Thanks J Lenni (@JLenniDorner), for bringing this meme to my attention. It’s an interesting variation on the “There is no such thing as writer’s block” theory wrapped up in a neat little circular argument: You become a “real” writer when you agree there is no such thing as writer’s block. If you get writer’s block, … More Is Writer’s Block Real?
The previous post (Writer See, Writer Do) highlights the power of mirror neurons. This is why being part of an effective writer’s community — and having your mirror neurons fire in synch with other writers’ positive approach and experiences — offers so many benefits. But our mirror neurons don’t discriminate which people are worth emulating. … More Does Your Writer’s Group Contribute to Writer’s Block and Resistance?
Writers need sleep. It is one of the five forms of Self-care that are essential to optimizing your brain. (Get support in developing Self-care habits) By sleep, I don’t mean getting just enough to keep dragging your sorry self through the day. I mean making the necessary changes in your life to get enough good … More 10 Reasons Sleep Improves Writing
One of the reasons I appreciate working with John Drozdal is his sense of humor, especially when we talk about the Saboteur (see chapter 8 in AWB). Like all of us, John got shoved around by his Saboteur for a long time without knowing what was happening. But once he found out what was going … More Out-trashing the Saboteur: Guest Post by John George Drozdal
The desire to write good stuff and especially an expectation that you’re supposed to write good stuff is a guaranteed, one-way trip to Resistance City. How can we possibly write anything worth reading if just wanting to do that triggers our resistance? We sidle up to it. We surrender the desire for any particular outcome … More Wanna Write Something Good? Start With Writing Something Awful!
What kind of writer are you: A tortoise — slow but steady? A hare — lazy but fast when you get around to it? Or a porcupine — excellent but unheard of? Porcupine was in the famous race between the Tortoise and the Hare, but no one ever hears about it. Porcupine knew he wasn’t … More Friday Fable for Writers Who Unintentionally Block Their Writing
You might remember from a previous New Book Update, that my plan for revising my novel was to: dreamstorm possible new scenes and modifications to existing scenes then play around with new, modified and existing scenes on index cards or Post-it Notes to find a new structure (at the macro level of scenes) BEFORE I … More New Book Update: Best Laid Plans Oft Go Astray (But Don’t Let That Block Your Writing)
“I spent 15 minutes journaling last night. Is that Process or Product Time?” “I started out just freewriting, but ended up with a character sketch. Do I count that as Process or Product Time?” There are times when the lines between Process and Product Time can get hazy. It may not matter what you call … More Process Play or Prouct Time Writing?
Author and musician Joel D Canfield made such an intriguing comment on my last post on how people-pleasing interferes with writing that I invited him to expand that comment into this guest post. Joel is the author of eleven books and the Someday Box blog for those who want to get a book out of … More How To Let Go of What Others Think to Create Better Art: Guest Post by Joel D Canfield
The next time you feel resistance or writer’s block, notice where your attention is. It’s not a question of whether you’re paying attention – you’re always paying attention to something. It’s a question of what you’re attending to and what kind of attention you’re using. Flavors of Attention I used to think attention is attention … More Is Writer’s Block in the Forest or the Trees?
Bane of Your Resistance 