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You are here: Home / Archives for Inspiration

Writing Lessons from a Favorite Art Blog

January 4, 2017 by Christopher Gronlund Leave a Comment

The Innocent Eye Test, by Mark Tansey - Cow looking at a painting of a cow.

I’ve mentioned many times that artists inspire the way I look at writing as much as other writers. One of my favorite art blogs is Muddy Colors, where I’ll stop what I’m doing in the morning to read whatever Greg Ruth writes about and shares. Maybe there’s something in a name, because another favorite contributor […]

Filed Under: Artists, Inspiration, Writing Tips

Walking Toward Silence

December 30, 2016 by Christopher Gronlund 2 Comments

A Trail Into the Fog

I can find silence most times I want it…even at work. When I go into the office, I work in a flex space at the back of the building. I am always the first one in, and sometimes I have an hour to myself before the second person shows up. (And it’s usually a bit […]

Filed Under: Inspiration

Carving Out Time

November 25, 2016 by Christopher Gronlund Leave a Comment

Wood curls left over from carving

I hear it a lot: I just need to carve out some time to write… I hear it at work, from friends, and read about it online. The concept is simple: I have all these things to do, and to tackle them all means I’ll have time carved out to do the thing I really […]

Filed Under: Inspiration

The Effort Is Worth It

November 24, 2016 by Christopher Gronlund Leave a Comment

woman standing in the mountains

It’s a five-day weekend for me, which means yesterday was the beginning of my little break. I took it easy and got some reading done. One of the things I read was this interview with Colson Whitehead. Whitehead is one of those people I’ve followed for years without ever really reading. And that needs to […]

Filed Under: authors, Inspiration, Interviews

A Kick in the Ass

October 5, 2016 by Christopher Gronlund 1 Comment

Dancer leaping into the air and kicking.

Not only did I recently interview Mark Hosack, but I spent a nice evening hanging out with him during a recent trip to Los Angeles. It was my first time in California, so Mark showed me Marina del Rey, Venice, and Santa Monica. At our stop in Marina del Rey, we grabbed a cappuccino and […]

Filed Under: Inspiration, Productivity Tagged With: A Magic Life

Is Writing Hard Work

September 5, 2016 by Christopher Gronlund 2 Comments

Welder working

For me, Labor Day weekend is usually three days of writing. This Labor Day weekend, canoeing got in the way — and I’d be foolish to complain about that. Yesterday morning, I ate breakfast on a small island inhabited by only my wife and me. There’s nothing bad about that! (Or heading out Friday to […]

Filed Under: Inspiration, Miscellaneous, Monday Motivation Tagged With: Labor Day

LitHub Interview with Ann Patchett

August 30, 2016 by Christopher Gronlund Leave a Comment

An Old Stove

A bit of time yesterday morning was spent reading this interview with Ann Patchett on LitHub. Patchett’s Bel Canto hooked me with how complex it is in its simplicity, and her essays are some of the best I’ve ever read. She’s so understated — and perhaps because of that, she’s massive. Next month, Patchett’s next […]

Filed Under: authors, Inspiration, social media

Wading In

August 25, 2016 by Christopher Gronlund Leave a Comment

People wading into the ocean.

Growing up in northern Illinois, I was never far from a lake. I could stand on the shore and guess what I’d feel stepping into the water: slimy tree branches, rocks, and fish. After stepping on glass a couple times, I added glass to that list. Later: fishhooks, rope, and plants waiting to wrap around […]

Filed Under: Inspiration

Of Ups and Downs

August 21, 2016 by Christopher Gronlund Leave a Comment

Twisting and turning roller coaster

My wife and I don’t watch much television…at least in a traditional sense. Oh, sure — yesterday it was cloudy (and not a bazillion-and-seventy-two degrees outside), and we wanted to watch something soothing. We ended up watching a few episodes of Ask This Old House. A couple weekends ago, we consumed Stranger Things in two […]

Filed Under: Inspiration, Interviews

Perfection Does Not Just Happen

July 17, 2016 by Christopher Gronlund Leave a Comment

Hands shaping a bowl on a potter's wheel

A good friend (my old juggling partner) shared one of his favorite podcasts with me the last time we got together: Two Guys on Your Head. Episodes are short (7 1/2 minutes), quite brilliant, and funny — making catching up a not-so-hard thing to do. They did a longer episode from a talk done at […]

Filed Under: Inspiration

My Pursuit of Silence

June 27, 2016 by Christopher Gronlund 3 Comments

Person sipping coffee on the end of a pier on a foggy morning

Over the weekend, I finally got around to watching In Pursuit of Silence. (It was something I backed on Kickstarter, and I’m happy to see it getting attention.) If you follow this blog with any regularity, you know I have a strong appreciation for solitude and silence. So on a quiet Saturday evening, I sat […]

Filed Under: Inspiration, Productivity Tagged With: In Pursuit of Silence

The Best Laid Plans

June 24, 2016 by Christopher Gronlund Leave a Comment

Lighted walkway at night.

Projects have a way of feeling like dimly lit pathways disappearing into the dark. Sometimes the path vanishes before us, and the best we can hope for is that we’re still heading the right direction (or that we’ll find our way back to the path). And sometimes we discover a different route was the better […]

Filed Under: Inspiration, Podcasting

Creatively Refreshed

June 22, 2016 by Christopher Gronlund 1 Comment

Person splashing down into a lake.

There always comes a certain relief, and even an almost strange sense of confusion, following a big software release at work. And the latest release was the biggest I’ve seen in the almost four years I’ve been with the company. It’s not that I don’t write and do creative things when I’m busy at work, […]

Filed Under: Inspiration

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