Think about it. In an office where someone tells me her favorite book is Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, a part of my creativity and sense of wonder dies. Dies a wrenching and painful death.

But by being around creative people, that part of me come back, revived and ready to write some stories in the third-person. “I do believe in creativity! I do, I do!”

So when I meet someone who has self-published a collection of his own micro-fiction, I am inspired to write down some stories of my own.

And it does not have to be emulation. It can be just inspiring to see or watch creativity in process. I recently attended a reading for a new short film by an independent DC company, Logan Circle Films. Though it will only be ten or fifteen minutes long, the performance made me think outside my usual circle of “what” and “how” questions to some “why’s.” “Are any of us really OK? And what does that even mean?” “All people love to suffer.” “You can only know the character you create as well as you know yourself.” These ideas expanded my thought process, to be sure. Check it out. The film is called The Anniversary. And they are still raising money, so click here to find out more about being involved.

So please, go find a creative person and give him or her a monkey hug.