I’m on Bigger Life Radio! I talked with Michael Pollock, host of Bigger Life Radio, about writing resistance and how to overcome it, the brain, expectations vs. commitments and targets, the Saboteur, and other cool stuff I think you’ll enjoy.
Please listen to the podcast. (While you’re there, you might want to check out the link to Michael’s suggestions on how to overcome writer’s block.) After you listen to the podcast, if you’re willing, I’d really appreciate your feedback on two things: Did Michael and I mention anything you’d like to see discussed in more detail in a future blog post? Did I sound okay?
I know that second question looks a little childish, but it really is the essence of what every writer wants to know when we ask for feedback. (Feel free to make and share copies of this article about how to give and receive feedback with anyone you ask to give you feedback on your writing.)
You see, I was far more nervous about and resistant to listening to the podcast after Michael posted it on his website than I was to creating it. Michael was a great host who asked generous questions and I had fun chatting with him. But I feared that listening to us chat and hearing all my mistakes would be painful.
I’m pretty sure I’m about average in the amount of times I said “um”, but of course my Saboteur wants to exaggerate both the frequency and awfulness of this. As the podcast continued, I either got more comfortable talking with Michael and stopped saying “um” or got more comfortable listening to myself talking with Michael and stopped noticing the “um”s.
I’ll do more radio interviews to promote Around the Writer’s Block, so I’ll listen to this podcast again to discern what I need to improve (for instance, keep the pronunciation of ‘acetylcholine’ fresh in my mind so I don’t have to dance around not specially naming this neurotransmitter). I welcome your observations because they’ll help me develop that discernment. And like all writers, I’ll welcome your observations even more if they include a few words of appreciation (what the article on feedback calls “Level 1”). Mostly I hope you enjoy and benefit from the interview.
Thanks!
Bane of Your Resistance 
Hi Rosanne,
I just listened to your interview and I loved the conversation! I hadn’t planned to listen to the entire interview right away, however I resonated so strongly with the conversation that I listened all the way to the end – twice!
I’ve been writing for many years now, but mostly training materials – which I find very easy to write. It was a different experience when I created my blog a few years ago and started writing for the purpose of relating to my subscribers. In the beginning I was constantly finding myself in a state of anxiety from my brutal judgment of my writing. I found Rosanne’s blog site and I’ve been reading her work ever since.
Rosanne, your work has helped me through many blocks — thank you! I quote you quite often regarding “in order to write well you have to first be willing to write badly”.
As I mentioned, I resonated with a great deal of your conversation today – especially once you began talking about the self-saboteur.
I’ve been studying self sabotage barriers and behaviors for more than 25 years now and I make my living helping people to break free of their inner self sabotage barriers.
I find that – while everyone experiences self sabotage – those folks who work to make a living from their artistic and creative talents often suffer from a variety of self sabotage barriers – including perfectionism, fear of criticism, fear of unworthiness, fear of success, unrealistic need for control, and the list goes on and on.
Many of my clients are people who have extraordinary “natural” talents and they sabotage themselves with a strong sense of unworthiness for accepting the success they desire. They tell me things like… “If I haven’t suffered to develop my talent I must not be worthy of making money from it.” and “If it is easy for me to do this I must not be worthy of getting paid for it.” or worse… “If it comes easy for me then it would be sinful for me to make money from it.”
I truly believe that God gives us natural talents in an effort to help us find joy in our lives — an yet so many people RESIST making a joyful living from their natural God-given talents… (that’s the real sin!!!) Can you image what the world would be like if every single person embraced their natural talents and embraced making a living from their talents? — Awesome!!!
A great deal of the work I do with my clients is to help them to literally reprogram their brains with more empowering thought processes and decision-making strategies. The objective is to develop an authentic sense of SELF motivation that will naturally compel them to do the work necessary to create the success they desire.
Rosanne, I love the topic of your new book. I can’t wait to read it once it’s released. I trust you will make an announcement to your subscribers when it comes off the press!
Michael, thanks for conducting this interview with Rosanne. It was very insightful.
Hugs to you both!
Troyann
http://www.BreakFreeFromSelfSabotage.com
Home of the Break Free University!
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Thanks again Michael. I’d be delighted to do a follow-up chat with you (and a little less apprehensive about listening to it afterwards).
John Boe has a collection of essays called Life Itself with an essay about the correlation between creativity and messiness titled “Messiness Is Next to Goddessness” (playing with the saying that neatness is next to godliness).Anyone who worries about being messy will enjoy it (you can find copies at Amazon).
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thanks for the link rosanne. i’m still thinking about much of what we discussed. especially motivation as it relates to creative vs non-creative tasks. we may need to do a follow-up chat soon 🙂
also, i thought i was the only one who worries about how i sound on audio.
Jamie: i too was liberated by the discussion about my “writer’s mess.”
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Hi! I have never heard of you and then happened to listen to the podcast. I thought the hour was well spent!
The conversation was both a great overview and specific pragmatic details and steps that one can use at any stage of their development to keep moving forward. You sounded expert yet real, authentic, sincere. Your confidence was not overbearing, rather from a place of honesty (what I have learned from my experience and study).
What I would like to hear more about are the ways to trick the brain and the old habits. The most useful part of what I took away was the tool of building an overt 4 step list — sit at desk, open file, one sentence….That spoke to me because I let the fear overtake my efforts before I really get started, so I don’t even get close to having failed. So, failing to start and struggle is my hurdle, and it is because of the discomfort of the fear. If I could unlock that…ahhh.
What liberated me a bit were two things – the mess on my desk is normal, and that I should count all parts of writing – researching, ruminating, reading etc — as good and necessary; I should give myself credit for all of that!
I am looking forward to catching up on your blog and look forward to you book.
Jamie Feild Baker
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Thanks Jaime! The four steps my client Eileen created for herself are: 1 Turn on computer (reward) 2 Open the file with the project she’s working on (reward) 3 Read file (reward) 4 Start one new sentence (reward). These are 4 steps she knows she can take everyday she writes and they get her past fear and hestitancy into writing. The key is to give yourself a small reward for each individual step. Please let me know if this helps unlock you.
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