I’m Marie Well, as in healthy well. At least, that’s my aim—to get well and make you well. We all have woes, from breakups to cancer to hoarder houses. I’m here to fix those woes—with tips mixed with my own tales.
Why read me? I’ve got a track record of fixin’ stuff. I’ve cured myself of anxiety. For a decade, I had anxiety attacks that struck almost daily. When not stricken, I’d write Voice articles, mostly on how to combat stress.
And then my world changed. One week went by with no attacks. A month. A year. Two years. And counting.
Now, I want to skyrocket our health—and bolster our creativity. After all, nothing soothes better than strokes of paint or tones of music or reps in a gym.
So, let’s get fit, creative, and well with Marie Well.
You’re about to star in a movie. In this movie, we stare at your scars. We quiver at your night terrors. We shudder at your darkest secrets. Yet, we want you to win big. That’s because, when You’re the star, we feel your pulse, your thrills, your fears. The movie is an autobiography about your… Read more »
At one point, you wanted fame, didn’t you? At some point, we all did. Well, would you play the role of the Kellogg’s mom? The Nyquil snoring dad? Personally, I’d cast well as Danica Patrick on steroids. But Go Daddy dropped her once she hulked. And, as a child, I fumed during Barbie commercials. I… Read more »
Can you bake a cake or build Lego houses? Of course, you can. Now, let’s up the stakes: a chiffon cake; a Trump tower. You’re going to build them?essay style. That is, Natalie Portman-at-Harvard style. First, we’ll put some passion into your essay outlines. Like fun with custom stonework or lifelike teddy-bear cake molds. You… Read more »
Do you ever go trance-like while studying? Such crazy states are called flow. And I want you to feel flow?with music with no sound: musical essays. To make a musical essay, mix together metaphors, rhythm, and meter. But first, listen for the symphony in Brian Greene’s Elegant Universe?hear where “microscopic particles engag[e] in a pointless… Read more »
Do you go crazy when drafting papers? Worse yet, does zilch about your essay’s structure stand-out as special? All my life, my intros and conclusions fizzled. And my paper structures? Complex yet homely. Downright homely. That is, until now. You see, I discovered tricks for structuring essays. Tricks that trigger critical thinking. But beware: critical… Read more »
Do you get spooked with public speaking? Then add color with comedy. Why? A smiling audience fends off fear. Given 24 hours, you can make a one-minute comedy act, according to David Nihill in his book Do You Talk Funny? That one minute can slingshot you into public-speaker stardom. And what other prizes come with… Read more »
Would you wear a shirt that said, “I Eat Kraft”? I wouldn’t, but I would audition for a No-Name commercial. Even more disturbing, I tapped into a book called How to Audition for TV Commercials by W. L. Jenkins to give you, yes, study ideas. You see, the mission of The Creative Spark! is to… Read more »
A lotto-winner who tosses her winnings into the trash and covers it with dog scats? What if that was you? You might not know how that person feels, but you’ve felt burdened before, haven’t you? We all have. When writing stories, your own feelings and experiences can breathe life into characters you normally wouldn’t understand…. Read more »
Does group-work make you book a brain scan? Well, make a group comedy sketch instead. Joe Topylin and I will show the way. Why waste your time on comedy? First, It’s fun. Second, It’s fun. And if fun isn’t enough, then how about a snickering prof? One teetering to plus-sign your A? So, instead of… Read more »
It’s time students wrote intros that entertained. Not just a quote, an anecdote, or a shocking stat of an A performance by Bieber. If you open a speech like that, don’t act the ham. No-one may laugh. (Cough.) Instead, sport a straight-face. Or better yet, learn 101 Ways to Open a Speech by Brad Philips…. Read more »