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Jan 27

You have something special to say: Write with abandon

I recently presented a memoir writing workshop. A couple times in class, I gave the students writing prompts. When I asked the students if they wanted to read their writing, almost everyone did. I was inspired by all of them. Each one had something special to say. Each piece of writing had humor and sadness and beauty.

I’m sad to say though that I saw a trend repeated in this class. Almost every student who read, qualified what they were going to read with a statement, such as:

“It’s kind of short,”

“It’s kind of long,”

It’s not very good.”

No matter how many times,I tell students, “Don’t think, just put the words down on the page,” or “the first draft is just a draft,” or, “writing is a practice,” they still feel the need to devalue their words. Read more

Jan 23

Tips for choosing a writing teacher or mentor

In my last post, I wrote about what I learned on a raw food retreat with author and raw food guru David Wolfe. That post discussed that if you want to be an “expert” in a field (like writing your novel), you may want to practice the concept of total immersion.

The second principle I learned at that retreat has to do with who you choose as your mentors or guides. We were talking about food, of course, and David said if you’re considering purchasing a cookbook or diet book, look at the picture of the author. Are they glowing with health? Do they look fit? If they don’t—if they’re obviously unhealthy or unfit—then why would you want to buy their book?

This same concept is true for choosing a writing mentor or teacher. A gaggle of people teach writing, and if you search online, you’ll find hundreds selling their classes or products.

Choose your mentors with care. Read more

Jan 21

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Do you have screen apnea? Breathe deeply to enhance your health and creativity

I’m always happy if I can put myself into a writing trance, shut out distractions, and find my focus. But I figured out something about myself. I sometimes forget to breathe. Literally, I find that I’m holding my breath or that my breathing is very shallow.

So when I read the book, Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind, I was intrigued to learn that there’s a name for this — screen or e-mail apnea. Unfortunately, it can be harmful to your health.

In the chapter, “Awakening to Conscious Computing,” technology consultant Linda Stone, who coined the terms e-mail apnea and screen apnea, wrote about how she observed more than 200 people using computers and smart phones in offices, homes, and cafes. The vast majority, she said, were holding their breath or breathing very shallowly, especially when responding to e-mail. Their posture while sitting at the computer was often poor, which exacerbated the problem. Read more

Jan 20

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How total immersion can help you finish your novel

At a raw food retreat I attended in 2004, raw food guru and author David Wolfe said two things that have stuck with me through the last ten years. This post will discuss the first principle. My next post will go over the second one.

He said that if you want to become an “expert” in any field you have to totally immerse yourself in that field: study it, read books about it, talk about it, write about it. Eventually, you begin to dream about it. Total Immersion.

Writing and finishing a novel requires the same type of immersion. Even when you’re not sitting down to write, your story needs to be running in the background of your subconscious. Read more

Jan 16

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How to break out of the writing doldrums

In Carly’s post, “Four tips to defeat your writing funk,” she shares some tips for what to do when you get stuck in your writing project. Her ideas prompted me to share a few of my own. Goodness knows we all get into the writing doldrums from time to time, but there’s no need to panic!

  1. Give your brain a break. The other day I was stuck on a scene but I was tired and my brain just wasn’t working. So I lay down on the couch and dreamed myself into my story. I didn’t force it but just kind of gently played around with some ideas in my mind. Sometimes, I might fall asleep doing this but that day, an idea floated to the surface that fit, so I got up and continued writing. Score one for my muse!
  2. Write somewhere different. I was working on a piece at my desk the other night and just couldn’t get into it. I felt uncomfortable for some reason. So, I made a cup of tea and curled up in my big white chair in the same room. Before I knew it, I was back in the flow of writing and having fun. Routines are great until your brain gets to complacent. That’s when you have to trick it with a new routine. Read more

Jan 15

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Four tips to defeat your writing funk

Sometimes my brain circuitry feels like it’s got a short in it. It went on vacation and left me home. Or it’s buzzing and I just can’t settle down. Or, I’m just stumped about what direction I should go with a story or poem.

Has this ever happened to you? If so, consider trying a few of these strategies.

1. Change tools. If you’re tapping out your sentences on your computer, pick up a pen or pencil and write by hand in a notebook. For that matter, some people enjoy typing on an actual typewriter. Read more

Jan 14

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To develop a daily writing practice think “slow”

After a year of focusing on my business and taking care of various family members, I’m working on re-developing a daily writing habit. It feels a bit like learning a new job. I notice resistance to the actual act of sitting my bum in my chair and writing. I also notice I’ve developed the attention span of a gnat.

In my life and business, I’m an incredible multitasker. I won’t go into the details in case you’ve read them before (see my post “How to reclaim your life and energy for your art”). But I’ve been finding that multitasking can actually make you less productive—especially if you’re an artist or a writer.

As Heather Sellers states in her book, Chapter after Chapter, writing is slow work. She relates it to the Slow Food Movement that was born to counter fast food chains taking over the world. Slow food is about being conscious of what you put in your mouth, of where your food is coming from, and whose pocket you are lining when you buy your food.

Writing is a conscious art form. Sure, we can whip off an e-mail or a blog post, but poetry, screen plays, and novels take time to develop. Art takes time. During your actual writing time, you can’t multitask, you have to slow down. Sellers says she can type 137 words-per-minute but it doesn’t mean they’ll be good words. It doesn’t mean they’ll be juicy words. She says writing isn’t typing. Read more

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