by Gay Walley

   This article was originally published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

I am amazed at how much raw talent there is out there and struck by the diversity and number of people who take up writing books.

Maybe it’s because of the hundreds of thousands of blogs or maybe, it’s the reason for all the blogs.  I don’t really know.  What is apparent is the number of people who want to write.

One such person, a Wall Street risk manager who has never written before creates a Lehman Brothers-type melt down and draws incredible characters who manage and ruin his fictional bank. He knew he wanted to write, but wasn’t sure how to begin. Less than six months later, he has completed a first draft of a driving yarn, full of regulators, hedge fund managers and bank personnel who stay with you and keep you at the edge of your seat. Such latent creativity that somehow he knew was inside him, waiting to come out.

Another amazing new writer is a school principal who always had a ken for short stories. She only can devote weekends but her stories grow more and more fluid and she writes of every day people and their quiet challenges. A record company executive wants to write stories about the music business and the constant creativity she sees about her. An out of work computer programmer writes a hair-raising long novel about the mafia and father-son relationships. He struggles with how to write women, but his mafia scenes are so well drawn that it makes you wonder (a little) about his background.  

Creativity is in all of us, all you have to be is willing to go through the struggle of learning and failing, and then the surprise of achieving and succeeding.

Maybe this is an unexpected – but exhilarating – part of technology and social media; the desire by so many people to communicate through writing.  Most social scientists have declared that man is a social animal and that perhaps the technology has helped stimulate this innate desire.  What is certain, however, beyond all contentions is the enormous and rapidly increasing volume of writing – in all forms - that is now being created by an ever- widening population.

I don’t know if any of these people will get book contracts – or even if that is their intent. But what I do know is that these people love creating their books, as others love the challenge and excitement of learning a new language, or learning how to play an instrument and that within each of us resides endless stories and delight in the telling of them – if we permit it.

Gay Walley is a marketing writer, novel writer and writing coach living in New York City. She helps her students live their dream of memoirs and novels. You can find her on www.gaywalley.com and www.nycwritingcoach.com .

by Gay Walley

   This article was originally published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

That’s just one of the aphorisms written on decals, t-shirts, cards and on street art that James De La Vega has been creating since 1993 to give inspiration and hope to people who just happen to be walking by. James de la Vega is an artist who lives and works in New York City’s Spanish Harlem, but has a busy store on St Mark’s Place in the East Village. You can find him sometimes sitting outside his store, smoking his cigar, greeting all the returning professors, businessmen, artists and young people who come to enjoy his positive and philosophic messages, to the sound of Latino music which he says is also part of his message.

De la Vega is known primarily for his murals and the chalk drawing he creates on public surfaces such as sidewalks.  His street drawings, almost always chalk, are usually accompanied by quick witty messages such as “Believe in yourself and stop trying to convince others.” 

De la Vega is a Cornell University-educated former teacher, who studied philosophy.
His whole aegis is to give voice to what people think, and to their inner dreams.

Do people need him more in this economy? “The economy has nothing to do with my work,” he says. “This message is very important all the time. I try and jolt people into becoming actively involved in creating their own destiny and not sitting around letting the day unfold.  I promote action, not idea planning.” Still, these days, it’s heartening to see one cleverly designed graphic, “The pressure of survival in the big city will make you lose sight of your dream…hang in there.” His humorous drawings or writings with inventive type faces all carry the message that people can work for themselves, and not put their faith in other people or the government.

It’s pretty rare that an artist can carry his own store and do well. De la Vega explains it, “People are starved, underdeveloped, wanting to nurture their creativity which is the most important thing for society. Art is supposed to make people believe they can win even when they don’t feel they can. Every philosophical system teaches to look at the goodness, to explore, develop, find a way out of negativity. Nothing grows out of negativity. I’ll even promote chaos if it will bring out the positive.”

You’d think that his short sayings would be ready-made for text messaging, the internet. But de la Vega says no. “Technology bores me. It’s a cold medium. I promote letter writing, doing what’s necessary”.  That said, his creativity is all about distilling the message to communicate a powerful idea. “In a world with too many mediums available to people, you simplify.”

So if you want a quick refreshment rush to your psyche, just peruse his artwork on cards or decals: “Attached at the heart”, Why does the Feeling of Emptiness Occupy so much Space? “Fate is moving you toward your destiny”.  Here’s a man who’s living his destiny. And wants to teach us: it’s possible.

Gay Walley is a marketing writer, novel writer and writing coach living in New York City. She helps her students live their dream of memoirs and novels. You can find her on www.gaywalley.com or www.nycwritingcoach.com .