Rumor Has It . . . . And the Winner is . . . .

Rumor has it that the sub-consicous has the power to move the world? Hmmm. Very interesting. Is that why we get ideas, find solutions, conclusions, answers, plots, more often than not in the middle of the night or in the middle of doing something completely opposite of the the current writer's block whirling around in our head? Are we simply freeing up the sub-conscious, giving it time to work on the problem? Wasn't it Agatha Christie who said, "The best time for planning a book is while doing the dishes."

Dr. Linus pauling tells us that the best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas. so where do we get lots of ideas? 1. We may think them. 2. We may read them in a newspaper, a book, a magazine. 3. By being a people watcher. 4. Maybe through our own life experiences. 5. TV or movies. 6. History. 7. Curiosity. 8. By simply listening to the twittering of a bird - to the silence of the night - to the quiet beauty fo the day - to the sunshine or the rain.

I might add while visiting an art gallery, listening to music, painting a picture, hiking, swimming, etc. Oh, there are so many ways.

I took an art class from Dale parsons, who you all know to be a impressive artist. One of his most timely bits of advice to his class was this. "Sometimes I will work on a face for hours, leaving it only when I think I've got it right. Then, the next morning I may get up and take a look at it and start all over again."

Knowing that even the greatest artists don't always get it right the first time, tells me that I'm doing okay. It makes me realize that no matter how long I've been painting or writing, I will never quite learning.

today, I am giving away a book and I am so excited. What I've done is copied all the names on pieces of paper and, at this moment, they are sitting in front of me all clumped together, waiting . . . . I shuffle through them . . . close my eyes . . . reach out my hand . . . Ah. And the winner is . . . Wait a minute . . . oh, no . . . There are two pieces of paper in my hand. Maybe I should have kept my eyes open. The only fair thing I can do now is to give two books away. Isn't this fun!!! And the winners are: Joylynn and Janice

If both of you will e-mail me your address at bjarnold@infowest.com. I will get your books in the mail.

I want to thank all of you who commented on my blog. See you in two weeks.