Welcome to Pairings

16 Dreaded Adverbs , According to the Hemingway Editor Adverbs are terribly out of favor , and I frankly cannot understand why. I...

Holiday Expectations by Jann Alexander ©2013 I was so certain I’d have those cowgirl boots under the Christmas tree that year. After...

Kerouac said it best.  ©2014 Jann Alexander Want a free download of this poster that you can print and frame?  Subscribe Here . Are you...

When to Stop Art by Jann Alexander ©2014 Hemingway was notoriously negligent with his drinking, his wives and in the end, his own life,...

Having trouble getting into the studio to create? Here are a few tried-and-true tricks I’ve developed. Trot these out when you need that...

Tell a lifelong news junkie  she can’t read the morning news? Anathema. Since high school, as newspaper editor, my wakeup routine was...

Achieve a few goals with creative thinking, and you can improve your quality of life immeasurably. Here are three proven methods.

When it’s time to play my great deathbed scene on social media, it might just go something like this. Scene: hushed hospital room, sole...

Setting by Jann Alexander © 2013 Paul O’Dwyer :“What are you writing?” Pete Hamill: “Nothing Paul, I think I have some kind of block.”...

Beautiful That Afternoon  Later, I painted what I missed while reading. ©2014 Jann Alexander I was lucky to never lose my first true...

Do you recognize your creative personality from among these eight types? Road Trippin’ by Jann Alexander © 2014 The Traveling Creative :...

All of us who practice the creative arts are voyeurs.  As writers, we use our imaginative powers to conjure up insights into others’...

Room with a View by Jann Alexander © 2014 Is is not every writer’s dream to have a room with a view? A room just for writing needs not...

“My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living.” ―  Anaïs Nin Anais Nin by Elsa Dorfman , c. 1970s Though she...

Pearls Before Lobster, stunning in cursive letters , by Jann Alexander © 2014 Some themes emerged and merged this week, involving...

Verse used by permission of K. Brobeck . iPhoneography by Jann Alexander © 2014 Practice patience, listen to the birds, contemplate the...

“Detail makes the difference between boring and terrific writing. It’s the difference between a pencil sketch and a lush oil painting. As...

Flower Child on the Porch by Jann Alexander © 2008 “Clutter and mess show us that life is being lived . . . Tidiness makes me think of...

At first glance, a shelfie is a generous way to share your library of ideas instead of your silly selfie face. But at worst, shelfies...

Choices by Jann Alexander © 2014 With apologies to Robert Frost: Two canals diverged in a field, and I – I focused on the most alluring...