Every once in a while, something on reality TV sparks my imagination. The last minutes of the penultimate episode of Project Runway gave me something to think about. Michael C. became of the artistst who believe that success is the only justification they have. … More Faux Allies?
Respecting the wisdom of your writing resistance means accepting that the resistance is there for a reason. It also means knowing that real problems have real solutions. If there is a reason to be resistant, there’s a way around it.
… More Respect the Wisdom of Resistance So You Can Move Past It
Just because you don’t know why you’re resistant, doesn’t mean you don’t have a good reason to be resistant. … More Wisdom of Resistance
One summer when I was ten or eleven, my mom gave me a solid piece of writing advice. But neither one of us recognized that’s what it was at the time. It started when I made the mistake of telling my mom, “I’m bored.” “Call Shirley,” she said, nicely enough considering she was undoubtedly working on … More Mom’s Writing Advice
Here’s the challenge: When you write, write. Don’t do anything but write in these writing appointments. It’s amazing how much more writing you do when all you do when you write is write. … More I Challenge You to a Little Writer’s Duel
We can’t get into the waking dream of writing if we are constantly interrupting ourselves with trivia. Writers are particularly vulnerable to and negatively affected by our culture of distraction. … More Why You Need to Pay Attention to What You’re Paying Attention To
Playing and sleeping more. That’s right, I’ll admit it. Let my Puritan ancestors roll in their graves, let the Mrs. Kravitzes (from Bewitched) of the world gossip. For almost a week, Minneapolis has been blessed with cooler temperatures and tolerable humidity levels. I’ve been taking full advantage of this by playing outside more and sleeping … More True Confession: Lately I’ve Been (Gasp)…
We think we need hours and hours to really get into our writing and the only way we can imagine getting that kind of time is to multitask like crazy the rest of the day. The truth is that you don’t really need hours and hours to be creative.
One of the primary forms of writing resistance is distraction. And one of my favorite illustrations of distraction is in the movie Up when the dog Dug explains how his collar vocalizes his thoughts: “My master made me this collar. He is a good and smart master and he made me this collar so that I … More Squirrel!
Someone wise once told me “If you want to do something you don’t know how to do, stop doing what you do know how to do.” So if you want more time to write and don’t know how to get it, here are some suggestions: Stop clearing your desk Stop emptying the dishwasher, dusting your … More Want More Time to Write? Stop Doing What You Know How to Do!
Bane of Your Resistance 