Stay on the Bus: Patience in the Creative Process
I’ve been reading (and loving) Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. A lot of what he talks about could be applied to the creative life, beginning with the fact that we do, in fact, have about 4,000 weeks total to live our lives. When you put it that way, it doesn’t seem like very many, does it? So the crucial thing is to do what’s most meaningtful to you now. Don’t wait for some mythical time in the future when you will “have enough time” or have your life completely sorted, or know exactly what you want to do.
11 Surprising Habits to Improve Your Writing Mindset
When we think of mindset we tend to think only about what’s inside – our mental models for developing resilience and a positive attitude.
That is only part of the story, however.
We can also support our brain health from the outside, which affects how we feel mentally.
The Total Revision Mindset
What happens when you or your beta readers or coach read through your manuscript, and you realize there are significant flaws, that mean you basically need to start over from scratch? Cue sobbing emoji.
Writing Goes Bananas
Lately I’ve gotten hooked on watching baseball again. Not just any baseball, but Bananaball, as played by the Savannah Bananas.
They play their own game, with their own rules, similar to but not the same as regular baseball. Their rules are designed to make the game more fun, and move faster. Most of all, they center the audience rather than the players.
Vision is Always Ahead of Execution
In Art and Fear, David Bayles and Ted Orland say:
“Vision, Uncertainty, and Knowledge of Materials are inevitabilities that all artists must acknowledge and learn from: vision is always ahead of execution, knowledge of materials is your contact with reality, and uncertainty is a virtue.”
How to Keep Writing No Matter What
A little while ago I was invited to be a panel guest on the topic of “How to Keep Writing No Matter What” at the Lesley University MFA program, where I got my MFA a number of years ago. I faced an auditorium of MFA students who no doubt strongly believe that they will defy the odds and continue writing after they no longer have regular deadlines and faculty giving them tons of helpful feedback and encouragement.
Frankly, many of them won’t.
8 Ways to Help You Focus Like a Pro While Writing
Some of you have started NaNoWriMo this week – or some version of a writing challenge. Congratulations! Sometimes it takes a specific challenge to break through that resistance and get us to actually sit down and write. Sometimes knowing it’s for a limited period of time helps us focus. It’s far more effective in terms of meeting your goal to say, “I’m going to write 1,000 words per day for the next month” than to say “I’m going to write 1,000 words per day until I get this novel done.”
Which brings us to today’s topic: Focus.
Distraction or Discipline: Which Do You Choose?
I follow Brendon Burchard on Instagram and Twitter (@BrendonBurchard). He’s a coach in the inspirational/productivity space and he gives good doses of loving but firm advice. A couple of his recent quotes struck me in particular, since they hit hard at a daily struggle I and many writers and creators go through:
I Failed at My Last Writing Retreat
This holiday weekend, I had big plans for my writing. I was going to do a writing retreat, with the goal of adding 10,000 words to my manuscript in progress. Not that daunting, really, since I had 4 days to make it happen: 2500 words a day. More than I’m used to, but not by an outrageous amount.
The Cure for Writer’s Block
The writing isn’t the problem.
It’s you.
Writers love to complain about writer’s block, and even look askance at anyone who claims not to have it. They must be a hack, surely, if writing comes so easily to them? If it’s not like squeezing blood from a stone, is it even writing?
10 Failures of Mindset That Will Keep You from Writing
This month, I’m going to be focusing on various aspects of what I call Mindset Coaching for Writers. There are many aspects to a writer’s mindset, such as developing persistence, dealing with blocks, plus the paradoxes of both staying in “beginner’s mind” while also developing mastery of your craft, among others.
Want to Improve Your Writing? Change Your Mindset
In the last post I talked about identity, imposter syndrome, and the importance of identifying yourself as a Writer. Today I want to talk more about mindset, and how to utilize it to achieve your creative goals.