Several studies may explain why money isn’t top of mind for writing students. Offering an extrinsic reward for a creative task actually decreases performance. … More Please Don’t Pay Me! (Why Write Part 2)
I figured my writing students were thinking of publication and making money someday and just didn’t want to say so. But now, I’m not so sure. … More Why Do You Write?
By Rosanne Bane Showing up for your writing might mean drafting or revising, but it also means doing any of the other things that are essential to writing: research, reading, mind-mapping, clustering, brainstorming with other people, sketching a character, doing a writing exercise, creating a timeline, transcribing interview notes, and so on. Even if you … More 10 Reasons to Show Up for Your Writing Today
By Rosanne Bane In my Writing Habit class, I invite students to “bet” on themselves each week. If they want to bet, they put a buck in an envelope and write their commitment for what they’re going to do that week: so many days of creative play (aka Process), so many days of this kind … More Wanna Bet?
By Rosanne Bane What’s Your Teeter Look Like? Create a checklist of the intermediate behaviors that will lead you from where you are to where you want to go. You should phase out rewards for more basic behaviors gradually over the course of weeks, even months. If it seems you are giving yourself far too … More Rewarding Yourself Part 4
By Rosanne Bane Blue Learns to Teeter-Totter Most of what dogs do in agility are natural behaviors – running, jumping, climbing – but the teeter-totter is not. Take another look at those videos if you’ve never seen a dog on a teeter-totter. The teeter is weighted so that one end stays on the ground. The … More Reward Yourself Part 3
By Rosanne Bane Running Is Its Own Reward If you’ve ever seen a border collie run an agility course, you’ve seen the epitome of self-rewarding behavior. If you haven’t seen a well-trained dog run agility, take a look at this or another youtube video of a border collie running agility (I suggest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDTt4lGhxjw&feature=fvw) Clearly, these dogs … More Reward Yourself Part 2
By Rosanne Bane Is Writing Its Own Reward? When I blogged about using chocolate to bribe ourselves to write (When All Else Fails, Use Chocolate), the post got three times more visits than any other post. But when I ask writers about consistently rewarding themselves for their writing efforts, many react as if I’ve suggested … More Reward Yourself Part 1
“Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.” “When in doubt, just take the next small step.” “You can get through anything if you stay put in today.” These are lessons in Regina Brett’s article “45 Life Lessons and 5 to Grow On” published in The Plain Dealer, Columbus OH back in 2006. Apparently, the … More Writing Life Lessons: When All Else Fails, Use Chocolate
In ancient Rome, when a general or emperor achieved a major success, he was celebrated with a parade, called a Triumphus, where he rode a chariot pulled by white horses through the city while the crowds cheered. Two servants (probably slaves, this was ancient Rome after all) rode in the chariot with him – one … More Sic Transit the Writing Life
Bane of Your Resistance 