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.
The desire to avert our eyes, to not see, is at the heart of all resistance. I’ve resisted writing all week…because any writing requires that I not avert my eyes… and right now I’m trying to not see. … More Are You Willing to See?
By Rosanne Bane I was out of town last week for a family emergency and on the flight home, I finally got an explanation for why flight attendants demonstrate how to use a seat belt. (I’ve always thought, “Really, you’re going to show us how to use a seat belt? Is there anyone on the plane … More Please Adjust Your Own Mask Before Attempting to Help Others
By Rosanne Bane My friend Melissa and I were laughing about how silly our rebellious natures can be – especially when we get “oppositionally defiant” with ourselves. (Oppositional defiance is a significant disorder for children and adolescents, but when you’re our age and you’re only defying yourself, it’s pretty silly.) “I hate it when I … More Stop Stopping Yourself
A prime source of writing resistance is the desire to write good stuff. And the demand to produce perfect writing is a guaranteed, one-way trip to Resistance City. So how we do write good stuff, if just wanting it means we’ll trigger our resistance? We sidle up to it. We surrender the desire for any … More If You Want to Write Well, You Have to Be Willing to Write Badly
Newton’s First Law of Motion states that a body at rest tends to stay at rest. The Writer’s Corollary is that a person not writing tends to continue not writing. Add any expectation to this initial inertia – that the writing be good, that you complete something significant today, that you write a predetermined number of … More Initial Inertia
I can’t tell you exactly how you’ll discern your Self from your self and how you’ll finesse the balance between your ego-self and your True Self . But one guideline I find helpful is to always honor the promises you make to yourself and others. When you honor a commitment you make, you strengthen your awareness of … More Don’t Take Yourself Seriously Part 3: Keep Your Promises
While you shouldn’t take yourself too seriously, you must take your Self seriously. I’m talking about the distinction between your (lower case s) self and your (capital S) Self, aka your True Self or Spirit. (If you’re curious, I discuss Carl Jung’s distinction between the larger Self and the ego-self and … More Don’t Take Yourself Seriously Part 2: Ego, Maslow and All That
“Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.” That’s lesson #4 in Regina Brett’s Life Lessons and a good thing to remember when you’re fighting resistance, especially perfection-induced resistance. You know the “I can’t write that, it’ll sound stupid” or “I’ve got to get this right, right now!” thinking that freezes your creative … More Don’t Take Yourself Seriously Part 1: Angels Fly Because They Take Themselves Lightly
“Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.” “When in doubt, just take the next small step.” “You can get through anything if you stay put in today.” These are lessons in Regina Brett’s article “45 Life Lessons and 5 to Grow On” published in The Plain Dealer, Columbus OH back in 2006. Apparently, the … More Writing Life Lessons: When All Else Fails, Use Chocolate
In my last post, I talked about how you can move your writing forward by expanding your perception of ‘writing time’ to Product Time, which includes not only drafting, revising and editing, but all the other things a writer needs to do to complete a writing project. The very best part of Product Time is … More 15 Magic Minutes
Bane of Your Resistance 