When you’re in a creative pinch there are different ways of finding your flow again, different brainstorming tools that will hopefully unclog your mental drain and let your art run smoothly out of you. And we wanted to look at one of those methods on this episode. It’s called a mind map, and what you do is start off with a general topic, word, or idea. From there you let your mind jump from that topic to something else that word or idea made you think of and you kind of continue with this free association training until your creativity is up and running again. Listen along to hear what stories our mind map takes us to on this episode of The Apple Seed.

The Gypsy Wagon by Dan Keding (2:00)

Dan recalls his childhood and how the gypsies would roll into their immigrant chicago neighborhood with unique things to sell and a horse drawn wagon. Learn more about Dan Keding by visiting: www.dankeding.com

Maruska and the Twelve Months by Beatrice Bowles (7:36)

Maruska's wicked stepmother and stepsister keep asking her to fulfill ridiculous requests but she manages to carry them through with help of the Twelve Months she meets high in the mountains. Learn more about Beatrice Bowles by visiting: www.beatricebowles.com

The Old Apple Tree by Diane Edgecomb (20:27)

The Apple Tree is a fixture in the neighborhood but as it gets older it struggles to produce the same amount of fruit it used to so the tree waits for someone to properly enjoy the few apples it has left. Learn more about Diane Edgecomb by visiting: livingmyth.com

Jimmy and the Seed by Susan Reed (32:31)

Jimmy has a seed that he refuses to plant but people in his life encourage him to plant it because they know it will yield more good than if he lets the seed just sit in his pocket. This story also includes an accompanying song entitled "Seed". Learn more about Susan Reed by visiting: www.susanreed.com

Jack and the Christmas Tree by Mark Binder (41:12)

The tale of Jack and the Beanstalk with a little holiday spin. Learn more about Mark Binder by visiting: markbinder.com