A friend asked, “How are you?” It wasn’t a perfunctory greeting; it was a genuine question. I hesitated. I didn’t really know how I was. I didn’t know if I wanted to know. So I said, “I’m fine.” I am nowhere near fine, except in the sense of the R.E.M. lyric: It’s the end of … More Writing in the Time of Pandemic: What’s Kindness Got to Do with It?
Are you feeling guilty because you’re not writing for hours or jotting thousands of words a day? There’s no need. Instead of sweating the details, try 15 Magic Minutes. Note: Originally published on The Huffington Post. Reprinted with new graphics. You can do anything that advances your writing in those 15 Magic Minutes. I’ve had … More Ten Reasons to Invest in 15 Magic Minutes
Can your readers trust you? Can you trust me? I’d like to think that whatever degree of trust you give me is warranted, that my research on the brain and creativity is rigorous and my suggestions for using that information to get around resistance is helpful and valid. Rarely does neuroscientific research apply directly to … More How Far Should Readers Trust You?
If you feel scattered and find it difficult to focus your attention on your writing, you’re not alone, not weird, not wrong. You’re probably suffering from mental clutter. Your brain is filled with too many things to think about, remember, ponder, take action on. You’re struggling to make sense of a cacophony of demands on … More When Mental Clutter Limits Your Writing, Clearing Your Mind Takes New Meaning
My last post explained how chronic stress rewires the brain to make the limbic system more reactive and the cortex less active. The more stress we feel, the more we react from the limbic system, the more we rely on the limbic system, the less creative we can be and more stressed we feel. How … More Pulling Out of the Writer’s Stress Spiral of Death
Okay, that’s a bit dramatic; let’s make that the stress spiral of creative death. What Do Writers Have to Stress About? As writers, we have plenty to stress about: the craft challenges of writing effectively, our fears of rejection, the vulnerability writing requires, accepting the uncertainty that is a necessary part of creativity. As if … More Are You Spinning In a Stress Spiral of Death?
Why do you do that? Waste an hour with email or social media? Or find another way to distract yourself away from writing? Why do you wait to write? Or edit the same paragraph again and again? Why is so hard (at times) to do what you love? It might be time for a reminder: … More What Conscious Writers Need to Know About Writer’s Block
(NOTE: Not even considering NaNoWriMo? Keep reading; this stuff applies to any writer.) Of course, knowing who your characters are, what they want, what they need and what stands in their way is important, but if your habenula isn’t firing right, NaNoWriMo is going to be a month-long lesson in frustration. To be precise, I … More Forget Plot Outlines! Is Your Habenula NaNoWriMo Ready?
How much pain will you endure to bring your writing into readers’ hands? Writers don’t have to suffer for our art, but we do have to endure rejection along the way. And rejection hurts. Literally. Neurological research demonstrates that social exclusion and physical pain trigger the same type of activity in the anterior cingulate and … More What Rejection Really Means to Writers
I don’t mind my desk being messy, if it’s my mess. Drafts with notes, books I’m reading, student drafts, client folders or process toys (thumb piano, markers, coloring books, mini jigsaw puzzles) co-mingle on my work space just fine. I bristle a little when household accounting and bills end up here (even if I put … More Do You Have the Writing Space You Need?
Bane of Your Resistance 