Writers need sleep. It is one of the five forms of Self-care that are essential to optimizing your brain. (Get support in developing Self-care habits) By sleep, I don’t mean getting just enough to keep dragging your sorry self through the day. I mean making the necessary changes in your life to get enough good … More 10 Reasons Sleep Improves Writing
Sometimes we truly have so much to do, we don’t know which end is up. But sometimes the frenzy is self-induced. Feeling overwhelmed is sometimes a matter of perception – if you think you have too much to do, your limbic system takes over and you can’t think creatively about alternatives. Overscheduling is a common … More Seriously, You Need to Uncommit
Have so many things on your To Do list you don’t know where to start? Tempted to postpone your writing – again – so you can take care of all the things that you somehow ended up being responsible for? The next time you’re facing a “faux commitment,” that is a commitment you shouldn’t have … More Want More Time to Write? Uncommit Yourself
One of the reasons I appreciate working with John Drozdal is his sense of humor, especially when we talk about the Saboteur (see chapter 8 in AWB). Like all of us, John got shoved around by his Saboteur for a long time without knowing what was happening. But once he found out what was going … More Out-trashing the Saboteur: Guest Post by John George Drozdal
The desire to write good stuff and especially an expectation that you’re supposed to write good stuff is a guaranteed, one-way trip to Resistance City. How can we possibly write anything worth reading if just wanting to do that triggers our resistance? We sidle up to it. We surrender the desire for any particular outcome … More Wanna Write Something Good? Start With Writing Something Awful!
I saw my dental hygienist, Nan, last week for a routine cleaning. She noticed that I had more build-up than usual and asked if I was using my electric toothbrush. I’d had a feeling Nan was going to ask me about that. So I’d thought about why, after consistently using my electric toothbrush for years, … More Don’t Let Perfectionism Sneak Up on You
What kind of writer are you: A tortoise — slow but steady? A hare — lazy but fast when you get around to it? Or a porcupine — excellent but unheard of? Porcupine was in the famous race between the Tortoise and the Hare, but no one ever hears about it. Porcupine knew he wasn’t … More Friday Fable for Writers Who Unintentionally Block Their Writing
True writer’s block — sustained periods of wanting and needing to write and being unable to — is rare. Most of us procrastinate or postpone starting or we distract ourselves as soon as we sit down so we don’t experience the agony of trying to write and finding we can’t. Most writers experience other forms … More Are You Ready to Solve Writer’s Block and Resistance?
Bane of Your Resistance 