I’ve been trying different websites and publishing ideas for probably the last four or five years now, but I don’t think I’ve ever been as pumped about a new idea as this one.

Revive Your Creativity is more than just a platform for me to write down my ideas. It’s meant to be a connecting point for a new community.

During my time working for churches and in several conversations that I’ve had over the years, I have heard people express the idea that they are not creative enough to pull off whatever artistic vision they have. It’s as if, somehow, that person could unlock some hidden chamber in his or her heart and then be able to live out some meaningful purpose.

Creativity becomes the mystical, overly-complicated ideal that we can never attain if we do not keep regularly practicing it.

You’ve probably heard before how we’re all creative as children but we lose momentum along the way. Part of that decrease in creativity is due to societal pressures and part of it is simply due to the fact that we stop exercising that “muscle” of creativity. Falling out of the habit of creativity leaves us feeling as though we’ll never be able to re-capture that freedom again.

Revive Your Creativity will specifically focus on helping individuals learn to practice again in the field of creative writing. Whether it’s fiction writing, screenwriting, writing comics or whatever, writing is a perfectly accessible way for anyone to re-kindle creative expression.

I’ll work to bring you resources on writing and creativity, but we’ll discuss it in terms of people learning to get back into regular practice. If you need expert discussion on the exact nuances of metaphors in historical fiction, then you’ll need to go to a different site. Revive Your Creativity is more focused on helping people unlock the creativity they didn’t know they possessed.

If any of this stirs anything in your creative heart, I invite you to check out the new site about writing and creativity. I’m really pouring myself into this one, and I honestly feel that it could be immensely helpful to people.

The official launch date for the site is February 28th, 2012. I hope to see you there!

“I have a dream,” he started. “It’s one of those real trippy dreams, you know? Flying elephants and buildings crumbling and all that crazy stuff from the movie Inception.”

He inhaled another long drag from his cigarette, his hand visibly shaking. The bags under his eyes spoke of how he spent most of the previous night awake.

“But all this crazy stuff is happening — I don’t remember the specifics. They all just blur in my head. But I remember you,” he stated with enough emphasis on the word “you” to mean it as an accusation.

“You were there. You weren’t freaked out by all of the craziness. You just took it all in stride.”

He began speaking faster, his distress apparent.

“I felt like my face was melting off and my teeth were being pulled out and every bone in my body was crumbling… But you. You were fine with all of it.”

His stare told me how desperately he needed answers, but I couldn’t be too forthcoming. That wasn’t the point of this exam. Perhaps he would figure it out. Perhaps not.

If not, we’d meet again tomorrow here at this same spot where we’ve met for the past 42 days. He’ll remember he volunteered for our tests eventually… Or not…

I mostly come across these accounts as I look through my new follower list, so I’ve put together a list especially devoted to the odd accounts.

Automatic Reasons that I Won’t Follow Back on Twitter

• No Tweets – Come on, guys. You have 700 followers and no tweets in your account? Yeah, I know you can delete old tweets, but you never had a single comment in your account worth saving? Even worse, you may not have ever posted anything. #NoFollow
• Follow Me! – These are the accounts that follow 139 people and have 4 bajillion followers. (Yes, I’m getting really scientific here.) So, let’s see. You followed me… someone you’ve never met — even though you decided not to follow the 4 bajillion people already following your account. What’s the likelihood that your account will continue to follow mine a week from now? Like, 4 bajillion to one. #NoFollow
• I Didn’t Even Bother – These are the accounts that never took the trouble to change their background or change their profile pictures from the Twitter Egg. Really? #NoFollow
• No Description – This one is 50/50 for me. You don’t give yourself a bio line, but you want me to follow your account? Well, I’ll take a look at your tweets. If I can’t tell what you’re about in a glance, then I’m not interested. Don’t make perspective followers guess. #NoFollow

I think my favorite aspect of Twitter is the ability for users to really dive into their interests with people who are interested in the same things. When people just use Twitter for a marketing / spamming tool, it cheapens the whole experience.

Do you have other reasons for automatic NoFollow’s? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Social media is a weird kind of mirror. Like any mirror, it’s good to check in every once and while to see how you’re doing. (Food stuck in your teeth?) Social media is also similar to a mirror in that you can become obsessed with yourself and never see the world around you.

The app that’s rocking my world right now? Evernote.

Evernote is a note taker’s dream, and I constantly take notes throughout the day. I might just need to jot down something as simple as items to pick up at the grocery store or a significant portion of my next story or article. Whatever that note might have been in times gone by, it ended up as a scrap of paper that would go into my wallet or pocket never to be seen again. The only time those notes would see the light of day was after laundry was done, and we were picking bits of paper out of the dryer or my pockets.

Evernote is breaking my bad habit and saving trees everywhere. The most beautiful feature about Evernote is the fact that users can access it from a wide variety of devices: iPhones, Android phones, desktop apps (PC & Mac), and in web browsers. I can start a note while I am at work in the web browser version. (After all, I don’t want to download additional software on my company computer.) Later, when I get home, I can access that same note from my desktop app and add more information. When I’m out the next day or the next week, I can then quickly pull up that same info on my Android phone without missing a beat.

Much More than Text Notes

If Evernote only handled text, it would be handy but not essential. What separates Evernote is that it can easily merge audio files, images, URLs and more into users’ notetaking. For example, an Evernote user can be driving down the road and suddenly remember a vital piece of information. Rather than having to pull out a notepad or type on a phone keypad, the driver can record an audio message with the phone and save that audio to Evernote. By tagging the note and saving it to the appropriate “Notebook,” users can stay organized on the go.

I have to confess that I still catch myself jotting ideas on paper — there is just something about the physical process of writing that holds an allure. In the past, this “old school” approach only doubled my efforts. If I really wanted to keep that exact data, then I had to bring it home and transcribe it into a Word document. Now, if I want to keep the note, I can take a picture of the page and still have all of the relevant data. Evernote even allows for plugins / add-ons that extend the functionality. Theoretically, I could create a PDF of my notes and have searchable text that could be copied and pasted to another application. The only problem is that my handwriting is far too messy for any OCR device to match up the text properly.

Endless Possibilities

Evernote has created an effective marketing tool with their blog. While the company offers several tips on how to optimize the user experience, Evernote also focuses on innovative ways that users are already applying the program. From expense reports to diet plans, the program is obviously able to adapt to the needs of customers.

I can say that it has already made a big difference in my day-to-day routine, and I can’t wait to try out some of the ideas from the Evernote blog.

Evernote has a free plan that currently allows users 60MB of data to be transferred, which is more than one might think. I was concerned that I would quickly blow by that usage number, but I’ve yet to cross the line into premium plan land. I have no doubt that I will end up getting the very affordable plan as I become more dependent on the service.

Check out the service at Evernote.com. If you switch between information and communication devices throughout the day, you’ll quickly realize the value of having your data centralized and easily accessible.

Image Used under Creative Commons. Thanks to Acumen Fund.

So what do you do about that?

Of course, there are tons of marketing ideas that we could bandy about here, but my focus in this article is to simply say this: write about your passions.

Even if only a few people would ever read your material, would you still be interested in writing it?

I was recently listening to an interview with a comic book writer on iFanboy, and it reminded me how much I love hearing about / reading about artists’ processes. I feel like I always learn something after every interview by peering into the minds of creators I respect.

On Atypical Tales, we’ve done quite a few interviews with indie creators, and I’ve loved connecting with these directors and producers to hear how their minds work. But I’ve also wondered if readers were as interested in the discussions as I am. Will people flock to these articles and grow the site’s traffic numbers?

While I was listening to the iFanboy interview, I came to a realization. I don’t care about the numbers in this matter. I am inspired by talking with other artists, and I hope my discussions with these creators will give them a boost in audiences’ interest in their projects.

And before I go, here is another interview that recently inspired me — this time with The Boss: Bruce Springsteen. Read the interview, and then be sure to check out Springsteen’s amazing work on the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Voyaga – “Identity”

Voyaga is the only tale which has carried through the anthology so far, and I get more intrigued by the storyline with each issue. This time around, the audience is largely treated to details that help bring the stories together into a cohesive whole. I, for one, love these times when we get to catch up with how the story works.

Ionic continues to kill on art duties, and this chapter ends with a big cliffhanger. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Kidthulu in “Fetch”

Fetch is just pure fun. See, the lead character is just like every other boy… except for the fact that he is a chthulu. So what if he’ll grow up to become a menacing monster. For now, he’s just a bored kid playing with his alien dog.

With plenty of nods to geek culture and loads of monster cuteness, Kidhulu’s short tale is a blast. I look forward to future tales from writer Martin Brandt and artist Jason Stephens.

Western Addition

The final story is a Western featuring a cowboy on the run. In these few pages, readers get all the staples of a good Western tale: horses, a shootout, and a little house on the prairie.

The story looks great (Where does Barrows find all these artists?!) and moves at a brisk pace. Readers catch a few details about the character based on the choices he makes, as there are few lines of dialogue in the story.

My only trouble with this little tale is that the lead character did not seem all that unique based on this story alone. I see he’s heroic and that he shoots well, but I don’t know how he’s supposed to be any different from other Western heroes.

Knowing writer Brandon Barrows’ previous work leads me to believe there are some unique traits to this hero; I just don’t know them yet.

Reasonably Priced Comics #3 delivers once again. I give this issue 4 of 5 stars.

For more info and to purchase books, please visit www.ReasonablyPricedComics.com/.

Vacation is one of those great opportunities to reflect on life and the processes that keep us so busy. One of those processes includes this blog, which I’ve always kept around as a great way to test new ideas. Now that I have entered the new land of smart phones, I am going to start focusing on shorter posts written on my phone on the go.

With all of my other online writing, I end up pushing this blog off because I feel like I have to have just the right strategy for content. When that happens, I end up not saying a lot that may (or may not) be worth sharing. Time will tell, I suppose.

In any case, I look forward to sharing ramblings about social media, comic books, life in New Orleans, Android apps, and anything else that may catch my interest.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and always feel free to share your thoughts.

- written from Destin, FL