I hope you’ve found “writing life hacks” or as I call them “banes to writing resistance” here. How many of the top ten most viewed posts do you recall? Hopefully you’ll agree that they all bear a second look. #1 Neurology of Resistance: Limbic System vs. Cerebral Cortex Originally published in May 2009, this classic … More 2015 Top Ten Banes of Your Writing Resistance
In the previous post, you inventoried your writing habits and your resisting habits. To transform resisting habits into writing habits, it helps to know just a bit about how habits work in your brain. When you think a certain thought or take a particular action, a series of neurons fire in sequence along a neural … More Do Bad Habits Detour Your Writing?
It’s “gift list” time again. Magazines, talk shows and the internet are replete with lists of perfect gifts for women, men, teens, kids, athletes, introverts, travelers, health nuts, foodies, book lovers, and even writers. Forget the lists for writers. Forget the gimmicky games that include “plot twist spinners.” Forget the stylish pens and blank notebooks. … More The One Gift Writers Truly Need
At the Loft Pitch Conference in November, the two agents I pitched to invited me to send pages. (Woo-hoo!) I told the agent who wanted 100 pages that I’d just finished a major rewrite and wanted to polish the first 100 pages before sending them to her. She said “Of course. Take the time you … More New Book Update: Back Off Author, Characters Need to Do It Themselves
One of the biggest benefits of consistently, habitually showing up for fifteen minutes of Product Time is the momentum you build. Since the time is so short, just fifteen minutes, you don’t have to fret about finishing a writing project or doing the best work you’ve ever done. Just show up and do something small, … More Momentum Beats Writer’s Block Every Day
Why on earth would we thank our Saboteur, that self-destructive impulse that interferes with our writing? All of the five forms of the Saboteur want to freeze your creativity. The Attacker undermines your confidence; the Enticer tempts you to sacrifice the habits that sustain your writing; the Innocent is anything but; the Protector doesn’t protect … More What You Can Thank Your Saboteur For
When I refer to the Saboteur in these posts, I do so with the hope that you’re familiar with the term from one of my classes or reading Around the Writer’s Block: Using Brain Science to Solve Writer’s Resistance. But if you aren’t or if it’s been awhile since you were in class or read … More Don’t Let the Saboteur Push You Into Writer’s Block
When I refer to the Saboteur in these posts, I do so with the hope that you’re familiar with the term from one of my classes or reading Around the Writer’s Block: Using Brain Science to Solve Writer’s Resistance. But if you aren’t or if it’s been awhile since you were in class or read … More Does Your Saboteur Push You into Writer’s Block?
I hate it when anyone leaves something on my desk. In all honesty, my office is typically in a state of creative flux (aka messy). Some might question how I can even tell that someone has touched my desk. So it’s certainly not that I fixate on things being in a particular place. It’s pure … More Writer’s Block or Creatively Cramped? Give Yourself Space to Create!
Hypergraphia is the compulsion to write. While I don’t have a clinical case of hypergraphia, typically caused by brain disorders, my desire to work on my novel rewrite has grown progressively more intense in the past two weeks. This morning, I drafted the two penultimate chapters! I had to push myself to stop drafting today … More New Book Update: What’s the Opposite of Writer’s Block?
Bane of Your Resistance 