I'm not perfect.  And never will be.  And that is what makes me a whole human being.  There's always something of value in what we consider "bad" writing.  Sometimes it's as simple as seeing that after "bad" writing comes "good" writing.  "good" according to us, the writer.

Recently on You Tube there was a clip of a woman singing on the British version of the American TV show, American Idol.  Because of how she presented herself as well as how she dressed, her voice surprised not only the audience, but the judges as well.  And renegade Simon Cowell of American Idol was one of the judges.   The woman had no idea that her voice was as outstanding as others thought.  So, after all, who does decide what's "good."  Therefore, again, why not keep it all?  Perhaps the "bad" writing is not as "bad" as you think.  And, the "good" writing is not as "good" as you think.  But, it is true that all the writing is you, and is therefore entitled to exist.

One further point.  Looking back on old "bad" writing years later, I have often been surprised to discover gems.  Had the writing improved, or had I developed a new perspective?  The point is that by saving ALL writing you allow yourself the opportunity to harvest when the time is right.

I remember being surprised in reading Twyla Tharp'sThe Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life to learn that she got up early every morning to work out.  It was part of her belief that creativity — let's face it, creativity is a core issue for writers — is promoted by having a routine.  One cannot wait for inspiration.  If one "does," inspiration will follow.

As I said, there is no one way that works for everyone.  But having a routine may work for you.  Research on the formation of automatic habits has shown that in order to develop a habit, we need to have a routine that we follow.  And, the routine must last at least 21 days.

According to Twyla Tharp, creativity is a habit.  If you are willing to embrace her idea, and if you do not have a daily routine that includes activities besides writing, now could be the time to implement one.  Morning pages (The Artist's Way : A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity) is a routine, albeit a writing routine.  For some writers who find it difficult to generate a routine separate from their writing, morning pages may work.

At least we know that "if you always do the same thing, you'll always get what you got." So, if you want something different, consider a routine, or a new routine.

Other tips on overcoming writer's block can be found at OVERCOME WRITER'S BLOCK EASILY.

Many people are not invested in the stock market and yet their lives are greatly affected by what the market is doing.   For example, many companies cannot afford to keep some or many of their employees.  Some businesses cannot afford to stay in business.  We are, therefore, well advised to NOT depend on the economic conditions for our sense of internal security.

In these extraordinarily difficult times, we need to rely upon our inner resourcefulness and knowledge that we can "make it" no matter what.

Some people with whom I've spoken are counting on the election to get us out of economic turmoil.  This is the case for people who support McCain or Obama.  And yet, we cannot afford to wait until the election to take action to improve our lives… to have inner stability.

I very much appreciate during this period what Eckhart Tolle has said in The Power of Now. I hope it brings you comfort as well:

"Wherever you are, be there totally.   If you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy,you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally.  If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one of these three options, and you must choose now.  Then accept the consequences.  No excuses.  No negativity.  No psychic pollution."  (p.82)

"Make it a habit to monitor your mental-emotional state through self-observation. 'Am I at ease at this moment?' is a good question to ask yourself frequently.   Or you can ask: 'What's going on inside me at this moment?'  Be at least as interested in what goes on inside you as what happens outside.  If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place." (p.77)

At the same time, though in different places throughout Wild Mind as well as throughout Writing Down The Bones, Natalie talks about the importance of keeping your hand moving either on paper or on computer. While these two concepts "appear" contradictory, it seems to me that what the author is saying is that we're all human, and that we need to take our humanness into consideration when we write. I know I felt relieved to hear her talk about the "laziness" factor.

Unfortunately, as in life so in writing we can be too hard on ourselves. We can and often (or sometimes) do expect too much of ourselves or of our writing. In Overcome Writer's Block Easily I discuss how to deal with the saboteur, that part of ourselves that can interfere with the movement of our writing work. While it (he/she) may have good intention for us, the tone of voice we often hear in our heads is anything but comforting. And, gentleness is what we need from ourselves in order to genuinely hear our "real voice," and move forward.

What is true is that I am happy and relieved as well to do what I very much enjoy… even love… doing. Writing. And, I write today without being critical of what I'm writing because being critical — self evaluative — means that I'm not being in my experience of the moment. If I'm not in my experience, my genuine thoughts, that reflect the "real voice," I talked about yesterday in my blog, definitely won't be represented. So, here I am, not writing about Natalie Goldberg who has influenced me a great deal. What I believe is that I need to re-read the entire book that I read so long ago before I know what my real voice wants to say about it.

I'm trusting my intuition. In life as in writing, trusting our intuition is what makes things work out well.

As I've mentioned at other times, other writing strategies… and in fact, a plan for writing… is presented in Overcome Writer's Block Easily .

That passage especially made me realize a major reason I encourage people (writers and want-to-be-writers) to simply write whatever comes into their mind. Namely, writing "whatever" is very much like just speaking. And when we're speaking without self consciousness, we are speaking from our real voice.

It doesn't matter what kind of writing we do, for it to be real, it needs to come from deep within us. So, writing "whatever," without thinking about it, and not worrying how good or bad it is, is truly essential.

For more techniques on writing see Overcome Writer's Block Easily.

If we focus on the positive outcome, it can help move us through the fear. A writer with whom I was recently working comes to mind. She was having a really hard time believing that it was her natural born right to enjoy the process of writing. "What are you waiting for?" I asked. And she was puzzled. We discussed some fun symbols she could put in her writing space to remind her to have fun…. which is what she really wanted though was terribly fearful to have happen. She put the various objects in her writing space after that. It was no miracle, but it came pretty close.

Seize the day continues to be the message I give myself each day. It is as well a message I impart to my clients.

You can read more about my writing strategies in Overcome Writer's Block Easily

The issues involved in writing remain as significant for the blogosphere as in any other writing modality. It is, however, the newest mode of expressing oneself in writing along with other internet writing forms, like articles, newsletters and ebooks.

I believe that the information available in Overcome Writer's Block Easily is important for anyone who is writing in any format for the internet. It has not only helped me, but in addition I have recently been teaching a course on writing easily for the internet, and have found the principles from Overcome Writer's Block Easily to work extremely well, whether you're a guy or a gal. I definitely like that.

It is frequently recommended that writers have a regular routine — which I support as well — and yet, I can as well support the activity of a huge burst of writing after a period of "deprivation." The deprivation can occur because of some external factor(s), or because instead of writing something, anything, no matter what, we just fail to write. In Overcome Writer's Block Easily I don't address reasons that we don't write because for the most part, once we make up our minds to write, we can keep ourselves moving. Still, it is important to note that there will be times (hopefully short) that this does not happen, and we then experience a burst of activity. So why not enjoy the burst?

Life is not orderly and predictable. We need to be flexible whether in life or in writing. I was terribly frustrated being unable to get on and blog, and yet I realized I could generate an alternative plan… write by long hand. Like in the very old days. And I could have blogged a lot though I chose not to. I decided to use the time for other activities that for various reasons I had put on hold. It's good I got many of them done.

It's definitely a positive thing to roll with the punches. It represents emotional well being. Why not when stuck and frustrated reframe the situation as one that inherently offers options? In this case, I chose to hand write, and share my thoughts belatedly. Who says blogging has to appear on the day you blogged? Bending the rules to fit our needs leads to emotional growth… in writing and in life. And emotional growth leads to happiness. And happiness, no matter how we define it, is what we're all after. So, the unexpected turn of events actually was positive after all.