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.
As I mentioned in my previous post, feedback can be dangerous. Without direction, feedback can become veiled (and sometimes not so veiled) criticism and judgment that slams the brakes on your writing. Even well-meaning praise can block you. We need feedback to know where our writing is working and where it isn’t, but we need … More Feedback Can Cause or Cure Writer’s Block
My second recommendation to Liz’s question about achieving a healthy balance between pride and humility is to jettison judgment and develop discernment. I have a theory that judgment is at the heart of every writer’s block (and most other forms of writing resistance). Usually it’s negative judgment and harsh criticism that creates resistance. But I’ve … More Jettison Judgment and Develop Discernment (to Reduce Writer’s Block)
In response to previous posts on humility, Liz Ward asked, “Could I be humility on steroids? If someone compliments my writing, I dismiss them because I KNOW I’m merely an adequate writer with only a hope of being better–it doesn’t matter that I’ve been trained and have made writing a part of a 30-year career. … More Balance Pride and Humility to Reduce Writing Resistance
Sound familiar? Well it is summer and that means re-runs. Here’s why I’m repeating a previously published post: I talked with my editor about revisions on Around the Writer’s Block last week and that’s where my focus is right now. I tried drafting a new post today but realized it’s just not ready for prime-time … More 10 Reasons Every Writer Should Have a Dog
Humility does not mean we’re worthless worms who have no right to feel proud of our work; it literally means we are “capable of being educated.” Without humility, we cannot learn. In his Modesty Manifesto, David Brooks asks us to embrace the virtue of modesty to restore balance. He’s not suggesting we should never feel … More 10 Ways Humility Reduces Resistance
In response to my recent post about the David Brooks “Modesty Manifesto” video, Rachel V. commented: “I think I see a lack of modesty in my writing when I feel unwilling to change something (like a scene or dialogue) that doesn’t work for my reader. Even if I know that my readers are giving me … More Why We Resist Feedback (and Why and How to Stop)
New York Times columnist David Brooks is a writer worthy of respect, a writer to emulate. Brooks consistently sifts through a vast array of research from credible sources, combines and interprets facts to create new insight and wisdom, and then wraps that intelligence with delightful humor that engages his audience. I highly recommend his book … More Recommendation: David Brooks Delivers a Modesty Manifesto at Aspen Ideas Festival
If you don’t know where to start or where to go next in your writing, anything is possible. So there is no reason to not play around with random chance. Of course, a part of you will think “I can’t throw just anything into my writing. It wouldn’t make sense. It would be stupid.” And … More Play With the Random
Writers are more likely to feel blocked when they’re trying to start a new piece of writing and don’t where to start or when they first get into a piece and don’t know where to go next. But not knowing is not the problem. It is the combination of not knowing AND thinking that you’re … More Feeling Blocked? Don’t Know What’s Next? Don’t Worry!
The blank screen or page can be dangerous – stare at it too long and every idea you ever had can be wiped away. Avoiding the blank screen/page until you know exactly what to write is just as dangerous. Some days you’ll be blessed with ideas and images that inspire your writing and make it … More Don’t Know How to Start Writing or Where to Go Next?
Bane of Your Resistance 