In response to a previous post, Nasreen Fynewever wrote: “I am leaving a comment to hold myself accountable to print the guides your book Around the Writer’s Block encourages us to use. I am also gently reminding the multitude of writers, like me, who are reading your words, nod our heads, and then fail to … More Get Ready for NaNoWriMo: Make October NaShoUpoWriMo!
The demand that we be constantly busy producing something worthwhile can get us stuck in a linear style of thinking that is not conducive to creativity. In other words, all work and no play makes Jack a blocked writer. One of the solutions I recommend is Process, creative play for the sake of the play, … More Bust Writer’s Block Wherever You Go
Thank you to those of you who commented on my previous post to let me know that your basic Kindle or Nook e-readers are not backlit and therefore, not a source of blue light. My apologies for making an incorrect assumption and lumping all e-readers in with tablets, computers, i-Phones and similar devices. If an … More Bedtime Reading Bad for Sleep? It Depends
Many writers read in bed as part of our bedtime routine. We read until we’re tired, then it’s lights out. But if you read in bed by the glow of a Nook, Kindle, iPad or other device, you may find that you read and read and never really feel tired. Not until you have to … More Bedtime Reading Causes Writer’s Block
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
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
Pam McAlister, my friend, fellow writer and former student, sent an article from Southern Living with this observation; “I thought you might enjoy this little piece on piddling. Reminds me of my wrestling with what IS process and what ain’t…” Because the author of the article, Rick Bragg, gives such a charming description of … More Process is Pretty Much Piddling
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
Detective Joe Friday knew how to track: Focus on facts. When you track Process, Self-Care and Product Time, keep your attention on two facts: “This is what I said I’d do. This is what I did.” One of the benefits of tracking is that the feedback allows you to recognize changes in your patterns and … More Tricks of Tracking #4: Focus on Facts
Your tracking system should highlight two questions: “What will I do?” (as you set your intention) and “What did I do?” (after you go into action). Even though your tracking system may not highlight it, the “ready” between the “set” and the “go” is equally important. Set Yourself! At the beginning of the week, set … More Tricks of Tracking #3: Set, Ready, Go!
Bane of Your Resistance 