May 20, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: MOVE ON
"Abandonment is a necessary task of the writer. As we grow in our art, our art changes, and we must move on." Writing Alone and With Others by Pat Schneider ( p.5)
Pat Schneider makes it clear as she goes on with that passage that "if we cannot let go of the familiar old habits, we will not grow as an artist."
Too often writers simply do not get to the end of what they want to say. Always there is some reason they must continue on – it's not good enough, the words are not quite right, the essence was not captured. Have you ever heard of or known someone who is "forever" writing their book? (…)
May 17, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: SOLITUDE
I was reading Writing Alone and With Others by Pat Schneider and found myself absorbed by her elaboration of ways in which it is possible to get solitude and privacy which she views as essential if one is to write. And, I heartily agree. (…)
May 14, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: MENTAL BREAKS
You know you've got a "serious" writing habit when you don't write for a day and you feel you're having "writing withdrawal." This experience is positive because it's likely to get you back to writing the very next day. (…)
May 11, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: DO WRITERS NEED OPTIMISM?
Certainly not all writers are optimistic. Neither about the probability of getting published (unless they're well connected or are self publishing), nor about the probability of their work being positively received, nor about the probability that they will have something to write about in the future. In fact, many writers are NOT optimistic as reflected in their subject matter. It is certainly well known that Willam Styron who wrote Sophies Choice suffered from depression which he wrote about in Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness (Modern Library). Then there's Kafka, Dostoyefsky, Camus. Could they really have written about such dark topics if they had been optimistic? (…)
May 8, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: WRITING COACHING GROUPS
I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the power of a small group of people to energize each other. I am speaking in particular about the small writing coaching group I have been working with. (…)
May 5, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: WRITE WHEN TIRED
There's no better way to get to the truly uncensored you than writing when you're really tired. When you believe you can't think anymore. When you believe you cannot possibly have anything to say. (…)
May 2, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: GET OVER YOURSELF
I can't believe these words, "Get over yourself," have come out of my mouth/pen. And yet, what could be more true than the need as a writer to "get over yourself."
Being impressed with yourself or wanting to press others will NOT get the writing job done. Just get in there, roll up your sleeves, and be willing to have fun writing. (…)
April 29, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: KEEP A NOTEBOOK
I guess you could say that the suggestion to keep a notebook is a writing tip. The notebook can serve as a place for random thoughts, observations, and writings. It can also serve as an ongoing personal journal. (…)
April 26, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: ALL WRITING IS PRECIOUS
Before I understood that ALL writing is precious, I would throw out what I didn't like. I didn't understand then that what I was really doing was discarding parts of me. Or maybe I really wanted to throw out those parts, hoping it would mean that they no longer existed. (…)
April 23, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: THE 10 MINUTE WARM UP
Here's a writing exercise for the pressured writer or wanna be writer. It comes from Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life
Start by doing a 10 minute timed writing exercise which begins with "I remember." Nor does it matter what you write. "I remember" can bring up all sorts of memories – distant past or almost present; about yourself or about family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc. (…)
April 20, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: LET LONELINESS BE AND WRITE
Last time I was talking about Natalie Goldberg's Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life. Let me continue with that. (…)
April 17, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: PREPARATION FOR USING WRITING EXERCISES
I have avoided the topic of using writing exercises because until now I have not wanted you, the reader and writer, to falsely believe that you need writing exercises in order to write. (…)
- WRITER'S BLOCK: THE POWER OF SUPPORTIVE PEOPLE
In my last writing coaching group a new person, having joined the group the prior time, submitted her writing to the group. It was inspiring to see how delighted the person was to get positive feedback about her writing. Having been stuck for so long, she had come to believe that she did not write well. In the case of writing, it need not be true that if you don't use it, you'll lose it. (…)
April 14, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: OVERCOMING STRESS WITH ROUTINE
Stress is inevitable. Whether self induced or externally induced, without managing stress we are at its mercy. In my last post I talked about mindfulness as a way of addressing stress. You may already have an effective way to handle your stress. No one way can work best for everyone. (…)
April 11, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: MINDFULNESS
Mindfulness is a meditative practice that has gained popularity in the west through the work of Jon Kabat Zinn (Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness). His work was addressed to people who were having physical (medical) problems. Yet, it was found that people with emotional problems benefitted from the techniques as well. (…)
April 8, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: A GOOD DAY
What is a good writing day for you? Is it when you've written a certain amount, or you've written for a certain length of time? Is it when you've produced something you set out to produce? Is it simply sitting down to write? Is it when you've finished something you feel ready to show others? (…)
April 5, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: OVERCOMING "PERSPIRATION"
Sometimes I think that we writers believe we MUST suffer. Without "perspiration" how are we to believe that we have produced a worthy product? Without "perspiration" how are we to believe that we are truly writers? The myth of the suffering writer is a long standing belief that is hard to relinquish. (…)
April 2, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: OVERCOMING EDITING FEARS
One of the important aspects of the editing process is freewriting. Usually we don't think about editing as involving freewriting. Yet, in the editing process, we often run into obstacles that prevent us from moving forward. When that happens, we know from experience that freewriting gets our writing voice active. (…)
March 30, 2009
- WRITER'S BLOCK: TAKE A BREAK
I'm suggesting that you take a break from your writing, unless you have a deadline you must meet, in order to rejuvenate your writing. Nor because you feel stuck, frustrated, depleted of ideas…. or any other negative reason you can think of. (…)
March 27, 2009
- WRITING WHEN YOU'RE NOT WRITING
Writing when you're not writing appears to be a contradiction. Yet, it is important to be aware that writers often think they're writing when they don't have pen to paper or aren't sitting down at their computer. Probably you know that it's generally advised (as a writing tip) that you carry a notebook with you to write down your ideas. And many writers and wannabe writers do exactly that. (…)
