We can’t get into the waking dream of writing if we are constantly interrupting ourselves with trivia. Writers are particularly vulnerable to and negatively affected by our culture of distraction. … More Why You Need to Pay Attention to What You’re Paying Attention To
Writers do NOT write better when a deadline is looming. Deadlines do NOT make people more creative. Deadlines make people more resistant. … More The Deadline Myth
One of the primary forms of writing resistance is distraction. And one of my favorite illustrations of distraction is in the movie Up when the dog Dug explains how his collar vocalizes his thoughts: “My master made me this collar. He is a good and smart master and he made me this collar so that I … More Squirrel!
With the exception of chocolate (which you simply can’t get too much of), too much of a good thing can be another of the myriad, subtle forms of resistance. Obviously, we need to revise, polish and proof our writing before it goes out in the world. Even with the informality of a blog, it makes … More Too Much of a Good Thing
So what does rejection signify to us as writers? Logically, a rejection means nothing has changed. I’m not published in Magazine X, I send a query and get a rejection (or letter of declination as I sometimes call them) and I’m still not published in Magazine X. No change. Logically, the only thing a rejection … More Rejection Means…
Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing… Sometimes the best thing to do is something… Sometimes the best thing to do is anything. How do you tell what time it is for you? It depends on what you’ve been doing lately. If you’ve been working on “something” – a particular piece of writing for … More Don’t Just Stand There, Do Something!
That’s our new puppy Kelda with Blue, my agility star. A dog is not something you acquire lightly. I know it’s probably not practical for EVERY writer to have a dog; maybe you could get these benefits from a kitten or a child or a child-like adult. Or you could borrow a friend’s dog every once … More 10 Reasons Every Writer Should Have a Dog
The Two Faces of the Saboteur have doubled. On second thought, I realized the Saboteur has more than two faces and just published the latest issue of Imagination InkLinks with the feature “Four Faces of the Saboteur.” A link to a PDF of the new article is provided. … More Saboteur Alert: 2 Faces Doubled!
Most writers think of the Saboteur as the harsh inner critic, but the softer, more seductive side of the Saboteur is far more insidious. … More Two Faces of the Saboteur
One of the reasons writer’s block is so persistent is because we almost always use the passive voice to talk about it. As long as you have writer’s block or you are blocked, you can’t see what part you play. Writer’s block just happens. You’re passive, you’re a victim. When you shift from pasive to active voice to describe resistance, you can see what you can do to transform the resistance you feel. … More Don’t Be Passive, Get Active!
Bane of Your Resistance 