#chris garrett

Despite ongoing power cuts, Prevail managed to start training 60 members of KORD (Rapid Operational Response Unit) from the National Police of Ukraine. Students take classes on recognizing mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), explosive theory, and self-extraction from mined areas.

If you wish to support Prevail's efforts in demining and training, consider tossing them some currency. They also have a BuyMeACoffee.

SHORT STORY: Powdered Creamer Campfires by Chris Garrett

Powdered Creamer Campfires:An Are You Afraid of the Dark Fan Fiction Short Story She doesn’t understand anything that has happened in the last 24 hours. Meghan was in Florida when the day started. But now in the late hours of the night, she is tied up and blindfolded somewhere in the great white north. For what seemed to be hours of walking, she was asked to sit down. Terrified, she began to…

SHORT STORY: The Tale of the Halloween Candy Goblin by Chris Garrett

I have several young ones that read my blog and email me often to talk books with me. I knew I could count on Chris to write the perfect *scary* story for around the campfire, one those kids would love. The Tale of the Halloween Candy Goblin Have you ever felt cheated on the greatest candy holiday of the year? I mean, let’s be honest. We work hard on Halloween. Am I right?! Every year we wear…

Learn to Blog: The Importance of Pillar Content

Hi there and welcome to the my first learning article post here on Blog Like You Mean It titled The Importance of Pillar Content. This is the first in a series of articles that you can print out, collect, and put together in a handy little binder so that you can have the full series on hand to reference any time you like.   So the first thing I want to do is give you a short definition of just…

Imagination is more important than knowledge. – Albert Einstein

Remember when you were little and the best gift of all was a large cardboard box?

That box could be anything from a small family home to the vanguard of an intergalactic attack fleet. With a few hastily drawn lines in permanent marker — and a wild imagination — we could go anywhere and be anything.

If you were given an empty box to play with today, would you find as many fascinating uses as you could back then?

As adults we tend to keep our imaginations locked in tightly controlled boxes — in case of emergency break glass.

We even schedule “brainstorms” as if it’s only appropriate to free our minds at a given time and in a specific environment. Are we afraid of what might happen if our imaginations come unglued?

It is only by being creative that we can create anything remarkable.

Like our writing muscles, our imaginations need regular attention and exercise if they are to serve us well. It’s so easy to get stuck on rails, doing what we always do, thinking the way we always think, producing what we always produce. Occasionally we need to break out of the norm and expand our repertoire, think differently, and keep our imaginations well-oiled.

Next time you need to create something new and original, try these creativity-boosting techniques:

Connect the Dots Find connections between seemingly unrelated concepts such as a cardboard box and copywriting.

Change Your Perspective Put yourself on the other side of an argument, or imagine yourself as a spectator. Even more wild, what would the world be like from the perspective of a small child, or even a paper clip?

Switch Modality If you tend towards the visual, attempt to think in terms of words and feelings. Writers habitually emphasize words so grab some crayons and draw instead. Logical left-brain people might spend time daydreaming to gain a fresh perspective, while intuitive right-brain people might try to solve a complex puzzle.

When you challenge yourself to use your brain in an unusual way, those creative juices truly start flowing. And it’s usually then that you arrive at an insight that has real potential.