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Unlocking Creativity Amid Trauma: Finding Inspiration on Your Hardest Days
By Kami Pehrson – “When life throws you in the mud, [you can choose to] plant yourself and grow.” – Dr. Christina Hibbert
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Healthy Habits for Creatives
Just as chapters are written one word, one sentence, and one paragraph at a time, your best self is created one healthy choice at a time.
Tomorrow I Will Write a Book
By Mariah K. Porter – When you make your art a priority in every sense, you will find yourself able to stop procrastinating and become more productive.
How “Save the Cat” Can Save Your Story – Part One
By Ali Cross – The Save the Cat method makes the novel-writing process like a road trip with rest stops along the way.
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Combining Art and Writing
By Cathy Witbeck – While art can enhance the way we look at the world, writing helps us process words and ideas.
Keeping Your Creative Spirit Alive
By Laramie Dunn – It’s important to carve out time for music, art, and literature, as creativity enriches not only Mom, but her family as well.
Passion and Persistence: Nurturing Creativity through Contemplation, Focus, and Endurance
By Joseph A. Browning – While the best artists appreciate steady hands, God works best with quiet minds.
Representing the Savior on Stage
By Tristi Pinkston – A play that reverently features the words of the Savior can be a testimony-building experience—if we take care to depict the Savior appropriately and well.
Using YouTube and Social Media to Inspire and Help Others Grow Spiritually
By Aspen Bailey – God magnifies efforts and the Spirit always testifies of truth in any form. Living a life patterned after the Savior’s example is testament enough for the world to notice.
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Creating Hymns from Scriptures
By Michael D. Young – Well-crafted songs have the power to inspire and change lives, and there is no better foundation for these songs than the scriptures.
Tips for the Creative Parent
By Tristi Pinkston – The Lord will bless your sincere desires to serve Him both as a parent and as a light to others by means of your art.
Channeling Your Inner Voice
By LDSPMA – Readers, agents, and publishers all want the same thing—a book they connect to and can’t put down. And most often, that means a book with voice.
God Prepares a Way: 5 Lessons from a BYU Student’s Opera about 1 Nephi
By Jeremy Madsen – The miraculous story of the making of “He Shall Prepare a Way” teaches us 5 lessons about launching creative projects in the Lord’s way.
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Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ Through Music
By Kami Pehrson – Music is a powerful way to share the gospel of Jesus Christ through articulating belief and inspiring learning and faith. Moreover, music allows Church members to worship in a manner that is customized to every individual.
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Religious Freedom: The Cornerstone of a Creative’s Work
By Shaun Stahle – Faith-filled content is the antidote to preserving faith, family, and country from dissonant voices bent on destabilizing and destroying…Perhaps more than any other industry, Latter-day media professionals are equipped with the gift and tools to educate the masses.
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How LDSPMA Changed My Life—- and Can Change Yours
By Tyler Brian Nelson – In two short days at the 2019 LDSPMA Conference, I went from feeling like writing could be a hobby . . . to something that I could actually make into a career.
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Portrait of a Painter: The Journey of Latter-day Saint Artist Dan Wilson
By Howard Collett – “God is in the very details of our work. That doesn’t just apply to Christian artists working on temple paintings, but it applies to anyone in any career. God can answer specific questions to help us be better providers, better employees, better employers, better husbands or wives, or wherever we need help.” – Artist, Dan Wilson
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Inspiration & Service in the Creative Process
By Steve Dunn Hanson – Mastering technique is not the same as creating something meaningful or life-changing. If our desire is to do that…our relationship with the Savior is key.
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The Power of Asking ‘Why?’: Improving the depth and credibility of your writing
By Howard Collette – Asking questions while researching your book (or preparing for a presentation, podcast, interview, etc.) will add depth and understanding to your work.
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Called to Create: Interview with New Host Connie Sokol
By Rachelle Christensen – Called To Create is part devotional, part scripture, part life experience, part kitchen table chat. You’re getting all the things in one podcast.
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Sometimes Things Do Work Out
By Steve Dunn Hanson – We can choose how any situation or circumstance we find ourselves in will ultimately affect us. We can literally shape the results of all our experiences.
Presenting Moral Themes for a Secular Audience
By Emma Heggem – When our moral beliefs work their way into our stories, how do we avoid coming across as “preachy” or “simplistic”? By handling these themes with honesty and complexity.
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Why Fiction Is as Precious to God as Nonfiction
By Nicole Bay – When I began writing fiction, I wondered if my creative time would be better spent researching family histories or writing religious nonfiction. I thought about it, worried about it, and prayed about it. My prayers were answered in several ways over the course of a few years.
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The Other Christmas Miracle
By Robert Starling – Whatever caused it to happen, and however widespread it was, the “night without darkness” came at the precise time prophesied by Samuel. This “other Christmas miracle” physically saved the lives of believing Nephites on that holy night so long ago, just as we are saved by trusting in Christ in our crazy world today.
Why We Should See Goals as the Means, Not the End
By Jeremy Madsen – The value of goals is not so much in achieving them, but in how the process of setting and striving for goals alters our behavior.
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The Lady and the Map of Sorrow: How Stories can Offer Direction in Dark Times
By Bridgette Tuckfield – Truths (and the stories they’re embedded in) can be maps through darkness and despair. This is the case whether they are an ultimate truth such as Elder Palmer spoke of, or a small one like in Howl’s Moving Castle.
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I Can’t Even Get a Job at McDonald’s: Overcoming Impossibilities in Life and Writing
By Steve Dunn Hanson – Mentors in our life can inspire us to overcome all kinds of difficulties in writing and in life. One of my mentors reminded me that there are two kinds of choices a successful person makes: the right ones and the ones they make right. I saw this statement exemplified courageously by one of my dear friends.
Faith and Fear are Two Sides of the Same Coin: 3 Steps to Creating in Faith
By Lauri Mackey – Both faith and fear are a belief in something unseen and yet to be experienced; why do we sometimes give fear more power than our faith? Your gifts and talents in your chosen field are needed. My hope is that you can find some motivation in these words and plan right now to take that action step that will create your own motivation, and then momentum in giving faith all of the glory and power it deserves and kicking fear to the curb.
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Humbly, I Market: 5 Reminders of the Power of Humility in Creating
By Emma Heggem – If you want people to actually discover the existence of your work and pay attention, you will have to get involved in some level of marketing. By realistically representing your talents, accepting negative feedback, and treating competitors, coworkers, and potential customers with kindness, you can share your talents with the world and still remain a faithful, humble servant of our Lord.
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Cussing & Creating: 3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t (& Should!) Use Profanities in Your Writing
By Lizzy Pingry – Writers must evaluate the way they express themselves: how does our use of language and its profanities build or destroy our stories?
5 Reasons You Should Read “Done!” by Don Aslett
By Jeremy Madsen – If you want to reach more of your goals, win the fight against your endless to-do lists, and make a greater impact on the world—I highly recommend Don Aslett’s book “Done!”
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Lessons in Spaghetti Sauce, Horseradish, and Peace: What Creators Can Do to Lift the World
By Tyler Nelson – Whether it is in print, film, audio, or any other medium, we can spread the message of Christ. As you prepare your next piece, compose, or speak, remember we can help lift that darkness by delivering messages of light.
Questions Every Writer Should Ask Themselves
By Steve Dunn Hanson – How we answer the “Why” and “Where” questions will affect the content, quality, and impact of our creativity. But those responses beg another question: is our writing congruous with who we really want to be eternally?
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7 Reasons Why You Should Try New Things
By Brittany Passmore – If you think [new] activities might distract you from whatever creative profession you’ve chosen, let me suggest that they’ll actually make you a better creator than a worse one. New experiences can be incredibly important for your professional and personal development, even if they have nothing to do with your creative work!
Seeking and Creating Praiseworthy Works
By Ted Finch – It’s time for you to discover how the Lord wants you to make your voice heard. It may be in the walls of your home, to your extended family, to your community, or to the world. You might share your praiseworthy stories, ideas, music, or other unique opinions from your perspective. Now is the time to share.
7 Character Traits of Creative People
By Trina Boice – Have you ever wondered what drives creative people? What makes them different? Hanging out with other LDSPMA members energizes me, inspires me, and encourages me to tap into my own creativity more! You can develop your own innate creativity by incorporating the following seven traits into your daily life.
The Arts as a Superpower
By Shaun Stahle – Those who tell stories help society get to know each other. Words and images and sounds are our superpower. The more we use our powers to tell the plight of another, the more we defuse the ugly and demeaning and debase that confronts us.
The Entrepreneur Mindset
By Mariah K. Porter – Creating and revising a product is only half the battle as an entrepreneur. The other half is marketing. In order to truly treat your business the way it deserves to be treated, you have to put in the work to get eyes on it.
Common Roadblocks to Getting into Creative Flow
By Trina Boice – You know the feeling. There’s a deadline looming, and your mind has gone completely blank. Here are some common roadblocks to getting into creative flow and how to move past them and get on with the job.
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4 Lessons I Learned from the BYU Folk Dance Ensemble
By Laura Arnold – Dance can change the way we see the world. As we learn about other cultures, dance teaches us to share joy and light with all of God’s children.
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Acting with Juice Boxes: Exploring Indian Breathing Techniques
By Brittany Passmore – I certainly don’t consider myself a professional actress by any means, but I cherish the memories I have from participating in school and community productions. Because we have so many talented and aspiring actors and actresses in our membership, I wanted to talk about a breathing technique I learned from my high school theatre teacher about rasa boxes.
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So You Want to Be an Artist? Here are 3 Secrets You Need to Know.
By Anna King – In this post, I’m going to let you in on the three most important secrets to being an artist.
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Merry CHRISTmas!
We want to thank you for making LDSPMA a part of your busy life by being a member and sharing your creative talents with others. This year has been a pretty crazy one, so the light you shine in the dark world has been especially important. We’re constantly amazed by all of the things you’re doing to make the world…
Trusting Your Teenage Writer: Three Tips to Avoid Overwriting
By LoriAnne Spear – Many of us novice writers overwrite in our insecure attempt to sound like a real writer. We use flowery language or big words so the reader will believe we’re legit. Instead, we produce overwrought writing and get in our own way.
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A Word for the Year
By Michelle McCullough – When I first started using a word of the year as part of my new-year planning, I will admit it was foreign to me. As a hard-core, goal-setting lass, I didn’t understand just having one word. I have learned over the years that it’s not an either-or option. You can have a word of the year and goals—and after starting this practice seven years ago, I have come to find that I really like having both.
A Single-Word Vision
By Lessa Harding – “Choose a single-word vision.” This idea, introduced to me in an LDSPMA workshop by Michelle McCullough, is simple enough that I don’t feel overwhelmed and profound enough to change the way I think about “becoming.”
Advice from the Experts: Josi S. Kilpack (Author, Wife, Mother)
By LDSPMA – Some of my favorite things I discovered about Josi during our interview are her love for watching the same movies over and over again, the way she is constantly challenging herself to be better writer, and her determination to use failures as an opportunity to learn how to succeed. I hope some of the things Josi shares will not only help you learn to succeed but be a miracle in your life.
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Mentoring Is a Relationship
By Barry Rellaford – Mentoring is more than an activity; it’s a relationship. While the focus is on the performer’s development, mentoring brings benefits to the mentor as well. The dividends of mentoring relationships are much the same as in other high-trust relationships: increased confidence, improved results, greater positive energy, and true joy.
Advice from the Experts: Liz Adair (Wife, Mother, Mentor, Author)
By Lessa Harding – The first time I met Liz, I experienced what other aspiring authors experience when they’re lucky enough to meet Liz: the overwhelming feeling that I could do anything I wanted to do….As you read the following insights she shared for this article, I hope some of the encouragement and confidence Liz exudes will leap off the paper and help you walk your own path.
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Advice from the Experts: Steve Piersanti (Former Publishing CEO, Founder of LDSPMA, Acquisitions Editor)
By Lessa Harding – The best thing about [Steve] is that unlike the senior in my advisory class, Steve is approachable, is kind, gives encouragement, offers praise when it’s due, and is willing to help others who want to follow in his footsteps.