When Claudia and I realize we might be making something more difficult than it has to be, one of us will ask, “What if it’s quick, easy and now?” It’s a wonderful question. My first coach, Val Olson, gave it to me years ago. I’d spent an entire coaching session affirming my commitment to tenaciously … More What If Writing Is Easier than You Think?
Last September, I promised myself I would return to my Essential Path novel in January. My plan was to follow the advice I gave a client: read the entire novel without judgment, without making notes, noticing only what I love about the novel. I wouldn’t start thinking about what was working and what needed tweaking … More New Book Update: Loving Eyes Are Not Blind
The previous post introduced the idea of keeping an appreciative journal where you focus on the positive and on what’s working well in your writing and your life. How to Write an Appreciative Journal Focus on observable facts and state them without judgment. Write about what you’re doing and what’s happening in specific, factual statements, … More Journaling Your Way Out of Writer’s Block Part 2
Do you keep a writer’s journal for any of these reasons: warm-up before writing something else drain your brain of miscellaneous thoughts that would otherwise interfere with your writing keep track of progress on a particular project practice the craft of writing store great ideas and images for future use give future English majors insights … More Journaling Your Way Out of Writer’s Block
Even though there’s a risk in publishing a blog about writer’s resistance, I’m grateful for the opportunity to exchange ideas with talented writers like you. The risk? In a nutshell, we get more of what we focus our attention on. According to extensive social science research in the field of Appreciative Inquiry, what we expect … More What Do You Want More of in Your Writing?
Self-care is recognizing what you need most and giving yourself that. In an appreciative inquiry, I asked the students in my Entering the Flow class to write about the good things they did for themselves as a writer in the past week. Because one of the key principles in appreciative inquiry (AI) is that we … More You Know What to Do (to Care for Your Writer Self and Eliminate Writer’s Block)
The less attention you pay to resistance, the better. What you don’t want to do is wring your hands and work yourself into a lather of worry and doom. … More Really! Pay No Attention to that Writer’s Block Behind the Curtain (Part 2)
You’ll see it when you believe it. Be careful what you wish for. We get what we expect. These are more than folk wisdom adages; they are a condensation of the social science research that makes up the Appreciative Inquiry approach originally developed David Cooperrider and other researchers at Case Western University. AI is based on … More What’s So Great About Being a Writer?
By Rosanne Bane MKelberer’s tongue-in-cheek comment/question to my last post, “Why is ‘hard work’ always the solution?” reminded me of one of the most powerful questions I ever heard: “What if it’s quick, easy and now?” Years ago, I spent an entire coaching session affirming to myself and my coach Val Olson my commitment to tenaciously … More Quick, Easy and Now
Bane of Your Resistance 