I told you my online Loft class, Entering the Flow, was scheduled to start yesterday, September 19, 2011, but I was mistaken. The class actually starts next Monday, September 26. This means you still have time to register! You can still join us as we explore how to enter the flow state — you know, … More Good News! You Can Still Enter the Flow!
Writers hate to make mistakes in print and the fear of that is a common source of resistance. But Niels Bohr defined an expert as a person who “has made all the mistakes that can be made in a narrow field.” I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I don’t think I’m anywhere near making … More Embrace Mistakes to Sidestep Writer’s Block
We need to understand how the creative process really works. And since few of us get a decent education in that, we often look to famous authors to be our role models. We assume that whatever works for a famous writer should work for every writer. If Stephen King writes 2,500 words a day, 365 … More If It Works for a Famous Writer, Shouldn’t It Work for Me?
The previous post, Want More Time to Write? Uncommit Yourself!, was tongue-in-cheek because if you can laugh about yourself and your commitments, you can decide to do something positive about the serious consequences of being overcommitted. Sometimes we truly have so much to do and so many commitments to honor, we don’t know which end … More Seriously Uncommit Yourself
Feeling overwhelmed? Have so many things on your To Do list you don’t know where to start? Tempted to postpone your writing – again – so you can take care of all those other things that somehow you ended up being responsible for? You need the new, patented UnCommit Yourself Method to create spare time! … More Want More Time to Write? Uncommit Yourself
As I mentioned in my previous post, feedback can be dangerous. Without direction, feedback can become veiled (and sometimes not so veiled) criticism and judgment that slams the brakes on your writing. Even well-meaning praise can block you. We need feedback to know where our writing is working and where it isn’t, but we need … More Feedback Can Cause or Cure Writer’s Block
My second recommendation to Liz’s question about achieving a healthy balance between pride and humility is to jettison judgment and develop discernment. I have a theory that judgment is at the heart of every writer’s block (and most other forms of writing resistance). Usually it’s negative judgment and harsh criticism that creates resistance. But I’ve … More Jettison Judgment and Develop Discernment (to Reduce Writer’s Block)
In response to previous posts on humility, Liz Ward asked, “Could I be humility on steroids? If someone compliments my writing, I dismiss them because I KNOW I’m merely an adequate writer with only a hope of being better–it doesn’t matter that I’ve been trained and have made writing a part of a 30-year career. … More Balance Pride and Humility to Reduce Writing Resistance
Sound familiar? Well it is summer and that means re-runs. Here’s why I’m repeating a previously published post: I talked with my editor about revisions on Around the Writer’s Block last week and that’s where my focus is right now. I tried drafting a new post today but realized it’s just not ready for prime-time … More 10 Reasons Every Writer Should Have a Dog
Humility does not mean we’re worthless worms who have no right to feel proud of our work; it literally means we are “capable of being educated.” Without humility, we cannot learn. In his Modesty Manifesto, David Brooks asks us to embrace the virtue of modesty to restore balance. He’s not suggesting we should never feel … More 10 Ways Humility Reduces Resistance
Bane of Your Resistance 