Welcome to the first Ring Psychology, post-Aaron Hall. When Aaron suggested this column for the Stumblebum website I thought it was a great idea. Hell, the writing tips he’s given here have helped me on more than one occasion. So when he decided it was time for him to leave Stumblebum Studios I asked him if we could continue the Ring Psychology column after his departure. He graciously said yes. So here you have it, the sorta-new, not-so-different Ring Psychology!

Writing, like any other artistic or creative undertaking, is far from an exact science. We ain’t masters of the game. We don’t have a special rulebook. But we do know a thing or two about writing that’s helped us out from time to time. And here’s where we share our secret voodoo methods with you!

Everyone’s Illuminated

Have you ever heard someone say this:

“Oh, I’m not artistic. I don’t have a creative bone in my body.”

or maybe even said it yourself?

I can’t tell you how many hundreds of times I’ve heard that, from so many different people. Now, obviously I’m pretty actively creative. I do graphic design work, I write comics and short stories, I do a semi-daily comic strip and I even started this here website with my friends. But that doesn’t mean I’m any more artistic or talented than the next guy. I just found the things that I love to do and I do them as well as I can in my free time.

I’ve always been a big believer in the idea that everyone has a special or unique talent. Something that they do well, something they really love doing. I had a friend who worked at a comic store with me, years ago now, who used to tell me all the time that she wasn’t really creative or artistic. But every time she said that I had to remind her that she was wrong. At the comic store where we worked there were these glass display cases and each month she would set up these really interesting little displays inside these cases showing off various products that the store sold. Sometimes the displays were themed to certain times of the year, Halloween, Christmas, what have you. My favorite was the Jack Kirby display she made once. The point is, she did this not because she had to but because she enjoyed doing it and had a talent for it. And that made her artistic.

Everyone has this artistic quality within them, whether they consider this particular thing artistic or not. It can be anything really. From painting to cooking, from photography to a flair for home repair and remodeling, everybody has a special talent that they enjoy utilizing, either as a hobby or a full-time job. Anything, if done with a certain amount of love and passion, is an art. It’s something you feel inside, something that makes you feel proud or accomplished, even if that feeling is fleeting.

So find that certain something you love to do and explore it to your hearts content. Do it as well as you can. And the next time you hear someone say that they aren’t very artistic, make sure to remind that just how untrue that really is.