Some writers don’t write because they don’t know what to write. For creativity’s sake, don’t wait until you know what to write – write to figure out what you think you might know and more importantly, what you don’t know yet. Don’t worry for one second about not knowing what to write. … More Write What You Love, Not What You Know
Today is my target date for completing Chapter 10 and I just did that an hour ago. That means the first complete draft of Around the Writer’s Block is done! It’s 217 pages long and weighs in at 62,400 words. I feel good, proud, satisfied, but not ecstatic. That, I guess, is the cost of working … More WAHOO!
I find it both amusing and disturbing when people say “It is what it is,” with a shrug that implies “That’s just the way I am, don’t expect me to change.” I suspect none of them realize they’re echoing the pre-Socratic Greek Atomists who believed “That which is, is, and cannot not be, and that … More Are You a Secret Atomist?
Last night for the first time in a long time, I thought about blowing off my commitment to 15 minutes of Product Time. The day hadn’t gone as planned and I’d let other commitments take precedence, so Product Time didn’t start when I scheduled it. It was late in the evening, I was tired and whiny and … More Synchronicity at Work
Recognize the illusion and you make it possible to remove the obstacle. … More Abracadabra! The Magic Cure for Writer’s Block
For many writers, the first minutes of writing are the hardest. A weird warm-up gets you through those challenging first minutes. … More Weird Warm-ups
I’m solidly in initial inertia… The only way to finish is to get started. And the only way to get started is to finish.
… More Getting Started
Every week, I track what I intend to do during my Product Time during the week. Every weekday, I record what I actually do. Tracking my Product Time gives me a sense of accomplishment and reminds me to give myself small, regular rewards to keep myself motivated. Tracking also alerts me if there’s a significant difference between what … More Track Your Product Time
You’ll see it when you believe it. Be careful what you wish for. We get what we expect. These are more than folk wisdom adages; they are a condensation of the social science research that makes up the Appreciative Inquiry approach originally developed David Cooperrider and other researchers at Case Western University. AI is based on … More What’s So Great About Being a Writer?
One of the ways our Saboteur stops us is to use rhetorical questions as barriers. Questions like: Who do you think you are? Who do I think I am to write _______? Why on earth would anyone want to read what I write? What makes me even think I can write _______? How could I … More From Rhetorical to Real
Bane of Your Resistance 