Articles from metaphor
The Inner Life of the Inner Critic
We’re all familiar with the inner critic: the voice inside your head that delights in belittling, criticizing, and judging you. This article is focused on reconnecting with the protective impulse the inner critic is expressing, and using that impulse as a catalyst for developing your creativity.
Celebrating Creativity
We often classify people (and ourselves) as either creative or not creative, based on the type of work that’s produced. But these broad categorizations paper over the telling details that demonstrate creativity.
Keep the Embers Burning
We celebrate creativity as a positive, life-enhancing force. But like most things, creativity has a shadow side. When you’re not able to express your creativity over a prolonged period, that shadow can be destructive.
Cathedrals of the Imagination and Other Beautiful Things
It feels out of step with the times to write an article on beauty, but it’s what beauty demands. What is the purpose and nature of beautiful things? This article collects some of my thoughts on these questions.
Craft Writing Tools
This is the third installment in a series on how software applications shape our creative thinking. The article focuses on craft writing apps and the ways writing in these tools differs from word processing.
We Live in Liquid Times
We live in liquid times: the institutions, conventions, identities, and ideals that defined Western Civilization can no longer hold their shape. What does this state of constant change mean for creativity and the arts?
On Curiosity, Dieter Rams, and Brian Eno
You'll often find the word “curiosity” in close proximity to “creativity.” There are many types of curiosity, but two are particularly relevant to creativity: specific curiosity and diversive (or general) curiosity.
A Triptych on the Adjacent Possible
This article is a triptych—three standalone posts related to the same subject: the transformative power of curiosity, exploration, and artistic expression. The post concludes with a tribute to the late Chick Corea.