Shadows of Angels by L.G. Rollins: Guest Post and Giveaway!

Brick walls, Blank Pages, and Deseret Storms.

We all get there eventually. You work, create, dream, write, plan, organize, dream some more, write some more and then . . .

The ideas just dry up. Like a storm across the desert sand. Here one minute. Gone the next.

Here and gorgeous. Breath-taking. But still gone the minute you try to hold onto it.

Creativity is much like that. As an author I've had to work hard to capture those desert storms and find ways to keep the fleeting, darting thoughts and impressions that stumble through my mind constantly coming. I have found four keys that allow the ideas to never stop flowing.

Whether you're creativity takes you to writing a novel, building a bookshelf, or devising a new system's process, all creativity is essentially the same—you take unorganized ideas and put them together to form something that has never existed before now.

And to do that, you're going to want to know these four keys.

* Sleep 
              First, let's talk about sleep. Sleep is when your brain shuts down, turns off, and sorts through the events and experiences of the day. This is when your brain organizes the emotions and concepts it acquired while awake. While many of us do our best creating in the late hours of the night (until they blur with the extreme early hours of the next morning), whatever you do, don't forget to sleep! Without that time to organize and sort, your brain will quickly become like a computer in desperate need of de-fragmenting. And your ideas will run slow.

* Write It Down
              This is one of the single best keys on how to keep the ideas flowing. When you write down the ideas you have currently it does two things: first, it makes space in your mind to come up with new ideas, and two, it signals to your sub-conscious that you value creative ideas. Love the ideas you have right now? Want more creative ideas? Write them down! Prove to yourself that those ideas are important and make room for more.

* Be Creative, But in a Different Way
              Creativity is like a muscle. Sometimes it needs down-time. However, while a runner takes days off of pushing her leg muscles, she doesn't do it by sending extra time on the couch flipping channels. She takes that time off by lifting weights and strengthening her upper-body. Same for other forms of creating. Take time off of your normal creating and create something entirely different. I love to take a day off of writing and scrapbook, or create new arrangements of my favorite songs. This stretches your creative muscles in new ways and allows the other, well-worn synapses a needed break.

* A Novel Idea
              "You are what you eat" not only refers to your mouth and stomach, but your brain as well. Here's another one: "Put trash in, get trash out", and it's never more true than when we're talking about ideas. If you want the most creative, trending, edge-pushing ideas, you can't be living on a diet of old thoughts, last-year's buzz words, and what your college professor told you . . . nearly a decade ago. There are many, many brilliant minds out there, and a surprising lot of them have done something sensationally transcendent. That's right.
              They wrote a book.
              Which means you have a back-stage pass into their brain. How cool is that! You have a portal straight to their core thoughts and even a map on how they got there. If the last book you read was a text-book, try something fictional. If you love fiction, try a non-fiction for a change. Vary it up, just remember: want a bunch of creative, awesome ideas? Read a book!

Deseret storms don't hit as often as we might like, but our own creativity doesn't have to be so flighty. These four keys will change your 'here today, gone tomorrow' creativity to a never-ending stream of new ideas you can depend on.

Biography:

L. G. Rollins grew up in a far off land fighting dragons, stealing talismans, and traveling with dwarfs and elves. She is especially skilled at bribing giants with sweets. Currently, her husband and four kids live in Utah so that is where she spends most of her time. She may, or may not, have a Zaad Stone. To learn more about L. G. Rollins and her books visit LGRollins.com.
 Shadows of Angels comes out December 8th and is the beginning of the Zaad Stone trilogy.

Excerpt:
"Stay calm, her father’s words echoed in her head. When you find yourself in danger, above all, stay calm. Aerbrin took a deep, steady breath and leaned down, reaching for her bow. one of the Forest Dwellers charged. It collided with her and knocked her to the floor. Raising a knotted fist, he bashed her head.

Sparks exploded across her vision. She tried to raise an arm, tried to call out. Her body wouldn’t respond. The Forest Dwellers grunted again. The creature above her raised its fist again. She looked up. This was the end, she knew. When these monsters attacked, they killed everything. Animals, plants, and particularly humans. No one survived.

Closing her eyes, Aerbrin forced her body to relax. This time, there was no pain."

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