“I need more discipline.” “When it comes to my writing, I just don’t have the will power I need.” When students in my Writing Habit and Around the Writer’s Block classes say something like this – and at least one or two always do – nearly every other student nods in agreement. “I’m not big … More No Will Power for Writing? No Problem!
Sometimes you need an even more hands-on solution to writing resistance than picking up a pen. Sometimes you need to back away, not just from the keyboard, but from words themselves, at least for a while. Borrowing from the storyboarding technique screenwriters use, Edwidge Danticat starts her novels with collages. After creating several collages, she … More Even More Hands-on Solution to Writer’s Block
The hands-on solution to writer’s block (and other forms of writing resistance) is to literally get your hands on. Step away from the keyboard and pick up a pen. According to Newsweek “Brain scans show that handwriting engages more sections of the brain than typing.” These aren’t just any old sections of the brain being … More Hands-on Solution for Writer’s Block
Thanks to everyone who voted for a section title to replace “Brain Factoids” in the upcoming Around the Writer’s Block: Using Brain Science to Solve Writer’s Resistance. The majority of you voted for “Inside the Writer’s Brain,” which is what I was leaning toward myself. So Inside the Writer’s Brain we go! What you’ll find … More The Results Are In: Inside the Writer’s Brain We Go!
If you’ve wondered what the heck is going on in your brain when you want to write and can’t or don’t, you’re going to love this! I’m teaching a two-hour class called “Why Is It So Hard To Write Even When I Want To?”Absolutely free! This and two other classes I’m teaching at Scott County … More More Free Writing Classes!
In more recent versions of the Marshmallow Test, Walter Mischel tells children to pretend the marshmallow is only a picture of a marshmallow or a fluffy cloud. The children who employ their imagination could wait three times longer than kids who didn’t use their imagination. “Once you realize that will power is just a matter … More Step Away From the Marshmallow Part 2
Have you seen the Marshmallow Test? Four-year-olds are given a marshmallow and told that they can eat the marshmallow whenever they want, but if they wait until the researcher comes back, they can have a second marshmallow. The videos are sometimes funny, sometimes poignant as the kids devise different strategies to avoid the temptation or … More Step Away From the Marshmallow and No One Gets Writer’s Block
My intuition tells me there is something more significant about multitasking than just “don’t do it.” It’s about focus; it’s about the ability and freedom to choose what to pay attention to. Without that ability to focus, our struggles with writing resistance will be futile. My next couple of posts will explore this connection between … More Step Away From the Catnip and No One Gets Writer’s Block
If you think you can carve out time for your writing by multitasking, think again. The cortex cannot truly multitask; you can pay focused, conscious attention to only one thing at a time. When you attempt to multitask, you actually shift your attention from one task to another and back again. Every time you shift … More Multitasking Kills Creativity and Causes Writer’s Block
If you’ve enjoyed my blog or gleaned useful suggestions from it, you’re going to love the Around the Writer’s Block class! This class will give you: A safe, supportive community with other writers who are ready to stop struggling with resistance and start writing the way they want Awareness of what’s happening in your brain … More Around the Writer’s Block Class Open for Enrollment
Bane of Your Resistance 