If we, like James Thurber, don’t know when we’re not writing, why do so many of us have a nagging sense that we’re not doing enough? How can we always be writing, but never moving forward? If all James Thurber did was write in his head – if he never brought “The Unicorn in the … More Get That Unicorn Out of Your Head and Into the Garden
In an interview with The Paris Review, James Thurber said, “I never quite know when I’m not writing. “Sometimes my wife comes up to me at a party and says, ‘Dammit Thurber, stop writing.’ She usually catches me in the middle of a paragraph. Or my daughter will look up from the dinner table and … More Falling Into – And Out of – Writing
Do you think you have to write something good, that if you’re going to take the time to sit down and write, you should produce something worthwhile? And by good, most of us mean perfect or almost perfect, logical, fascinating, funny, grammatically correct, sexy, grab-the-reader-by-the-throat thrilling, coherent, deep and wise and inspirational – despite the … More Don’t Let Writer’s Resistance Stop You — Soldier On
You’ve seen dozens of creativity quizzes (and probably scored very nicely on them), but have you ever seen a destructivity quiz? If you did see one, would you take it? And how would you want to score? The unwillingness to see ourselves as destructive is a subtle, but significant, source of resistance. Because drafting is … More Destructivity Quiz
“My Preciousssss.” “Book em Danno.” “What’s up Doc?” “Just the facts Mam.” “Live, from New York, it’s Saturday Night.” “D’oh!” “To be or not to be…” “How YOU doin?” Can you spot the two anomalies in these Catch Phrases? While you’re pondering that, I’ll distract your eye from the answers to that question, by identifying … More Who Said That?
I’m delighted to introduce today’s Guest Author: Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew. Elizabeth is the author of Writing the Sacred Journey, Swinging on the Garden Gate, and On the Threshold: Home, Holiness, and Hardwood. I’ll give the rest of Elizabeth’s bio after she’s charmed you with the post (it’ll mean more to you then). I just came … More Seeing Again… and Again and Again
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
On New Year’s Eve, I walked a labyrinth while meditating on what I wanted to let go of and what I wanted to embrace in 2012. At first, I thought “I want to stop being so reactive. I want to respond to difficult people and situations with equanimity.” Then I thought “Equanimity is all well … More Don’t Just Reduce Resistance, Savor Life!
As long as you feel resistance, you haven’t given up. If even the smallest part of you still wants to write, that crucial part isn’t willing to just dance through life. … More Dancing with Your Eyes Open
Bane of Your Resistance 