Obscure Curiosities

Tag: random thoughts

  • Reflections: What Does it Mean to Write “Good Stuff?”

    I want to focus on writing “good stuff.” What exactly does that mean? Find a formula that works, or ride the tried-and-true train to the bank? No, I just want to sit there and write something, then at the end of the day I feel like I said something good.  Every day is different and…

  • Reflections: Turnkey Phrases

    I’m on a never-ending quest for turnkey phrases, those magical combinations of words that drive themselves relentlessly towards unique expressions of ideas and memories. Once assembled, they’ll propel themselves forward like an unstoppable freight train, hellbent on smashing writer’s block, becoming my guiding light into the elusive territory of original expression. Every time I think…

  • Reflections: How Important is a Muse to a Writer?

    There must be a purpose when you write. It shouldn’t only be the topic that you wish to cover. Some of the best writing that I’ve encountered, whether my own or others, was a product of simply writing for a purpose besides covering one or more specific things. There are so many things that deserve…

  • Reflections: Philosophical Constructs

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    Many creatives I’ve met and studied have outlined, sometimes well-practiced and even calculated, creative processes. My methods, or seeming lack thereof, are more like a bizarre brand of madness. The way my brain works, my creativity often latches onto a certain concept, then so much energy goes into analyzing that concept from a high-level philosophical…

  • Reflections: Why Are We Compelled to Create?

    We are all born creative. Creativity is inherently what makes us human. If you solve a problem, you are creative. If you turn your idea into something that you can share with others all the better. Sometimes you feel compelled to create at the worst possible times. But, if you put it off too long…

  • Reflections: What My First Class as a Professor Would Be Like

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    In my college years, I often lamented at length in my journals about so-called higher education being rarely more than an extension of high school. On some rare occasions, a professor would present more advanced and challenging material, but those happenings were few and far between.  I was thinking about what my first class would…

  • Reflections: Lack of Humorous Material

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    I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in the entertainment industry. It’s not really a novel realization, and it’s been hit on by quite a few critics and commentators, but it’s really beginning to bother me. Human creativity seems to be waning in such a dramatic way in recent years. There are so many formulaic attempts at…

  • Reflections: Illusions of Success

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    Illusions of success, or perhaps even delusions of success, have become the key reason that most talented individuals find themselves in dead-end avenues of employment or must struggle as “starving artists” in an attempt to get by. The issue is not in having employment where you have to answer to a boss or going to…

  • Reflections: Prosperity Begets Prosperity

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    Whenever I get in a bad mood, I do what I can to reframe the situation. I try to put what’s negative into a more positive frame so that I can build off of that. One of the ideas that I’ve gotten when trying to figure out how to be more positive is the idea…

  • Reflections: Write Now, Sort Later

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    Some time ago, while sifting through some old articles I wrote for the writing advice book I never bothered to finish, I stumbled across this passage that I decided to file away for later: “Write for you first, always. Just focus on getting your thoughts out of your head and onto a tangible medium. You…