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 Position Yourself Beyond Writer’s Resistance
Thanks Ellen King-Rodgers for the opportunity to share my passion about how brain science can solve writer’s resistance on the Tellin’ Ellen show on Yellowstone Public Radio! Here’s the link: http://ypr-pc.streamguys.net/podcast/130318tellinellen.mp3
“I need more discipline.” “When it comes to my writing, I just don’t have the will power I need.” When students in my Loft classes say something like this – and at least one or two always do – nearly every other student nods in agreement. “I’m not big on discipline,” I tell them and … More Why Habits Work When Discipline and Will Power Won’t
By Sean D’Souza I’m delighted to introduce you to today’s guest blogger, Sean D’Souza, Chief Brain Auditor for Psychotactics. Sean is a fellow brain geek — fascinated by the human brain and able to translate what he discovers into engaging articles (as you’re about to see). He is the author of The Brain Audit—Why Customers … More Is Your Writing Stuck Because Your Brain has Plateaued?
Does your writing have unexplained bumps and bruises? Does it frequently “lose” its lunch money and have to settle for the dregs of your time and attention? It is always shoved into last place in the queue? If you habitually bounce from one urgency to another, your writing will suffer. If you pay attention to … More Is Your Writing the Victim of the Urgency Bully?
Thank you to those of you who commented on my previous post to let me know that your basic Kindle or Nook e-readers are not backlit and therefore, not a source of blue light. My apologies for making an incorrect assumption and lumping all e-readers in with tablets, computers, i-Phones and similar devices. If an … More Bedtime Reading Bad for Sleep? It Depends
Writers have to know how to relax in the moment so we can move out of the resistance caused by a limbic system takeover and re-engage our creative cortex. But even better than knowing how to move out of resistance is knowing how to avoid it in the first place. A regular relaxation practice gives … More Keep Your Creative Cortex Engaged – Brain Basics Part 3
After the last post on the neurology of resistance, many of you may be thinking “Okay, so writing resistance is normal and I don’t have to feel guilty or embarrassed. That’s a huge relief, but what do I do next? How do I get past resistance and start writing again?” The key is the RAS … More Relax Your Way Out of Writer’s Block – Brain Basics Part 2
Joel Canfield asked me to review “the foundations and high-level perspectives about why we struggle with this stuff, and why your excellent solutions work.” I’m happy to oblige! Here are the brain basics of writer’s block. Do You Have What It Takes? If you’ve ever questioned whether you have enough discipline, will power, ambition or … More Brain Basics About Writer’s Block
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”
Bane of Your Resistance 