, Gluttony.

Gluttony is traditionally defined as over-eating (either in amount of food or amount spent on food). In modern times, it has become more vague, and can be used to define anything done to an extreme. For example, a writer who writes too often and never gives the floor to someone else would be considered a gluttonous writer. Or one who writes about themselves all the time, and never shares the stories of other amazing individuals. So that I don’t fall into this category , I would like to share an incredible view on creativity from Brad Marley, a PR professional who shares his thoughts on his work, his life and anything else that pops into his brain on his blog at BradMarley.com. He has become a virtual friend via twitter and our blogs, and hopefully I will get a chance to meet him soon. So thanks Brad, for saving me from being a glutton, and for sharing your thoughts with my readers!

Creativity is Terrifying

Some of us are born with the ability to create things that others are willing to pay to experience.

Most of us are not.

If you’re one of the few that emerged from the womb a creativity prodigy, you can stop reading this blog post right now. Go ruin an iconic image with technology, or something.

Oh, good – everyone is still here. Let’s continue.

In public relations – where every company with a job opening is looking for creative individuals – it’s no different.

Rare is the opportunity when we actually put our creative chops to use.

We like to gather in conference rooms and brainstorm the craziest, most outlandish ideas for our client’s product roll-out…then bury them in a PowerPoint deck that the client never sees.

Why?

Because these creative ideas truly terrify us.

If they don’t stick, we look and aloof and careless; that little exposed part of our soul shrivels up and dies. Creating the ‘World’s Largest Rolodex’ seemed cutting edge among our peers, but put it in front of the CEO of a company?

No way.

And it’s like that in all walks of creativity.

The greatest idea you have ever compiled carries no resemblance to the end product. What seemed so clear and concise in your brain comes out looking like a Rorschach symbol. Your audience shares looks of confusion. Their casual indifference might as well be punches to the face. At least then the physical bruises would distract everyone from the mental anguish.

From there, creativity is off-limits. Everything you produce – from your best friend’s wedding speech to the eulogy at your grandfather’s funeral – is straight vanilla. Your wardrobe consists entirely of muted tones.

The world is a drab place. The sun never shines.

You eat nothing but Oreo cookies.

But then, one morning, you wake up to birds chirping and a shining sun.

It – this world where people make up stories and draw characters in costumes for a living – suddenly becomes so clear and obvious.

Creative people are crazy.

And you long to associate yourself with them.

Over the next 7 days, I will be covering the 7 sins of creativity, the things that you just can’t do if you want your writing powerful and your creative juices to stay strong. The idea was given to me by Andi, your online go to gal, one my blog readers. She created a fabulous series of the 7 sins of social media…and I loved the idea so much that I had to take it and run with it…changing it to the 7 sins of creativity and writing.

For those who need a refresher course, the 7 sins are:

1. Lust
2. Gluttony
3. Greed
4. Sloth
5. Wrath
6. Envy
7. Pride

Today is all about lust. Lust is traditionally tied to an overwhelming sexual desire, but over time, the word has been attributed to an overwhelming desire for almost anything. With creativity and writing, lust can be one of the most dangerous sins.Very similar to envy, lust is about the desire to have something someone else has. Unlike envy though, lust is more about your own personal gain, rather than anger towards someone for being successful

Many writers see someones success and have an overwhelming desire to have that same success. What they often forget to think about is the time and the energy that person put in to get where they are. Writers are not born overnight, they are trained, practiced and studied in their craft and spend every working moment improving what they do. Those new to creativity lust after the spotlight that great writing might bring them. They day dream about the money and fame they could acquire from a best selling novel. What that lust does is blind the writer to their own errors and leaves their writing on the back-burner. To overcome lust, one must take a step back and analyze what it is they are really lusting after. Once you have discovered the root of your lust, you can find a way to remove it.

Last night, I attended the biggest tweetup I have been to, over 90 of the top tweeters in Orange County showed up to mix and mingle and finally put faces to the @twitternames. I got there around 6:45 and it was already packed. Hosted by the sisters, @RochelleVeturis, @ChelseaVeturis and @ReporterHaley, it was put together wonderfully. It was great to meet you three, and I was so excited to get to meet so many of the people I have been tweeting with. *Update: Rochelle put together a great video about the event (although I am a little annoyed that my interview got cut…should have been at the 56 second mark.*

@JoshuaStecker – You are way funnier in person sir, and I can’t wait to get coffee! And we are totally holding the Style Watch after party at your place!

@Mobomedia - Thanks for one of the best smiles when I finally got to meet you. I can’t wait to get to work together on Twestival!

@Bigheadedasian – I promise not to hold the cowboys thing against you, but only because of the warm welcome when you met me!

Both of the Portola Coffee ladies (@portolacoffee and @portolacoffeews) – I am looking forward to checking out the coffee and the delivery service! Sorry I didn’t wear the hat Asea!

@designdamage – I am glad that we finally figured out who each other were…without the glasses and with the hat would have been so much easier! Looking forward to discussing some projects soon

@PaulTTran – Great chatting with you. But as for the hubby joining social media? I doubt it very highly!

@KathyKlingaman – I promise to get you connected with more of us creative types on Twitter.

@OakleyOC – It took way too long for us to finally meet, so glad that we did!

@Peacekeeper357 – Good luck on the website! It was great to get to sit and chat about so much!

(If I forgot to mention you, I am sorry, it was such a crazy evening!)

It was also wonderful to see some of the people I have met before, and really get to catch upon what has been going on in their lives with more than 140!

@LorenNason, @MelAclaro, @AngryJulie, @JonLan (the OC Register also has a  great article about the event); So wonderful to see all of you. I am glad to hear that everything is doing well for your businesses!

Of course, with an event that big, I did miss out on meeting a lot of people too, so I am looking forward to the next one!

A big thank you to all the sponsors as well! I was so excited to get my invite to the Rack and Rave Party from Style Week OC, the free dippin’ dots coupon (although my diet didn’t like that one!), the bag of portola coffee (thanks to @portolacoffee and @portolacoffeews) a gift card to both Peppino’s and Boneheads and a cupcake from Meringue Bake Shop!

….and my extra special treat from the amazing guys at MoboMedia (@Bigheadedasian and @MoboMedia)? A fabulous Incipio case for my blackberry in 5 colors (the pink is on it now)!! You guys seriously rock. I can not wait for TwestivalOC this September, put on by the guys. It is a great combination of charity and networking. I will be raffling off one month worth of blog management services, so you’ll definitely want to be there! Follow them to keep up with all the details.

And I promise, regardless what the vote says, next time I will wear the hat!

Thanks to your comments and requests last week, two-word tuesday will stay! Thanks for your opinions, and here is this weeks words:


Remember Youth

It started as a seed, and took almost a month to get to full bud. Once it became a bud, and over the 5 days it took for it to go from full bud to bloom, I took a picture. It feels amazing to see that something I nourished, watered and cared for has become something so beautiful – and how quickly a bud became a full flower. For a while, I thought I wasn’t going to get them to survive (we had gophers trying to get to the roots, worms eating the leaves, and I had never tried to garden before). But, with a little work and effort, I can officially say that I raised a sunflower from seed to flower. Now, I can take the seeds that the flower will produce and save them to plant for next year, and each year after, so I will always have a bright yellow, 5 foot tall sunflower in my yard.

Hmm….wonder what else this could apply to?

The mission in Santa Barbara. As beautiful as the architecture is, the rose gardens and the rolling front lawn were my favorite (and my moms puppy Bella’s favorite) of the area.

The clock tower in downtown was magnificent. 360 degree views of Santa Barbara, but not for those afraid of heights…

After walking through all the stores downtown State St. (surprisingly I didn’t buy a thing!) we went to Arigato’s (thanks to a recommendation from @LarryBroughton). The sushi and sake with both incredible, if you are in Santa Barbara it is a must stop. We had a mixed sushi sampler, halibut carpaccio, and Wakatake sake (daiginjo and delicious!), oh and being able to sit on the patio with our puppy made it perfect.

Today (forgot the camera!), we decided to take it easy and had a leisurely morning drinking coffee and catching up with a family friend who lives in Carpinteria. The weather was a little overcast, and so we were really in no hurry to hit the town. Around 12:30, we finally headed out and went to an Italian pottery outlet, where it was really difficult to not buy and entire wine goblet set….but the price tag and knowing what my hubby would have said, stopped me. We then headed out to the wharf for some incredible calamari and clam chowder in a bread bowl at the Santa Barbara Seafood Company, and wouldn’t you know it, the sun deided to come out just as we sat down! After lunch, we picked up some fresh fruit and cheeses to go with the bottle of Gainey Chardonnay we picked up during wine tasting on Thursday, for dinner tonight, and then wandered a bit down Shoreline to enjoy the sun. Now, we are relaxing and catching up on emails before opening the bottle and starting our evening.

TOmorrow, we head back to Solvang to get the aebelskivers we missed out on, and to wander around a local bookstore we found. I am a sucker for old books (and real bookstores…I can’t stand the chains), and am hoping to find a couple romance novels to get me re-inspired to start writing again. The boys will be back around dinner time, and Steve and I will be ready to head back to reality (and work) Monday morning.

Our first day in Santa Barbara started with the boys getting up around 6am to start their drive up to Rubicon. My mom and I slept in, and after getting up at 9am to cappuccinos and checking a few emails, we headed towards Santa Ynez and Los Olivos for wine tasting. We took hwy 154 out, and I snapped quite a few pictures along the way…

And then we hit the first Winery..Gainey Vineyards. Absolutely gorgeous and the wines were great. For a moment, I almost forgot about the tasting as I wandered the grounds…it takes your breath away to see the natural beauty of the vines combined with their architecture. But, once I started tasting, I realized that the true beauty was in their wines. Unbelievably well done…We picked up a bottle of their Chardonnay (2007) and a Syrah (2006).

After Gainey, we were starved and headed up the road to Los Olivos. It is one of the cutest towns, still only 1,000 people live there! We stopped for lunch at the Wine Merchant Cafe, and the pictures do not do it justice. The food was awesome and so was the atmosphere. Minus one woman who was speaking as if she was at a concert to the 2 ladies sitting at her table. But the incredible food and a glass of wine helped me get over that one…

After lunch, we wandered through town and found Tre Anelli winery. They are known for their Spanish reds, and being a sucker for good red wine, we stopped in. I was not disapointed. We left with 2 bottles, their 2006 Sangiovese and their 2007 Dolcetta. After finishing our walk through the town (didn’t take long, it’s really tiny), we headed towards Solvang.

We stopped at one final winery, Rideau, known for French wines. My parents had been there 13 years ago, and my mom remembered how beautiful the building was. We decided to stop so I could see the building, were surprised with how good some of the wines had gotten!

Our last stop of the day was Solvang. Honestly, one of the most interesting places I have visited in California…

It is time for day 2…right now I am sipping my coffee and then we are headed to downtown for shopping, sushi lunch and maybe another glass or 2 of wine!

Every year, my dad and about 20 other guys head off to Rubicon and ride dirt bikes and take their jeeps through crazy terrain. My mother and I, on the other hand, spend those says shopping, relaxing and spending some much needed testosterone free time. This year is the 35st anniversary of the trip, and will be the 4th year that my husband is along for the ride.

And this year, my mom and I are headed to Santa Barbara for 4 days! Wine tasting, shopping, pedicures, sleeping in, reading gossip rags, and did I mention, shopping??

After the Just Spotted awards tonight *hopefully after a win!*, my hubby and I will head to Santa Barbara to meet my parents. In the morning, the boys will set off to rough it in the mountains of Rubicon, and my mother and I will start our relaxation time

I will have my laptop, and access to email in case of emergencies, but will be mostly offline the whole trip. Do stay tuned to the blog and twitter though for some fun updates on Thursday and Friday with pictures of the trip, and maybe some fun stories!

I will be back to business (and reality) on Monday.

Seeing that today is the 10th two-word Tuesday (wow, time flies) I have decided to take a step back and re-evaluate. Sometimes you create something that you think is going to be incredible, and not everyone gets it, or you create something you think will be just okay, and it turns out phenomenal. In this case, I am not sure whether to continue two-word Tuesday as it is, or maybe change it up a bit. I like the idea of having a once a week thing, since the rest of the time I am pretty random. It gives me something to plan for each week, and stability for my readers. I contemplated adding more words, changing it to be something like “Tuesday Tips” that are short, interesting tips on writing/social media/blogging. Or maybe Tuesday Tutorials. Find fun/unique/creative tutorials on different tools or programs. I’m just not sure yet, and I don’t know what you would want to see!

So, your two words for today (and what I am hoping to get from you) is…
Your Opinion