Creative Process – Page 4 – Bane of Your Resistance

New Book Update: My Early Attempts to Embrace Uncertainty

June 11, 2013

I’m embracing uncertainty. Admittedly, I’m embracing it with the one-handed, two-second pat-his-back-and-push-back kind of hug you give an uncle you never really liked far more than with the open-hearted, lingering enfolding you give your Beloved. But it’s a start. I’m in First Insight (described in chapter 4 of Around the Writer’s Block). This is the … More New Book Update: My Early Attempts to Embrace Uncertainty

Dream the Ideal Balance of Outline and Draft

January 31, 2013

The three previous posts highlight the importance of scouting your route without over-scouting it. You want the benefits of knowing where you’re going so you don’t lay down tracks that keep leading you in the wrong direction without getting trapped in over-analysis, spending more time scouting than you do skiing/writing. If you fail to scout, … More Dream the Ideal Balance of Outline and Draft

Weird Ways to Get Rid of Writer’s Block and Resistance

November 12, 2012

The next time you have a weird dream that makes no sense, celebrate! The brain practices what we need to learn and/or remember while we sleep. Nonsensical dreams are your brain’s way of practicing stepping beyond the limits of rational thinking. Of course your rational, practical mind wants to call that kind of thinking “illogical” … More Weird Ways to Get Rid of Writer’s Block and Resistance

Why Bother with Writer’s Block? Because Creative People Live Longer!

August 22, 2012

Struggling with writer’s block and other forms of resistance can be frustrating and exhausting. So why not just give up? Because solving your resistance could mean you get a few more chapters – not just in your book – but in your life! According to a recent study (Journal of Aging and Health, June 2012), … More Why Bother with Writer’s Block? Because Creative People Live Longer!

When to Shift Your Brain into “Creative Overdrive”

June 29, 2012

The previous post illustrated why creativity demands you shift from an active prefrontal cortex to a quiet prefrontal cortex and explained how you do that. That leaves us with the question of when to shift brain states. I haven’t found a lot of research on what specific areas of the brain you want active or … More When to Shift Your Brain into “Creative Overdrive”

7 Reasons to Join Me in a Loft Class This Summer

May 25, 2012

You can stop feeling regret about not getting around to writing and start feeling proud of the progress you make! The rest of your summer will be so much more enjoyable because you’re taking action. I’ll read and respond to ten pages of your writing when you enroll in any of my Loft Summer Classes: Writing … More 7 Reasons to Join Me in a Loft Class This Summer

Sometimes Nothing is Really Something

May 15, 2012

When his wife asked him what he was doing in the garage all day, Ted, who is recently retired, told her he was doing nothing. “I thought you did that yesterday,” his wife protested. “I wasn’t done,” Ted replied. Everyone laughed at Ted’s story, but I thought, “What an intriguing idea – to do nothing … More Sometimes Nothing is Really Something

Free Your Writing with Limits

May 11, 2012

In the previous post, Do You Know How to Walk Away from Writer’s Block?, I suggested you free yourself by surrendering expectations — now I’m going to propose that you can free yourself by imposing limits! Poets do it all the time. The sonnet, haiku, sestina, villanelle, quatrains, even the common limerick: poets impose plenty … More Free Your Writing with Limits

The Vital Work of Play

December 2, 2011

Back when I first started this series on Self-Care, you might wondered why “creative play” was in the list of things writers need to do for Self-Care when I’ve always promoted play as Process. The great thing about Play is that it can be Process or Self-Care or even Product Time. When play is … More The Vital Work of Play

Writing Classes Worth Paying For

October 5, 2011

With all those free writing classes to choose from at the libraries, why pay for a class? Because multi-week Loft classes give you what the free ones can’t: consistency, continuity and more content. Consistent Practice Builds Habits You Can Count On My Writing Habit class, for example, gives you a chance to experiment and fine-tune … More Writing Classes Worth Paying For

Bane of Your Resistance

Stop distracting and fighting yourself, Surrender perfectionism and procrastination, Give yourself writing habits and outcomes you are proud of

Category: Creative Process