Insomnia: the frustrating and painful condition of wanting and needing to change your state of consciousness and being unable to do so. Writer’s Block: the frustrating and painful condition of wanting and needing to change your state of consciousness and being unable to do so. In both insomnia and writer’s block, you can’t make the … More The Insomnia Cure for Writer’s Block
Whether you’ve just signed yourself up to write a novel in a month or you’re facing other writing challenges as we move into the winter holidays, you may be tempted to skimp on sleep so you can keep up with a schedule that always seems to get frenzied this time of year. Don’t! The sleep-deprived … More NaNo or Not, You Need Your Sleep!
Fifteen minutes of productive writing time that is. Turns out our creativity is intimately intertwined with our physical health and well-being. How wrong we were when we believed in the separation of body and brain. When I was a kid, the prevailing view was that not only were intelligence and physical prowess separate, they were … More Drop and Give Me 15!
In response to the latest poll, Michael K. requested posts on tracking and self-care, adding “It’s slightly possible that I’m having the most trouble with these myself.” Why Resist Self-Care? Michael is not alone. Questions about self-care came up during the Live Chat of my online Entering the Flow class this week and it’s a … More Ready to Write?
Thanks to everyone who voted for a section title to replace “Brain Factoids” in the upcoming Around the Writer’s Block: Using Brain Science to Solve Writer’s Resistance. The majority of you voted for “Inside the Writer’s Brain,” which is what I was leaning toward myself. So Inside the Writer’s Brain we go! What you’ll find … More The Results Are In: Inside the Writer’s Brain We Go!
With all those free writing classes to choose from at the libraries, why pay for a class? Because multi-week Loft classes give you what the free ones can’t: consistency, continuity and more content. Consistent Practice Builds Habits You Can Count On My Writing Habit class, for example, gives you a chance to experiment and fine-tune … More Writing Classes Worth Paying For
Writing habits trump resistance. If you want to make it easier to write and write regularly, you need writing habits. (I suggest regularly showing up for short sessions of Process, Product Time and Self-care as the basic habits every writer should give her/himself.) To create or improve your writing habits (or to change any other … More Track Your Way Past Writer’s Block to Writing Success
“Part of what helps me stick with my writing is the chance to reset my commitments every week when I check-in with my writing buddies. If I fall off the wagon (in other words if I don’t do everything I committed to doing), I get back much sooner. It’s easier to get back into the … More Avoid Writer’s Block with Weekly Check-ins
In my previous post, I explained that setting a goal for writing so many words a day can only work in one out of the six stages of the creative process and provided a brief review of the first three stages. You’ll find that one-out-of-six stage in the remaining three stages. Stage 4: Illumination This … More Word Counts Work – In 1 Out of 6 Stages Part 2
Setting a goal to write so many words a day (as Stephen King and many other writers do) can work for you, but only when you’re generating new material. That might seem obvious, but keep in mind, there are six stages in the creative process and in only one of those six stages do you … More Word Counts Work – In 1 Out of 6 Stages
Bane of Your Resistance 