You Can Write It Now

Start Blogging!

If you want to get into a writing groove, there is nothing better than starting a blog to do it.

Getting your work out into cyberspace can reap all kinds of benefits for you as a writer.

First, there's the idea that anybody can stumble onto your blog by accident and get intrigued by what you're saying.  Now you have an audience!

Second, you have a public place to direct interested parties--family, friends, agents--to see what you're thinking and doing. 

Some people post chapters of the novels they're working on as blogposts.  Others like to write about their writing--creating what I call "notebooks."  Think of Dostoevsky here.  Others simply want to develop their writing chops and find the casual nature of blogs helpful in reducing writers' anxiety.

I encourage clients to start blogs for personal growth as well. There is something about writing that helps to process experience.  I think here of someone who started a blog to cope with bouts of cancer.  Her initial goal was to have an outlet for all the frustrations she felt with doctors and treatments. But as she got into blogging, her horizons expanded into writing about her own inner growth through dealing with cancer.  Her life has taken a whole new turn as a result.  Her blog has given friends a new understanding of her and also offers people who don't know her some thought-provoking ideas for themselves.

Most of all, it has given her a voice she never knew she had, which gives her a real boost.  I believe that having some form of self-expression is crucial to human happiness.  Blogging makes it easy to experiment with writing as that form.

First Aid For Writers

If you are in a critical situation with deadlines, you need First Aid.  This could be either a kit you keep in your writers' medicine chest or an angel, also known as a coach, who comes to treat you in the field.  Sometimes the first is enough; sometimes you need the second.

How do you know?

Well, do you have a First Aid kit at all?
You can assemble one very simply.

1. A kit needs to contain what is called your Best Practices:
Make a list on paper of everything you can think of that has helped you when you have been stuck or behind deadline in the past. This can include such things as "getting the deadline moved" and "disappearing" from your daily routines to immerse yourself in writing.  Put this paper up where you can see it.  Pick one thing and try it.  If it doesn't work, go to the next, and so on.  The act of doing this can stimulate your juices.

2. A kit should contain Inspirational Ideas, particularly ones you have thought up in the past or present.  Quotes from others can be helpful too, but I always like to encourage you to create your own.  Again, write them out and put them up for your eyes to rest on.

3. A kit should also hold Resource Information: who and what you might call on to help you in different ways.  When time is of the essence, hiring outside help briefly might well be worth the extra expense.  It's not going to be forever.  This is an under-used part of the kit for most people.  Think outside your usual inhibitions about it.

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If this isn't enough, really think outside the box and hire a coach, who truly can be your Angel of Mercy when time anxiety starts to overwhelm you.  How can coaching help you?

1. A coach is not under the same pressure you are and can often help anchor you to your Best Practices when you can't seem to do it.

For instance, a man who had a firm deadline for his manuscript and a lot of outside responsibilties came to me for help. We identified his greatest strengths and behaviors that had worked for him in the past when he was under time pressure. We agreed to meet weekly and use email in between to  keep him on track as he experimented with ways  to complete his project in the context of his life. Getting feedback and ideas from me helped him stay focused and motivated, even though the balancing act he needed to do wasn't easy. P.S. He finished his work on time, and his family and job are intact.

2. A coach can ask you the right questions to help you locate useful resources quickly.

For instance, a client writing a dissertation was trying desperately to learn a program for collecting data but was spinning his wheels. We scanned the possibilities and he ended up finding a grad student versed in that program who ran the data for him. It was a win-win situation: the grad student earned needed-money but didn't overcharge for the service and completed the work quickly; my client could move ahead and use his energy for more important parts of his thesis.

3. A coach who has experience working with writers can help you identify your particular problems and find ways to resolve them.

For instance, one of my clients had so many notes on her subject that she got lost in them.  That really triggered her anxiety. Once we recognized what the issue was, I suggested setting up a "storyboard" to lay out her main ideas and attach only relevant notes on small post-its that linked to each idea.  She now had a graphic representation of her material to look at and work with. She felt immensely relieved to remove the clutter from her brain that way and soon saw the structure of her argument much more clearly.

If you haven't got your First Aid kit together yet, do it now!

If it's not enough, contact me. I can help you.

Why Do You Want To Write?

Notice that I am not asking, why do you have to write?
The answer to that may be prosaic:  I have an assignment, or I want to get a promotion, or I need to earn a degree. Or more dramatic:  because I have an inner daemon, because it is my gift, and so on

My question has a very different focus.  I want to know why you feel compelled to write about a certain subject. What ideas rattle around your head at night and make you so restless that you get up at 3 in the morning (remember that's it's always 3 A.M. in the Dark Night of the Soul) and put pencil to paper or turn on the computer? In other words, what about your writing really stirs your juices?

Time Management For Writers

One of the greatest challenges for nearly everybody these days is having enough time to do everything we need to do.  Daily life, in and of itself, is hard enough to manage.  Add in a big project like a written work, and  our lives start to feel overwhelming and pretty grim.

Of course there are a plethora of books on the subject of time management.  I've read quite a few myself.  Instead of pulling them out to review here, I'd rather ask you:  do you feel you have enough time to write?  If the answer is no, I invite you to join me in exploring some new ways to think about time.

Write What You Know

Write what you know.

Most books of advice for writers say this sooner or later.  It seems logical, doesn't it?
But what does it mean?
What do you know?

I like to ask writers, both successful and struggling, to tell me what they know and feel confident writing about.

Of course the common answer is:  "It depends...."
Bear with me. This is actually a helpful answer.

Depends on what?

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.

Visualizations Can Help You Write More Easily

I'm not a particularly visual person--I never notice that my husband has had a haircut, for instance--but visualizing has always touched a powerful chord in me. I also find that it helps many writers. 

One visualization I have used is to ask blocked writers to close their eyes and imagine themselves in a place they particularly love out in nature and spend time immersing themselves in the setting, using all their senses. 

Here's the process:

Look around you and notice the intensity of color in things.  What else do you see? What pleases you most?

Listen for the sounds of wind and life around you.

Sniff the air and notice what scents you enjoy the most.

Touch trees, flowers, water--whatever attracts you.

Taste something growing there.

Notice the energy all around you and breathe it in.   

Feel your self on the ground or in the water, starting to move.  Feels your muscles carrying you where you want to go.  Are you smiling?  Enjoy the sense of motion as you swim or walk or run or skip or float.  Vary what you are doing.

You are going to bring this memory back with you and hold it in your body when you return to your writing.  Pick something in your visualization that will represent the whole experience for you.  Maybe it's a particular tree that seems well-rooted and bends in the wind yet keeping growing upward.  Maybe it's a kayak that will hold you and carry you swiftly across a lake, propelled by the wind as much as by a paddle.   

Yes, there is effort involved, but it's not grim and unnatural.  It's energy that you can tap into from a constantly renewable source.

Try it and share your experience with us.

Exercise For Writers

A Tip from Lynne

I’m doing Pilates with a trainer these days.

Pilates is a body conditioning method that (to grossly oversimplify) focuses on strengthening abdominal muscles and increasing flexibility through lengthening other muscles.

The exciting news is that regular work on strengthening and lengthening muscles has already paid dividends after just a few months: I have better balance now that I’m using more kinds of muscles to hold myself upright. It turns out that I was walking around slightly tilted, depending mainly on my back and shoulders instead of my “core” for support—not a good idea.

Who knew?

New benefits keep appearing. Now, when I get down on the floor to play with my grandkids, I can actually jump up instead of laboriously pulling myself up via the furniture.  I feel about ten years younger!

What does this have to do with writing, you ask?

A lot.

If you think about it, writing also requires strengthening specific kinds of muscles. Regular exercise makes it much easier to do well.

The good news is that if your writing muscles are flabby, you can strengthen them by cultivating the right kind of mindset that will lead you to take action.

First of all, admit that you are out of shape.

Next, be willing to commit to a conditioning program for what you are trying to write. This means establishing a schedule of writing times during the week when you will exercise the muscles you need for your particular project. The most important point is to write on your topic very regularly. The more you do that, the faster you will develop those “writing muscles.”

The greatest benefits will come when you can set realistic goals for yourself and do the work to the best of your ability at that time, without self criticism. 

When I first started Pilates I had very little stamina and no abdominal muscles to speak of. I certainly didn’t do the exercises perfectly. But I kept my goals in mind and got benefit from the simple act of showing up repeatedly, however embarrassed I felt at my awkwardness.

Honestly speaking, steady discipline isn’t my strong suit. That’s why I decided to get a trainer. I had tried exercising on my own and just didn’t do it. The same can be true with a writer.  Getting help to stay on task can make the difference between your success or failure to complete it.

Remember: for most writers, the problem isn’t lack of intelligence or ability; it’s the mistaken belief that writing should be easy and take little effort. So, embrace the effort and feel yourself grow strong.

 

 

Knowing Your Character Strengths Can Help You as a Writer

A Tip from Lynne:

The developing new area of psychology that has been dubbed "Positive Psychology" is a fascinating, research-based field.

To identify your chief character strengths, go to www.authentichappiness.com and take the free 200+ question survey called the VIA (Values In Action).  This survey, part of a major research project at the University of Michigan, lays out 24 strengths.

You'll get an instant, detailed report on your top 5 signature strengths and the rest in rank order. 

It pays to answer the survey as honestly as you can. Remember, it is a subjective measure--your internal sense of yourself--and all 24 are strengths.

I suppose it's only human nature to look at the bottom 5 and think of them as deficits.  But it's important first to focus on your top 5 signature strengths and consider how you might use them in ways you haven't thought of before.

Sometimes we take our strengths for granted because they are so "easy" for us, even if they aren't for other people.  But what about exploring their power to help us find flow when we write?

They are our most natural way to work, so instead of dismissing them, we need to rely on them more to be at our best. 

They may even help us find ways to raise some of those bottom 5 strengths, especially if doing so will improve our ability to succeed as writers.