By Rosanne Bane Like so many scientific breakthroughs, mirror neurons were discovered by accident. Daniel Goleman describes the fortuitous accident in Social Intelligence: Neuroscientists stumbled on this neural WiFi by accident in 1992. They were mapping the sensiomotor area of monkey’s brains by using electrodes so laser-thin they could be transplanted in single brain cells, … More Monkey See, Monkey Do
By Rosanne Bane It matters what company you keep. You’ve probably heard about the research that shows that if your friends are overweight, you’re over 50% more likely to be overweight yourself. I’m convinced that being part of an effective writer’s group is a great benefit and that being part of a dysfunctional or ineffective writer’s … More The Company You Keep
By Rosanne Bane So there I was, with a piece of marble cake – the piece with the most frosting – in my cart, headed for the checkout just the way my Saboteur wanted. I may as well have laid down on a railroad track and invited Snidely Whiplash to tie me up. I’m not … More Writer vs. Cake Part 2: Invite the Whole Choir to Sing
By Rosanne Bane At 8:00 last night, I stood in the bakery department at Cub, debating a piece of marble cake. What does that have to do with writing or writing resistance? Bear with me and you’ll see that how I got there and I got myself out of there is a great metaphor for … More Writer vs. Cake
Announcement for Writers in Minnesota: The Loft is offering a Minn Festival “Is it Time to Give Up Your Day Job?” where more than ten working writers will share their expertise and personal anecdotes about the realities of life as working writers. Register by calling 612-379-8999 or click here. This class is also a fundraiser for the Loft; … More Time to Give Up Your Day Job?
By Rosanne Bane When we aren’t performing at our best as writers, we tend to blame it on ourselves (I’m blocked, I don’t know what to write, I lack will power, discipline, talent, ambition, etc.) or on the circumstances of our lives (I’m too busy, I’ll get it to later, I have other responsibilities, etc.) … More Resistant or Under-Assisted?
By Rosanne Bane Last night I saw “The Buddha Prince: A walking play through the extraordinary life of His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama” in Powderhorn Park. I wish I had seen it on its opening night, instead of its closing, because I would have urged you all to see it, too, even if it … More Never Give Up
By Rosanne Bane What’s GEMO? a) Tickle Me Elmo’s cousin b) a command for sled dogs meaning go right (Gee) even more (Mo) c) a motto that will get your writing unstuck and keep you moving If you answered c, you’re correct. If you answered a, you’re going to have a hard … More Do You GEMO?
By Rosanne Bane A prime source of writing resistance is the desire to write good stuff. And the demand to produce perfect writing is a guaranteed, one-way trip to Resistance City. So how we do write good stuff, if just wanting it means we’ll trigger our resistance? We sidle up to it. We surrender the … More Want to Be a Good Writer?
By Rosanne Bane “In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.” – Robert Heinlein Performing daily trivia is one of the many varieties of distraction, and distraction, as we know, is one of the most common forms of writer’s resistance. Not knowing … More Trivial Pursuits
Bane of Your Resistance 