More miscellaneous, so-not profound musings on writing: 4) If you are constantly doubting your work, ask yourself if you trust your own creative process. If the answer is anything but yes, add “TRUST” to your daily mantra. 5) You need a safe–some call it sacred–space to write, where you are free from interruptions and intrusion. That safe place might be your office, your car, the nearest library or cafe. If you write on a computer, you need to know others will not be reading your stories before you are ready to share. 6) You need psychic privacy to write–a sense …
Tag: creative flow
December’s Writing Child
3 of 31 miscellaneous, so-not-profound musings on writing: Dec 1, Beware, you can lose your butt in the chair. Dec 2, Dive with your heart as deep as you dare…and then go deeper. Dec 3, Three words to unleash on the page: yearning, relationships, intention.
Quote of the Day–Letting Go
“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” Erich Fromm
The Trust Muscle
Today’s quote from author Elizabeth Gilbert–“To sit patiently with a yearning that has not yet been fulfilled, and to trust that, that fulfillment will come, is quite possibly one of the most powerful ‘magic skills’ that human beings are capable of. It has been noted by almost every ancient wisdom tradition.” Today’s challenge: Warm up your trust muscle and let it support you and your creative projects.
Make Believe, Believe…
Mentoring from J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan: “I’ll teach you to ride on the wind’s back, and away we go!”
PAGE BY PAGE
My daughter announced today that she’s making a 3,000-page book. The word count will be light but it will have scads of pictures. She’s five years old. She asked me to contribute a drawing. When I complied, she added finishing touches. And then she marked off three more pages. “I’m doing four pages a day,” she said, placing her palm firmly over the rest of her notebook. “Why four?” I asked. “Because that’s just enough,” she said. “You’re right,” I said. “When will it be done?” “Soon,” she said. I don’t doubt her for a moment. If you’re writing a 300-page book, …
A REASON NOT TO WRITE
Recently a writer shared a list of all the reasons why she needed to wait until winter to begin her new writing schedule. I read it over, paused a moment, and responded, “There will always be reasons not to write.” Those times when life seems most overwhelming–when it comes rolling straight at us full-tilt–present some of the richest challenges and also opportunities. No better time to be writing with full commitment to your practice. A writing life is just that, a writing life. It goes on, whether times are smooth or filled with upheaval. When you feel tested, I …
CARTOONS, HORIZONS & OTHER OUTLINES
As part of my family’s spring break, I spent the past few days revising an outline. This novel is already in progress but I’ve been making changes to some of the plot elements and I wanted to “picture” the whole again. I worked up a six-page prose outline. Sure enough, it gave me a new perspective. Still, I wanted an instant picture. My first idea was to use a “horizon” outline. It’s something I do often and it’s simple. I draw a line across a long sheet of paper. I divide the line into thirds to represent the three acts …
MANTRA FOR PERFECTIONISTS
CONNECTION THROUGH IMPERFECTION
CREATIVE BANKING
Last week, in the midst of a busy coaching schedule, a busy writing schedule, and my always busy family life, I took time out for some creative banking. I don’t mean I did some funny business with my income tax prep. I do mean I took stock of past, present, and future writing projects, and I discovered how much I have in my creative “bank”. If you’ve been writing for any length of time, you have projects you’ve left simmering on the back-burner and projects you’ve just plain left behind because it was time to move on. Those that are …