Being creative is incomparably rewarding, so why do we all have so many ways to avoid it? My first answer to this question was my first book, Dancing in the Dragon’s Den (published back in 1999), where I explored the connections between creativity and the shadow, what Carl Jung defined as the repressed and denied … More Do You Dare Release Your Hidden Creativity?
Are you passionately in love with writing or are you and your writing an old, married couple? When you’re in love, you tingle with passion, desire, excitement. Every moment is an opportunity to discover another fascinating detail about your beloved. Even the risk of being disappointed, rejected or broken-hearted is thrilling. When you love, you’re … More How You Do Love Writing?
Most writer’s resistance can be traced to the fear that we might get hurt. Let me reassure you. You WILL get hurt. Your writing will be flawed. Some people will criticize it and you. More will ignore it. The vast majority of the 7.6 billion people on the planet will never know or care about … More Want to Write? You Gotta Trust!
Why do you do that? Waste an hour with email or social media? Or find another way to distract yourself away from writing? Why do you wait to write? Or edit the same paragraph again and again? Why is so hard (at times) to do what you love? It might be time for a reminder: … More What Conscious Writers Need to Know About Writer’s Block
“Is the flu a good reason to break your habit? That’s what happened to me and I still feel bad about it.” – Tamara, comment on the About this Blog page When you have the flu (or other illness/injury/crisis), you’re suffering enough. There’s no need to make yourself feel worse by berating yourself for breaking … More Real Writers Power thru the Flu, Right? Wrong!
Writers, like any intelligent human being, do our best to avoid unnecessary discomfort. However, creativity requires a certain level of discomfort. Okay, full disclosure: what I really mean by “certain level of discomfort” is “a variable amount, that more often than not, is high, always higher than we wish, and usually equivalent to the joy … More Thriving in Discomfort: Guest Post by Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew
What’s your point? What’s your purpose as a writer? Why do you write? You don’t have to be able to rattle off your “artist’s statement” for someone else. You don’t even need to be able to clearly articulate it for yourself. But you do need a sense of why you write that will sustain you … More What’s the Point of Writing?
The New Year promises a fresh start, but only if we truly bring the current year to a close. If you don’t resolve the physical and emotional “incompletes” in your life, January 1 will look remarkably like December 31, with the possible minor difference of needing to clean up after the party. One of the … More Prepare for a Writer’s New Year
While there is a bit of debate about Albus Dumbledore’s claimed regret that “People will insist on giving me books” instead of socks, the truth is, books are not a bad gift. Especially not for writers. In fact, many of us have trained family and friends to give us books. (If you’ve trained complete strangers … More Writers: If People Insist on Giving You Books… Get the Good Ones!
“One can never have enough socks,” said Dumbledore. “Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Of course books are outstanding gifts, but like Albus Dumbledore, I do think other gift options are underutilized. … More Kid-tested, Writer-approved, Surprising Gifts to Boost Imagination
Bane of Your Resistance 