Since I encourage my coaching clients to celebrate their wins and breakthroughs for 2010 before envisioning what they want to accomplish in 2011, I thought I’d share this Blog Review that WordPress was kind enough to send me. You might be surprised by some of the stats — I know I was surprised and gratified … More 2010 in review
What did you intend to do in your writing this week? Did you commit to that in some tangible way? Have you created accountability for your writing? In other words, who else knows and cares about when and how you write? In case it hasn’t occurred to you yet, those are leading questions. I’ve seen … More Key Questions Part 1
One of the ways our Saboteur stops us is to use rhetorical questions as barriers. Questions like: Who do you think you are? Who do I think I am to write _______? Why on earth would anyone want to read what I write? What makes me even think I can write _______? How could I … More From Rhetorical to Real
What’s better for you: an easy win (e.g. your writer’s group loves your latest effort, the query you sent gets a quick and enthusiastic go-ahead, a blog post almost writes itself) or a painful setback (e.g. your writer’s group has questions and suggestions for your next revision, the editor you queried says “No thanks,” it … More When is Winning Really Losing?
Respecting the wisdom of your writing resistance means accepting that the resistance is there for a reason. It also means knowing that real problems have real solutions. If there is a reason to be resistant, there’s a way around it.
… More Respect the Wisdom of Resistance So You Can Move Past It
Just because you don’t know why you’re resistant, doesn’t mean you don’t have a good reason to be resistant. … More Wisdom of Resistance
One summer when I was ten or eleven, my mom gave me a solid piece of writing advice. But neither one of us recognized that’s what it was at the time. It started when I made the mistake of telling my mom, “I’m bored.” “Call Shirley,” she said, nicely enough considering she was undoubtedly working on … More Mom’s Writing Advice
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
Is Your Attention Splintered? One of the best things I do for myself as a writer and a human being is to spend 45 to 60 minutes at least once a week in the dog park (in addition to walking the dogs out my front door every morning). We’re lucky to have a dog … More How Splintered Is Your Attention? Take the Quiz and Find Out
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
Bane of Your Resistance 