A book that I enjoyed recently is Mary Pipher's Writing to Change the World (2006). Part of it is basic encouragement to start and continue writing and part is more focused discussion of different kinds of writing one can do in the service of positive change--e.g. personal essays, blogs, poetry and music.
Pipher's metaphors made me smile and want to keep reading. Here's one example:
"A blank page can feel like cold water. ...we have to dive in. And when we do, it can be miserable until we warm up. Then we relax and write without effort."
Here's a piece of advice which she quotes from Michael Crichton: "Work inspires inspiration. Keep working. If you succeed, keep working. If you fail, keep working. "
She also addresses what she calls writing "demons," as opposed to writer's block. She describes them as internal pressures that we need to face and direct toward a purpose. Anxiety, she says, is her personal demon.
Here are some ways she found to conquer her demon:
1. keeping track of the number of hours she wrote every day, to put in her time and effort conscientiously.
2. stopping when she felt she had written a particularly good sentence or paragraph, so she could start the next day on a high note.
3. starting the day by writing in her journal or leafing through one of her books on writing, then writing a few personal or business-related letters and cards before she turned to her "work."
4. working on a variety of projects, so she could move from one to another according to her mental energy, and not feel stuck by any one thing.
5. facing her internal critic, telling it to calm down, writing out all its criticisms until they got too absurd and even she had to laugh at them. Paradoxically, she says, letting the critic speak actually quieted it and gave her space to work,
The best advice? "Stewing in our own stress is not a good way to handle difficulty. Action (my italics) ameliorates anxiety."
I recommend the whole book for its many ideas simply and elegantly expressed.
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