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| In case you missed it, Humans are infinitely resourceful ♥
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March 23, 2020
Oakland, CA
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| | Welcome to all our new subscribers who signed up for the free book, "10 Ways to Generate Ideas." If you didn't grab yours, go here:
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| I see people around me feeling hampered, feeling stuck, feeling like they’re in a prison. And now with lots of shelter in place orders, including where I live in the San Francisco Bay area, and now the whole of California, the need to stay put is real.
I’m also someone who hits the internal reset button at least once a day, if not more. That means I really feel lost, disoriented, rudderless, totally forgetting what I’m about, what I’m up to, and this feeling triggers a sense of despair and hopelessness.
So what can we do?
When one of my dear friends asked me in despair how I dealt with feeling stuck, feeling so sad, I told her,
"I ground, I connect with the earth, I walk, I move."
The earth is here for us. She’s going nowhere. Yes, we may be ravaging our resources, without a thought for future generations. Global warming is real. I’m not here to debate that.
Maybe because I was a preemie, two and a half months early, and was born with a big yell, my mom says, I had to draw on whatever resources I had and that were given to me. I was in the incubator for the first two months of my life, fattening up, because when I was born I had no meat on my bones. I was only 2 1/2 pounds. (1.13 kg)
I feel like I have an inherent sense of “we can do this.” For me, perhaps it was a matter of survival to be super resourceful. These days people are calling it resilience.
All this to say, I believe we humans are infinitely resourceful. I have found myself saying that already a few times today to some friends.
I often ask myself:
- What can I do?
- What resources are out there?
- If I don’t know what resources are out there, I wonder: who can I ask?
- And: Who does know what resources are out there?
- Who could help access those resources?
- Where else could these resources be?
- More still: What are the resources inside I can access?
- What are the tools and skills and beliefs I can harness to help me now?
- What are the resources I haven’t even thought of or that I forgotten?
- Lastly: What else?
That last one is my favorite. I always ask my students, “What else?"
Let’s reach for what else is there and be surprised and infinitely curious about what we discover.
I’ve recently been watching and tremendously enjoying Star Trek: Picard, the new Star Trek series on CBS streaming. Picard often talks about curiosity as a tool that makes us human, that makes us so able to surmount overwhelming odds. I love that. A lot of the teachers I have studied with talk about curiosity as a wonderful place to be in.
What are you curious about? How can that help you and your current work in progress?
What else?
How can you be resourceful today?
Hit reply and let me know.
♥
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| | Favorite Resource of the Week
"Screenwriting Secrets of Netflix"!
My friends Daniel Calvisi is offering his webinar "Screenwriting Secrets of Netflix" as part of this amazing writing resources bundle he's a part of here:
The Writer's Craft Super Stack
I am so excited to take Daniel's webinar and have enjoyed his previous webinars on storytelling.
I am not an affiliate of this bundle but he is and this is his affiliate link. So you'll be benefiting him if you purchase using this link. |
| | | Free Resources for Writers and Their Families |
| Do you yearn to write a novel, but don't know where to begin? |
| Kay was in a writing rut. She wasn't one to outline or get to know her characters before writing. By taking this course she learned that plotting and characterization can be fun.
And that's because we help her learn the principles of planning and writing, so she could adapt them to her creative process.
Plan your novel then write your first draft -- in 60 days.
If having structure, accountability, and lots of tools is your thing, and you're ready to write your novel, then check out our flagship course starting April 1st.
And in these times of change and shelter-in-place, I'm offering this course 50% off!
Click here to register and take advantage of coupon:
Our goal for you:
Over 300 people have taken this course over the last 5 years, and during this time we have guided people to write their first novels, get unstuck from a languishing novel, and do something they never thought they could do: find the joy in their own creative process.
"Just wanted to say thank-you to Beth and Ezra - I have really enjoyed your course. ... I especially enjoyed the weekly tasks, which allowed me to take time and really delve into my characters' motivations and conflicts." -- Triana Willard, author of Autumn Magic
Reminder: Registration closes Friday, March 27, 9pm PT
50% off:
"Beth Barany, of Barany School of Fiction, is an inspiring teacher and effective writing coach and editor. I took Beth's month-long online course on writing fiction. The material was well organized, comprehensive, and entertaining. Beth and her husband Ezra held weekly Zoom sessions with participants. They were very responsive to questions and helpful in getting participants beyond stuck points in writing. Their feedback was constructive. I highly recommend them as teachers, coaches, and editors."
- Joan Lovett, Writer
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| Have a happy and creative week! Happy writing, editing, creating!
Best,
Beth
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| | PPS. Our books are on sale -- 60% off -- for 1 week on Smashwords. Enjoy!
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| ♥
If you'd like to be a guest writer for Writer's Fun Zone, check out our writer's guidelines here:
I look forward to your query. ♥
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| NEWEST BOOK! Plan Your Novel Like A Pro
This book will help you get excited to plan your novel. The tools shared here are designed to spark your muse and give you confidence when you sit down to write your story. Plan Your Novel Like A Pro: And Have Fun Doing It! is for organic writers and pansters who want a roadmap to follow, so that they can let their creativity loose.
** Is this you? => Are you a podcaster or blogger and would like to feature PLAN YOUR NOVEL LIKE A PRO on your channel? Review copies available. Please hit reply and let me know. Thanks!
♥
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| | Are you having a hard time coming up with ideas?
Some of my students tell me they want to write but aren't sure what to write about.
They realized they needed tools and tips to help them get started, generate ideas, and fill the creative well.
So I came up with a free book to help you generate ideas for your fiction!
Go here to grab your copy and get writing today:
And please, share this link and this book with your friends! |
| | | You have been reading the Creativity Sparks Newsletter!
Welcome!
You may share this content intact and with no changes with this attribution:
BTW, I'm a working novelist too, with two series published in two genres, and more on the way. :)
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| | ABOUT BETH BARANY
Beth Barany is creativity coach for writers, a teacher, workshop facilitator, and speaker, who helps fiction writers experience clarity, so that they can write and polish their novels, and proudly publish them to the delight of their readers.
Owner of the Barany School of Fiction, an online training hub, Beth takes great interest in how humans learn, create, and grow, and includes all her students’ life experiences, including the ancestors, into the moment.
Want a course to help you prepare to write your novel? Discover the comprehensive Plan Your Novel course here, co-taught with award-winning, bestselling thriller author, Ezra Barany.
She's also an award-winning novelist and writes magical tales of romance, adventure, and mystery to empower women and girls to be the heroes in their own lives.
beth@bethbarany.com
Barany School of Fiction
Writer's Fun Zone blog
Photo Credit: by c. 2018 Ezra Barany
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| | | Here be the legalese: In connection with the operation of this newsletter and business, Creativity Sparks includes affiliate links, including links to Amazon.com (“Affiliate Links”). Barany Consulting earns a commission from the Affiliate Links which commission is based on the number of sales that are made as a result of users of the Newsletter clicking over to the Affiliate Link and purchasing from the Affiliate Link a product and/or service. Thus endth the legalese. |
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