Minding the Muse: A Handbook for Painters, Composers, Writers, and Other Creators

by Priscilla Long

$12.95

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Author: Priscilla Long

Publisher: Coffeetown Press

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 1603813632
ISBN 13: 978-1603813631

Minding the Muse is a practical handbook for the artist or writer—highly experienced, aspiring, or somewhere in between. Long draws from her extensive background as a poet, writer, and master teacher, but also gathers the insights and practices of a wide range of high-achieving artists, including mystery writer Raymond Chandler, choreographer Twyla Tharp, poet and performance artist Patti Smith, and the painter Joan Miró. Beginning with the first sparks of artistic creation—“Gathering, Hoarding, Conceptualizing”—Long moves through the various stages to “Completing Works” and “Poet as Peddler, Painter as Pusher: Marketing.” Every creative worker will find something here to take to heart and into the studio or workroom.

Review

"Priscilla Long's slim handbook for artists suggests ways to reflect on one's creativity and so become a more effective creator. It is pithier and more intellectually respectful than recent creativity how-tos like Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic, and old standards like Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way

--Pamela Hobart Carter, The Seattle Star

"One hundred and twelve pages of pure creative gold are here for the taking. No matter the form your creative gifts take, there's something in Minding the Muse that will excite, motivate, clarify, or entertain you."

--Krysta Gibson, New Spirit Journal

"I found Long's advice, along with the examples she pulls from other books and studies on creativity, to be reliably fresh and unorthodox. I loved being reminded to strictly cordon my messy drafting stage from the critical revising stage and the gutty purveying stage. I liked her form of telling me flatly what to do without pandering to my ego. I admired her various elegant ways of commanding me to embrace the old-fangled: get back to work, and work hard.[....] The simple fact is that I read these two self-help books and I went sweetly adrift in them [....] and when I came out the other side I felt somehow both richly served and pleasantly on my own again."

--Bonnie J. Rough for the Seattle Review of Books

"This is a relatively small book, fewer than 75 pages, but contains many memorable passages.... In addition to invaluable tips, Long includes helpful questions at the end of each chapter intended to serve as guides for artists to use as they explore their own artistic methods and goals to help you forge new work. On days when the isolation of working in solitude can feel overwhelming, it helps to have the wise and supportive voice of Priscilla Long whispering in your ear that making art is a possibility, and that you, like the many artists quoted in this book, have something to say. Her book will help you say it."

--Bruce Black, Wordswimmer Blog

"It's as if Priscilla Long has sat down on the couch beside me, offering all she knows garnered from a long life as a working artist. This is the kind of book I want to put into the hands of all my poet friends and students. It's a book I believe I'll be using in my teaching and in my own contemplation about my role as an artist for a long time to come."

--The Alchemist's Kitchen

"Long has done a terrific job of compiling short chapters, rich with fresh quotes from all sorts of creative people. This small but deeply intelligent book contains some savvy messages you'd do well to heed."

--Psychology Today Blog

"Priscilla Long has read wide and deep in the practice of artists of all stripes, and she has meditated to good purpose on what she's found. She is particularly good on the cross-fertilization of artistic methods, with the result that this book is wise, practical and illuminating, a friendly aid to creation."

--Janet Burroway, author of Losing Tim, A Story Larger Than My Own, Bridge of Sand, Imaginative Writing, and Writing Fiction

"On days when the isolation of working in solitude can feel overwhelming, it helps to have the wise and supportive voice of poet, writer, and master teacher Priscilla Long whispering in your ear that making art is a possibility, and that you, like the many artists quoted in this book, have something worthwhile to say."

--Bruce Black, author of Writing Yoga

"Like mushrooms, facts must be gathered; like dough; a draft must rest in order to rise. Drawing on vivid anecdotes from a range of artists, this book makes her case that creativity thrives in the balance between spontaneity and discipline. Long's voice is conversational and witty, seasoned by her experience as an accomplished poet and essayist. Minding the Muse is a gift to anyone ready to take their craft more seriously."

--Sandra Beasley, author of Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life and Count the Waves

"With stunning freshness and clearmindedness, Priscilla Long explores how to live a life in consonance with one's creative goals. She offers inspiring advice from many high-achieving creative individuals. Readers are certain to come away with renewed confidence and many practical maneuvers they can't wait to try. On the balance scales, in terms of usefulness and of being a joy to read, this short book outweighs dozens of others on the topic."

--Susan K. Perry, PhD, author of the bestselling Writing in Flow, "Creating in Flow" blogger at PsychologyToday.com, and author of the novel, Kylie's Heel

"Do you get bogged down in creating the works you imagine? Priscilla Long's handbook pulled me right in, to help me move beyond where I get stuck--making space, dealing with feelings, getting out in the world, and more. This accessible, comprehensive, and, well, creative, book is a gift for anyone who wants a fruitful, creative life."

--Sondra Kornblatt, author of Restful Insomnia, and A Better Brain at Any Age

"Minding the Muse is an artist's answer to the over-asked questions: 'Do you write with a pen or pencil?' Priscilla Long's new book, rich with real life examples, gives creators in all disciplines concrete ways to shape a personal daily practice that invokes the power of the sleeping muse."

--Barbara Earl Thomas, painter

"A great short book, suitable for all creative types [....] I gained some really cool insights and practices that I will use to help me in my creative endeavors."

--Leigh Martinuzzi, The Hidden Why

About the Author

Priscilla Long is a Seattle-based author and teacher of writing. Her work includes poetry, creative nonfictions, fictions, history, and science. Her other most recent book is Fire and Stone: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? Her book of poems is Crossing Over: Poems. She is also author of The Writer's Portable Mentor: A Guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing Life and the scholarly history book Where the Sun Never Shines: A History of America's Bloody Coal Industry. For more information please visit PriscillaLong.com and PriscillaLong.org.

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Minding the Muse: A Handbook for Painters, Composers, Writers, and Other Creators