Take a Walk on the Weird Side

Have I got a day for you.

Peculiar People Day!

Seriously.

At some point in time, some person (a peculiar one, no doubt) decided that January 10^th would be the day to celebrate those of us who are square, oval, and pickle-shaped pegs in this round-hole world.

Of course, since today is January 11^th, we’re being super-peculiar here at The Good Ship Elbow and celebrating anyway…

Because being a little bit odd does a whole lot of good for your creativity.

Scientific people have found that creative people are… okay, let’s just come right out and say it…strange. That is, they see things most folks don’t notice, they make more associations between unrelated things, and they do a whole heap of other stuff that basically boils down to this –

Creative people think differently.

And while Truman Capote (who always wrote his first drafts lying down) claimed, “I can only think horizontally” – that’s not exactly what these scientists mean.

But then again…

It certainly puts Mr. Capote firmly in the “weird” group, so there you go.

PROMPT: Take time out today to celebrate those far-out, fantastic, and funny things about yourself. In fact, make it a party – a peculiar one.

Oh, and here’s a quick little writing tip – Peculiar people make the BEST protagonists.

Write on!

Light Bulb Moments

Hell, there are no rules here – we're trying to accomplish something.
~Thomas A. Edison

Today I’m putting the finishing touches on a little biography for one of my employers.

It’s about someone whose image you’ll see when you look up “Awesome” in the dictionary.

Yep, I’m talking about Thomas Alva Edison.

If you don’t know much about Tommy Boy, prepare to be enlightened.

Sorry, I can never resist wordplay.

Anyway, when Edison was 30 years old, he built his dream lab.

Soon after moving in, he set a couple of goals.

Goal #1 – He would create one small invention every 10 days.

Goal #2 – He would create one big invention every 6 months.

A long-lasting light bulb and the phonograph would soon follow.

By the end of his life, Mr. Edison had 1,093 patents and…

3,500 notebooks full of thoughts and ideas.

Imagine what YOU could do if you made a couple of goals like that.

And remember –

To have a great idea, have a lot of them.

~Thomas A. Edison

PROMPT: It’s a great day to get all Edison… or write about a great inventor. Or both! Well, that’s my plan, anyway.