3. Revise and rewrite. As previously posted, Essential #2 is the willingness to write a shitty first draft. But just because you write a shitty first draft, doesn’t mean you should inflict it on anyone else. Acknowledging that all first drafts are shitty logically implies that every writer must revise and rewrite (except perhaps Isaac … More Eight Essentials Every Writer Must Master – Part 2
1. Show up! The other seven essentials will tell you what to do when you show up, but the most important step is to devote time to writing. Everything comes from simply showing up consistently. You must have the integrity to honor a clearly stated writing commitment. I’m NOT suggesting you have to write for … More Eight Essentials Every Writer Must Master
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
“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!
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
Stop trying so hard. The only thing that can create writer’s block faster than an expectation of being good is a demand to be good. Surrender your expectations of writing something good and just write. Quality vs. Quantity In Art & Fear, Ted Orland and David Bayles tell the story of a ceramics teacher who … More Do You Know How to Walk Away from Writer’s Block?
In my last post, we considered the possibility that frustration is not a symptom of writer’s block and that, as Johan Lehrer claims in Imagine, frustration is a necessary part of the creative process. So if you’re frustrated with time like I am or with something else and are willing to consider that this turmoil … More So I’m Not Blocked, I’m Frustrated, Now What?
What if what you’ve always thought of as writer’s block or writing resistance is actually part of the process? Maybe the frustration you’ve felt wasn’t a sign that there was something wrong with you, maybe it was a sign to keep going. In Imagine, Jonah Lehrer highlights a part of the creative process some people … More Is it Writer’s Block or Appropriate Frustration?
You’re a writer; you know words have power. Words not only reflect reality, they create reality. Using whatever word comes to mind is a good strategy for first drafts. When you rewrite, you select words carefully and intentionally. But do you consciously select the words you use inside your own head? When was the last … More Did You Say You Have Writer’s Block? Watch Your Language!
Agility is a wonderful source of surprising connections for me as a writer and coach (including finding a publisher for AWB at a dog agility trial.) Kathy Keats is one of the marvelous people I’ve found through agility whose wisdom extends beyond agility. Kathy’s coaching applies to people who want to excel in any sport, … More Silencing the Inner Critic – Guest Post by Kathy Keats
Bane of Your Resistance 