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+ Creative Magic

How to Have Your Most Creative Year Ever

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As the year winds down, I’m reflecting on how 2019 shaped up. The verdict? I can safely say that this was my most creative year yet.

To name a few things: I painted nearly a dozen pictures, completed an art journal, drew silly comic strips, published an article on LinkedIn, sent colorful postcards to friends and family, added new decorations to my home, rebranded my business, and wrote the majority of a novel. With that kind of momentum to end the decade, I’m excited to see what the next ten years will bring.

So what did I do differently in 2019? For one, I made my creativity a priority. My overarching goal for 2019 was to create as much as possible whenever possible. I also took several different approaches to help me create consistently. (It’s true — consistency really is key!)

Are you resolving to get creative in 2020? Here are five methods that helped me create more in 2019. I promise they’ll help you make something amazing this year and beyond.

Continue reading “How to Have Your Most Creative Year Ever” →

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+ Content Marketing

Back to School: 5 Lessons Content Marketers Can Learn from Teachers

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In 2014, I made the leap from an academic career to one in content marketing. This shift followed five years of teaching college composition courses and working as a writing tutor. After doing some freelance copywriting for an agency, I was offered a full-time, in-house position and said goodbye to academia. (For now!)

English 101 may not sound like the place to learn about content creation. Yet I realized years later that that’s precisely what I did. So much of content marketing is about educating an audience. That’s not so different from being in the classroom.

As the 2019 – 2020 academic year begins, marketers can approach their work with a “back-to-school” mentality, too. The five lessons below are what my teaching experience taught me about content marketing — and why all content marketers should think of themselves as teachers.

Read the rest on LinkedIn

 

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+ Magic

5 Tarot Spreads to Help You Ring in the New Year

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With 2018 coming to a close, it’s time to plan ahead for the next 12 months. I love to build on the lessons I’ve learned over the past year to set my yearly goals. I also like to break out one of my tarot decks and see what the cards have in store for me.

If you like to read tarot for yourself, you might be wondering what you should ask the cards about 2019. Look no further. These are five tarot spreads I love to use to help me mark major milestones and look ahead to the future. Enjoy! Continue reading “5 Tarot Spreads to Help You Ring in the New Year” →

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+ Personal

So Many Wonderful Things

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On a Thursday morning in June, I drifted in and out of sleep. The last dream I had came to me as the sun rose.

In my dream, my husband Joe and I were getting our house ready for a visitor. My grandfather would arrive at any moment.

When my grandfather pulled his car into the driveway, Joe and I went outside to greet him. My grandfather got out of the car and stood in the driveway. It was autumn outside and just a bit chilly. He wore a suit and coat; the coat was tailored, but the suit hung a bit loose on him. He looked like he’d lost a bit of weight. He was never heavy, but I never knew him to be quite as slender.

I was becoming more lucid in my dream. I stood in the driveway, seeing him as if for the first time. He had a full head of silver hair–the way it had looked when I was young. He smiled at me, eyes shining behind an old pair of glasses I can remember him having when I was young.

A sudden realization hit me. He wasn’t supposed to be there, standing in my driveway. He passed away 12 years ago. Continue reading “So Many Wonderful Things” →

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+ Magic

Norse Runes for Tarot Readers: Connecting the Cards to the Elder Futhark

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I’ve long been interested in learning Norse runes, but I didn’t begin exploring them until a few months ago.  Simply put: they seemed intimidating.

As I began to research their interpretations, the meanings reminded me of tarot cards, with which I’m more familiar. These, too, had once seemed impossible to learn. But ever since I had found ways to make personal connections with the cards, I have been able to understand them more clearly.

The tarot correspondences are my own and have helped me in my study of runes. In fact, I’ve found that they are a lot more approachable than I’d initially thought. If this system helps you, feel free to switch the cards around as you see fit. Continue reading “Norse Runes for Tarot Readers: Connecting the Cards to the Elder Futhark” →

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+ Personal

Just Out of View

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Happy new year! I intend to post short stories to my blog when the mood strikes. This is the first in a series of magical realms, strange creatures, and unsettling situations.

(All photos used in this post are my own.)

Annie was five years old when she discovered she could make objects disappear into thin air.

One late summer afternoon, Annie sat on the living room floor with her Mama. Her grandmother smiled down at her from the couch.

“Show me what you can do, Annie,” Gramma said.

Annie picked up the penny in front of her. A dark stain covered the face of the copper coin. She had found this one, like the other three she’d vanished, between the couch cushions. Annie placed the penny between her index and middle fingers and flicked her wrist.

The penny disappeared from sight. Continue reading “Just Out of View” →

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+ Words & Wands

5 Ways to Set Yearly Goals (and See Results)

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For about a decade now, I’ve set goals for myself at the beginning of each year. Ambition has no expiration date, of course, but I’ve found that yearly goals are a good timeframe if I really want to get things done.

Getting my master’s degree, following my chosen career path, learning how to read tarot, traveling to retreats on my own, vacationing in Sweden, and starting a business were all things that happened for me because I set out to accomplish them. And sure, these aren’t earth-shattering things, but we can’t learn and grow from our experiences without planting those initial seeds.

Yet in order to make things happen for myself, I’ve found that I first need to be in the right mindset. In the past, I’ve struggled with depression, had a one-time dream career fizzle, and dealt with unemployment.

Story time: I used to work as an adjunct lecturer at a couple of local colleges. Honestly, I loved working with students, but the pay was very low and the workload was heavy. As a part-time employee with no benefits or job security, I didn’t feel respected, and some semesters the work just wasn’t available.

I didn’t think there was much I could do with my degree, an M.A. in English and Creative Writing. I thought teaching was my only option–and the one I wanted most of all–even if it did mean a very unsteady paycheck.

Today, I work as a content marketer. I’ve also begun Words & Wands as a freelance writer, editor, and consultant (and for a time as a tarot reader, too). And I’m working toward publishing my own fiction writing.

What changed? I stopped trying to pursue something that no longer brought me happiness. Continue reading “5 Ways to Set Yearly Goals (and See Results)” →

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+ Words & Wands

Why the Name Words & Wands?

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You might be wondering what the phrase Words & Wands means. The name came to me on a chilly October day in the heart of the Catskills.

Continue reading “Why the Name Words & Wands?” →

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