You Can Write It Now

Where Does the Energy TO Write Come From?

I'm reading Bill O'Hanlon's new book, Write Is A Verb.  Great title!

He talks about 4 kinds of energy that can fuel writing.  I know from other contact with him that he talks about the same 4 energies as fueling other active, basically positive responses to life too.

The 4 energies are:  blissed, blessed, dissed, and pissed. 

Briefly, when you feel blissed, you're in touch with the inner passion you feel for your subject and project.  When you feel blessed, this comes from outside encouragement and help.  These are positive energies.

But negative energies can be useful too!  When you feel dissed, you've experienced rejection or disrespect from others or even a terrible loss.  You respond with "I'll show you!"  Feeling pissed comes from situations that inspire indignation and the desire to right a wrong or show a better way.  Mary Pipher's books, which I discussed in my last post, comes from that sensibility and energy.

I like the idea that we can use all energies to propel us into writing.  I wrote an article for the All But Dissertation Guide Newsletter on this idea.  I called it "Motivating Yourself Over the Long Haul," and outlined ways to use both the carrot and the stick to keep yourself going.  You can read the article by clicking here.

A Book For Writers Who Want To Change the World

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. "

Powerful Books About Writing, By Women Writers

The first book I ever read on women and writing was Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own.  I remember being very excited (this was back in the late 1950's) that someone had put into words the difficulties facing women who wanted to become writers.

My strong sense of constraint certainly came from the beliefs I was raised with about women.  The amazing thing to me was that Woolf had  published her book in 1929 and the ideas and feelings in it were still true for me.

The even more amazing thing is that, although women are major writers now, so very many of us still struggle with feelings of guilt over making time for our own work a priority.