Author: rosannebane

Creativity coach, writing and creative process instructor, speaker, author of Around the Writer's Block: Using Brain Science to Write the Way You Want (Penguin/Tarcher 2012) and Dancing in the Dragon's Den (Red Wheel Weiser), Teaching Artist at the Loft Literary Center.

Writing Failure Lesson #4: Put It in Perspective

March 31, 2016

“The artist’s life is frustrating not because the passage is slow, but because s/he imagines it to be fast.” David Bayles and Ted Orland, Art and Fear A corollary to Bayles and Orland’s observation is that creativity is frustrating not because we fail, but because we think we should always succeed. Failures are not stop … More Writing Failure Lesson #4: Put It in Perspective

Writing Failure Lesson #3: Rewrite the Story

March 24, 2016

Thomas Edison’s genius was partially his ability to rewrite the story. When everyone else said he’d failed 700 times, he had the audacity to claim he hadn’t failed 700 times, he hadn’t even failed once; he had, in fact, successfully found 700 ways that wouldn’t work on his way to ultimate success. Writers need this … More Writing Failure Lesson #3: Rewrite the Story

Why Write At All?

March 4, 2016

My last post claimed that failure is the only option for writers. If I’m correct that writers are destined to fail and the best we can hope for is the perseverance to fail and fail again until we transform a series of failures into something we are satisfied with, why on earth do we write? … More Why Write At All?

Get Ready to Fail!

February 19, 2016

Are you ready to fail as a writer? I’m getting there. Earlier this week, I posted this on Facebook: “Wish me luck! I just send the first 100 pages of my novel, Essential Path, to Laura Zats at Red Sofa Literary (as she requested). I’m a little surprised at how vulnerable I feel right now. … More Get Ready to Fail!

New Book Update: May the Muses Bless You with Worthy Beta Readers

February 11, 2016

In “Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully – in Ten Minutes” Steven King wrote: “Show your piece to a number of people – ten, let us say.” Fourteen people volunteered to beta read the first 100 pages of my novel. (I asked for feedback on 100 pages, not the entire manuscript, because an … More New Book Update: May the Muses Bless You with Worthy Beta Readers

Does Coloring Help or Hinder Your Writing and Reading?

February 4, 2016

Kerri Miller, MPR host, encouraged Americans to put away coloring books and pick up real books instead in a post on The Thread. If coloring books were the cause of Americans reading only 4 books a year on average, I’d agree. But I highly doubt the trade-off is between real books and coloring books. I … More Does Coloring Help or Hinder Your Writing and Reading?

How to Keep Your Habenula from Blocking Your Writing

January 28, 2016

I love it when brain science vindicates my intuition and gives me the “why” something has always seemed true. I’ve long known at a gut level that focusing on small, regular commitments (15 Magic Minutes) works better than setting grand goals. Now I know why: it’s all about the habenula. In “The Power of Process” … More How to Keep Your Habenula from Blocking Your Writing