Tag: creativity

Winning at WriterCon 2020

Posted on by Staci Mauney

“On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” (1 Thess 2:4)

Over Labor Day weekend, I attended my first big in-person event in about a year. WriterCon 2020, a three-day writing conference, was held in Oklahoma with both in-person and streaming options. In addition to learning and networking, I represented my editing business, Prestige Prose, and the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc. (OWFI). Continue reading “Winning at WriterCon 2020” →

Promoting Creativity Through a Good Night’s Sleep

Posted on by Staci Mauney

“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Ps 4:8).

In college, I studied all the time and went to bed by ten. I still remember one night when I stayed up to keep a friend company during the last hours of her shift working the front desk of our dorm. A couple of us joined her from ten to midnight. My friends were shocked, first of all, that I joined them, and second, that I stayed awake the entire time!

Like many of you, I’ve struggled at times with getting enough sleep. Insomnia has plagued me, while other times worry and anxiety kept me from falling asleep. Still other times, I stayed up late on purpose and then regretted it the next day.

Years ago, a neurologist told me how important a regular sleep schedule is to ward off migraines. On his advice, I tracked my sleep schedule, and I noticed a pattern: when I stayed up too late or slept too long, I had a migraine the next day. Unfortunately, I had many other migraine triggers as well, many of which were out of my control, but I could control my sleep schedule. Continue reading “Promoting Creativity Through a Good Night’s Sleep” →

When Creativity Stops Flowing

Posted on by Staci Mauney

“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Ps 19:14)

This blog post almost didn’t happen. Writing an original blog post each week along with other fresh material can be a daunting task. Because I write in a devotional format, I don’t feel comfortable just throwing something up on my blog for the sake of meeting a deadline. I approach each entry thoughtfully and with prayer so that the Lord can use my words for his purposes.

I maintain a long list of possible blog post topics, but even though I had potential subject matter on hand, I couldn’t dredge up the words to pull it all together this week. When I prayed for guidance, I heard…silence. And then I realized that the silence, the lack of an idea, the difficulty writing a coherent blog post, was the idea for this entry. Continue reading “When Creativity Stops Flowing” →