Author: Andrew Zahn

I'm a son, husband, dad, business owner, actor and good sleeper/eater. On this blog, I pave a highway for creative growth by providing food, water, and shelter for those wishing to live, work, and play with creative zest.

Brownie for Life

[box options]This is a guest post by an amazing writer, actress… and wife! The fantastic Sarah Zahn is an avid learner and Mindy Kaling fan.  She likes coffee, fun writing games, and bags of Doritos.  She’s also the founder of Sugared Beauty, LLC, a line of skincare made with organic ingredients.  Follow her adventures here: @SugaredBeauty.[/box]

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t enjoy learning.  Like being from a small town in the Midwest, learning stuff and getting good grades just seemed like my lot in life.  This didn’t exactly grant me a lot of friends in school. In 7th grade I remember a kid in my class introducing me to the cute new boy as a brownie.  I’m ashamed to admit I thought it was a compliment.

As a result of this and other name-calling incidents, some of the first interpersonal relationship lessons I heard from my mom was that I should “get a sense of humor” and “bury the hatchet.”

I am still figuring out how to do this.

It’s not that I was any smarter than anyone else, I just got a kick out of learning things.  Throughout grade school I would toe the line between first and almost-first in class…until I hit puberty. Continue reading “Brownie for Life”

How to Write Worthless Content

Writing worthless content is all the rage. Here’s some tips!

1. Your opening sentence must elicit boredom.

You might try a sentence like this:

“This blog post is about the time I found a rock in my shoe.”

Or… Continue reading “How to Write Worthless Content”

Social Media for Artists Who Hate Social Media

You’d rather be writing, painting, performing, singing, acting, dancing, sculpting, crafting…

Be honest, tell us that social media is getting in the way of your creative flow? It is, isn’t it?

You’re not alone.

If you’re an artist dabbling in the world of social media you may quickly grow overwhelmed with all the platforms, coding, plugins, rules, etiquette, tips… the list could go on, but we’re trying to avoid that overwhelmed feeling right? So I’ll stop there. Continue reading “Social Media for Artists Who Hate Social Media”

You’re An Actor: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

You’re an actor.

Why?

You want to be liked. You want to be special, chosen, influential.

You want to make people feel something.

That’s what actors do: transfer feelings.

[box options]We numb ourselves with food, entertainment, and sometimes even other people. We want to feel again.[/box]

If you create, your art takes on a character and that character is a vehicle to carry your thoughts, ideals, and feelings to whomever engages with your creation. Yep, you’re an actor. Continue reading “You’re An Actor: The Good, Bad, and Ugly”

You Need To Celebrate

[box options]I was asked to answer the question “What do I need to celebrate?” for The Celebration Series blog crawl project put together by Annika Martins. I’m one of 10 writers Annika asked to blog about making space in our lives for celebrating. See what the other bloggers has to say and get info on how you can join in at The Celebration Series.[/box]

[RFEE3 ELSHAN ♥♥♥♥♥♥ ]
Photo Credit: A♥ via Compfight

What do you see when you think of the word ‘celebrate’?

Balloons and colors, cakes and candies, elaborate decorations planned out to the hilt?

Anniversaries. Birthdays. Christmas. Thanksgiving.

Maybe you even see a Seinfeld classic: a good old fashioned “Festivus for the rest of us?” Continue reading “You Need To Celebrate”

Discover Building a Life Out of Words

I live in Amish country: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

When you visit you’ll find:

  • Horse and buggy combos are commonplace, even at Wal-Mart.
  • Hard workers and neatly kept lawns.
  • Tourist attractions.
  • Shawn Smucker.

I’ve yet to meet Smucker in person, but after reading his new book Building a Life Out of Words, we’ve shared coffee, swapped writing ideas and engaged in a refreshing heart to heart. Continue reading “Discover Building a Life Out of Words”