Okay, so I had to talk to a now former member about what is and isn't being creative. It made me realise that I need to clarify what I mean and what is the focus of this cohort. For me, creativity is an expression that comes from within, a drive to bring an idea, image, story, sound, taste, and more into the world. It's hand-crafted, experience driven, coming from a deep source within each of us. A human sense of self and the world around us. Frida Kahlo (Mexico) said, “I paint flowers so they will not die.” Pablo Neruda (Chile) wrote, “You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.” I have a lifetime of making, "creating" something from nothing. As a kid, I made candles, finger puppets, put on magic shows for my parents (!), wrote stories with sketches. In my twenties, I learned to take photos, to document the subculture (and how we lived) in the East London squatting scene, earning myself entry into an 18 month professional program in the city with shows and projects that lead to me teaching photography to kids in the States. I've acted and performed, clowned and toured solo and in small groups. I've written, photographed, and sketched my life since that point. I have to. It comes from a need to share what I have observed and experienced in a variety of ways. Nick Cave (Australia) described it like this, “Your imagination is the divine spark that animates your work—follow it, even when it frightens you.” So, I tell you all this to remind you that this community we're building here comes from that. It is NOT Artificial Intelligence. It is not 'content creating'. It is a human-driven expression of self and soul. A form of connection. “No matter what your age or your life path, whether making art is your career or your hobby or your dream, it is not too late or too egotistical or too selfish or too silly to work on your creativity.” ― Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

I know, I know, it's not my favourite either but there are so many ways we can approach it. I'm going to share once a week five tips for what to do and how to take a One Pass at a time. Anyway, here's a video and if you want I can find the text or transcripts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ7_kDldCno

Hello and welcome to our new members this week, Siyon, Ken and Huzaifa! Have a look around and respond to comments, I've put no restrictions on this group so you start with full access to commenting, chatting, and much of the stuff in the Classroom. It's geared towards offering prompts to help you stop procrastinating and start making...as well as courses and information about writing since that's my professional experience as a writer, editor and publisher. Let me know if you have any questions. I hope that the daily posts get you thinking and creating and sharing your process. It's surprising how doing just that can make all the difference for someone else. Thanks and stick around! I have videos coming on the topic of revision and character development for the fiction writers here. Say hello and feel free to share your links so we get to know you a bit. Cheers!

Morning folks! I've started recording videos of the writing classes I teach online, bits and pieces but this summer will be fairly busy hosting workshops. My question comes from that, what would you like more of here? I can share resources and 'classes' on these topics to start with and I'll add more as you request or as I teach them elsewhere. Which would you like next? What would help most? Pick a topic...

How? Well, I share videos/posts as a roadmap and a process. You’re welcome to start at the beginning of the oldest and work your way forward or you can dip in and out, but each question, each thought, each video is designed to help you think about yourself, your life, and what you want from it -creatively- and how we can help you get to that point. Creativity thrives in community! Not as I write or paint, but the conversations, the readers and audience, the collaborations, the inspiration and ideas we share... Get Creative is a small group at this point, but we'll expand out and become what we all need: a creative cohort. Stick around, make this work for you, take the questions, sit with them, play with them and be inspired by each other. Here you will find tutorials about creative writing, workshops both live and recorded, one to one coaching, daily writing prompts, and all things creative as part of a supportive community. I hope that this helps. Please introduce yourself in the comments below and let us know where you live, what you create, and more importantly what you want to make this year! I want to celebrate the process with you so add a few photos of a recent project.