• The Next Tool Won’t Fix It: Why More Gear Doesn’t Make Better Creative Work

    There’s a moment that we all, as creative people know: we’re stuck, and we start to think the problem is the gear I have. But the creative tools you already have are almost certainly enough. So why do we want more? Why do we think the creative fix is in the new shiny?

    Read more…

  • The Habits That Quietly Kill Creative Output (And What to Replace Them With)

    The Habits That Quietly Kill Creative Output (And What to Replace Them With) Here are several creativity killers with advice on how to stop them and creative habits to replace them.

    Read more…

  • Is Your Creative Idea Worth Finishing? Here’s How to Decide

    How to Tell If a Creative Idea Is Worth Finishing (And When to Let It Go). Is that song, this painting, my story about an AI enhanced goldfish worth finishing? Here’s how to decide if your art, song or writing is worth continuing. The rhyme and reasoning behind deciding what creative projects to finish.

    Read more…

  • What Years of Creating Taught Me About Discipline

    Discipline and willpower are not the super powers of successful creatives. it’s about crafting effective systems that naturally guide behaviour. Learn how these creative frameworks can help you achieve more without the constant struggle.

    Read more…

  • Why Creative Constraints Make You More Productive (and More Creative)

    Creative projects with the most freedom are often the hardest to finish, or even start. The ones with tight constraints tend to move faster. And sometimes come out better. Three simple rules for creative freedom

    Read more…

  • Why Imperfect Creative Work Builds Confidence Faster

    Sharing your imperfect creative work and art projects builds confidence faster than waiting. Whatever response you get will teach you something. We don’t just learn by doing, we also learn by sharing our art.

    Read more…

  • My current journal set-up

    My current journal set-up

    my current journal set-up 2025 text over desk with journals

    Hello worlds! As we kick off the New Year of 2025, I thought it would be fun to share my journal collection with you all. I’ve got my brand-new daily planner, music and fiction journals, and a bunch of vocab books. This week’s vlog shares my current journal set-up. What are your favourite journals?


    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

  • Odyssey my word of the year 2025

    Odyssey my word of the year 2025

    An image of the word Odyssey and the text 2025 on a black background

    My word for 2025 is Odyssey. It is a guiding word, something to meditate on during the dismal grey days of February, or the oppressive heat of June. I believe this provides the perfect balance between a dedicated journey with purpose alongside the very real distractions of living and being.

    Odyssey
    noun
    a long and eventful or adventurous journey or experience:
    journey, voyage, trek, travels, quest, crusade, pilgrimage, wandering, journeying;

    It doesn’t limit itself to the self-development or spiritual growth of a pilgrimage but can encompass it. It is a me sort of word, with multiple meanings and aspects around a theme.

    Of course, one can’t truly think of the word “odyssey” without a brief mention of Homer’s renowned classic. I find the Wikipedia entry on the poem’s themes particularly insightful.

    > Crucial themes in the poem include the ideas of nostos (νόστος; ‘return’), wandering, xenia (ξενία; ‘guest-friendship’), testing, and omen

    Or, a journey to a place, without a set course, with friends, family and others, a journey that will test my skills and abilities, and provide moments of spiritual contemplation and revelation.

    On a more practical note, this odyssey will involve music making, digital and traditional art, multimedia, lots of learning and looking after my physical health.

    I’ll share more as the year passes. I have been working on 25 goals/habits for 2025. The first and primary one is to vlog/blog each week, so I’ll have plenty of opportunities to let you know how things are going.

    In the meantime, I have to do some preparation work for January. I still can’t believe we’ve spent another year in orbit around our star. I hope and pray that it was a good one for you, and may 2025 bring blessings to you all.


    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

  • Perfectionism destroys creativity

    Perfectionism destroys creativity

    Perfectionism destroys creativity text with a picture of me in an art studio

    Hello worlds! I found myself thinking about how it is perfectionism created by myself, which, ironically, destroys my creativity. This week’s vlog examines how I must embrace the unknown and let creativity flow.


    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

  • Rewilding my Imagination and Creativity

    Rewilding my Imagination and Creativity

    Rewilding my imagination and creativity text with an image of darrenrhill in front of a wild jungle

    Hello worlds! I have found myself in a creative rut, my creativity has become automated and feels unnatural. This week’s vlog is all about beginning to rewild my imagination and creativity.


    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

  • We’re not actors music video

    We’re not actors music video

    We're not actors music video screen shot. Black and white me on a TV screen in a derelict room.

    Hello worlds! I made a video for my song “We’re not Actors” from the album “The Same Old Fear”. You can listen to the music on all streaming platforms. If you like it give it a thumbs up and subscribe and add to playlists etc.

    Lyrics:

    We stumble together, so sure yet insecure
    We’re diamonds from dust, the pressure’s mounting, these steps the cure
    I’ll quote Murakami, something from Kafka on the Shore, 
    It’s just a diversion because I know there’s something more
    But the light is too bright, I shake I’m under the spotlight

    We’re not actors
    We’re not film stars
    We’re not filters
    Image captures

    We dance without routine, these steps ancient and worn
    A ballet of passion, the step’s quickening, new rhythm born
    You whisper the lyrics in this new context they’re alive 
    We feel beyond meaning for this act was divined
    The light shining bright, we shake, and dance in the spotlight

    We’re not actors
    We’re not film stars
    We’re not filters
    Image captures

    We’re not actors
    We’re not film stars
    We’re not filters
    Image captured

    We’re not avatars
    We’re not film stars
    We’re not filtered
    Just distractions


    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

  • Change your mind to be truly creative

    Change your mind to be truly creative

    Change your mind to be truly creative text with an image of me in a TV

    Hello worlds! This week’s vlog looks at how we may need to change our minds or opinions to get truly creative. And it all starts with the question, when was the last time you changed your mind?

    Links mentioned:

    https://www.ground.news

    https://obliquestrategies.ca

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblique_Strategie


    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest