From previous posts, you know that Step 1 is to recognize you are distracting yourself away from writing (or using another form of resistance). Step 2 is to relax, which will bring your creative cortex back online. Your next step is to respect the wisdom of your resistance. How can there possibly be wisdom in … More Step 3 Out of Too Distracted to Write: Respect Your Resistance
When you realize you’re too distracted to write, kudos! Recognizing distraction (or any other form of resistance) is Step 1 in responding effectively. As soon as you recognize the distraction, you can stop wondering if you have ADHD and takes steps to refocus your attention and get back to writing. Your next step is to … More Too Distracted to Write? Here’s Your Next Step
“Shoot for the stars. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Right? Wrong. Dangerously wrong. Overly ambitious writing goals often backfire. “Give it a try, what do you have to lose?” is not always your best strategy. What you have to lose is your motivation. If you failed before or anticipate the possibility … More Are Your Writing Goals Too Ambitious?
I hope you’ve found “writing life hacks” or as I call them “banes to writing resistance” here. How many of the top ten most viewed posts do you recall? Hopefully you’ll agree that they all bear a second look. #1 Neurology of Resistance: Limbic System vs. Cerebral Cortex Originally published in May 2009, this classic … More 2015 Top Ten Banes of Your Writing Resistance
I hate it when anyone leaves something on my desk. In all honesty, my office is typically in a state of creative flux (aka messy). Some might question how I can even tell that someone has touched my desk. So it’s certainly not that I fixate on things being in a particular place. It’s pure … More Writer’s Block or Creatively Cramped? Give Yourself Space to Create!
Does your writing have to settle for the dregs of your time and attention? It is always shoved into last place in the queue? If you frequently delay your writing because you’re bouncing from one urgency to another, your writing is the victim of the Urgency Bully. You can fight back! You can give your … More Is Your Writing Important Enough to Fight the Urgency Bully?
When was the last time you left your mind wander free? Ignored your work projects and To Do list? Unplugged from social media, stepped away from your computer, phone, tablet and TV and even stopped reading? Simply let your eyes take in what’s in front of you and let ideas bob to the surface and … More Why Writers Need Free-Range Brains
Why is it so much easier to write in a class than when you’re on your own at home? If you are 50% more likely to be overweight if your friends are overweight, are you 50% more likely to consistently show up for your writing if the others in your writer’s group or class do? … More Writer See, Writer Do
The paralysis of writer’s block feels like your brain is frozen. All mammals freeze when we’re threatened. When mammals first appeared on the evolutionary tree, freezing was a good way to escape notice of the reigning kings of creation, dinosaurs. True writer’s block – the paralysis of not being able to write, being unable to … More If Writer’s Block Is Brain Freeze, How Do You Thaw Your Brain?
Have you ever delayed or interrupted your writing to check email? If so, chances are you have also postponed giving your writing your full or even partial attention until you get “caught up.” Well, don’t hold your breath! Literally. Stop holding your breath. You need to breathe! Now! Screen Apnea Most people temporarily hold their … More Breathe! Or No More Writing for You!
Bane of Your Resistance 