Writing is a Job

In a recent Washington Post article, Ann Patchett made a New Year’s resolution. She discovered a “radical concept — time spent working equals output of work.” It dawned on her that writing is a job, and therefore not to be taken lightly. You mean… it’s not something that I squeeze in between jaunts to the supermarket, dry cleaners, hair salon, and doctor’s appointments? Not to mention laundry, scouring the oven, and cleaning toilets?? All of which I do to avoid sitting down at the computer and facing my Inner Editor, by the way.

It’s not that I’m actually afraid of my Inner Saboteur (who, when my writing instructor asked the class to put a face and name to it, turned out to be an annoying Leprechaun, utterly devoid of the power and magnificence of The Great and Powerful Oz).

The fact is…I buy into pretty much everything he has to say. And it turns out that I’m not the only writer who does.

According to Ann Patchett (who, incidentally, is the author of five novels, including Bel Canto (winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize),

“Writing is an endless confrontation with my own lack of talent and intelligence, because if I were as smart and talented as I ought to be, I would have finished this book by now. I would consider avoiding work the better plan were it not for the fact that to have written a book, to have finished it, is such a glorious thing that it is worth whatever suffering is meted out in the process.”

The trick, I think, is to see the Inner Editor for who he (or she) truly is: the man behind the curtain, whose sole purpose in life is to keep us safe – protected from even a glancing blow of failure.

Once I managed to see his true colours, I took great delight in throwing back the curtain, and showing him the door. Not that he doesn’t skulk into my office whenever he can get the chance. But, he’s an intruder, and ever since the day I stood up to him and stripped him of his title of General Know-It-All, I was ready to accept a new voice into my creative hub room. A voice that gently guides me through the miasma of creating something even vaguely readable.

So, who knows? Maybe, now that I have a new boss, and I take the time each day to actually work on this novel that’s been taking up every square inch of space in my brain for the past two years – actually see it as a job – the results won’t be half bad. Or, as Ann Patchett said, it “may well be brilliant. Now there’s a beautiful thought.”

5 Ways to improve your writing and concentration :: 10,000 Words

{{desc}}

via 5 Ways to improve your writing and concentration :: 10,000 Words.

Photo:  dbdbrobot

Going After the Things You Want

“Television is a medium because it is neither rare nor well done” – Ernie Kovacs

I have the kind of cold that sends you underground. This place is either your bed, or the room where your TV resides. I grew up in a home where daytime TV was considered verboten. The message I absorbed was that couch potatoes fall into two categories: (1) they suffer from a debilitating illness, or (2) they are malingerers.

So, of course, when this mother of all colds hit this week, I hit the TV trail. And Oprah was my first pitstop. Adam Lambert and Susan Boyle were her guests, and I settled in with my blankie, a box of man-sized Kleenex, and a hefty mug of scalding tea. My greatest wish was to escape, even for an hour, the constant need to blow my nose and hack into my arm.  

What I didn’t expect was that I’d end up sobbing into my Kleenex, while warbling along with Adam Lambert. And I certainly didn’t expect to be jolted out of my snug, safe place by two such divergent personalities as Adam Lambert and Susan Boyle.

As soon as the credits rolled at the end of the show, I ran for my journal. My hand flew across the page, downloading everything that’s been sitting inside, afraid to show its face to the world (or at least some of it):

• Don’t be afraid of what you want.
• And don’t be afraid of going after it.
• Visualize your dream; then take action.
• Take what you do seriously, but have fun with it.                                                           
• Your gift lies within, but it belongs to the world.
• So give it – fearlessly, willingly, lovingly. The world has never seen your gift before, I promise you.

Why Be a Fearless Writer?

Last week I started a conversation about fear and declared this year to be “The Year of Living Fearlessly”. I mentioned that writers already hold a certain amount of fearlessness. This week I’d like to go a little further and think about what fearlessness looks like to a writer–and why it’s so important for you to cultivate fearlessness.

There’s a piece from a book review written of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden that I keep on my desk. It refers to the book as, “A novel planned on the grandest possible scale…One of those occasions when a writer has aimed high and then summoned every ounce of energy, talent, seriousness, and passion of which he was capable…” Now one could say that if a writer is “aiming high”, he is working from ego and hubris. That may be true.

But I think what such aim really requires is fearlessness. Only a fearless writer can dive into the depths and truthfully describe what he observes in the most devastatingly beautiful way he can. Only by facing the fear of your writing not being good enough can you ensure that it will become excellent.

Learning how to handle fear, I believe, is one of the most important skills we can master. The author Matthew Kelly, in his insightful program, Living Every Day with Passion and Purpose, points out that the phrase “Do not be afraid,” appears over a thousand times in the Bible, words often attributed to God Himself. Why is that? Because, as Mr. Kelly says, “God knows the measure of our life is the measure of our courage.”

I believe he’s right, and that’s why I feel it’s important to have this discussion right now. The measure of your life will be the measure of your courage. It is up to you to decide whether you are up to the challenge or whether you will fall short. But I will tell you this: I believe you can measure up to be far greater than you imagine.

© 2010 Sophfronia Scott

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, but you must include this complete resource box with it: Sophfronia Scott is Executive Editor of the Done For You Writing & Publishing Company. Learn what a difference being a published author can make for your business. Get your FREE audio CD, “How to Succeed in Business By Becoming a Bestselling Author” and your FREE online writing and book publishing tips at www.DoneForYouWriting.com.

WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
Just go to The Business By the Book Blog.

Will 2010 be ‘Business as Usual’ for You?

When you look back on the past decade, what do you say about yourself?

Honestly? Many people would respond, “I spent my time waiting, whining, worrying, and wishing.”

Case in point:

 While many companies waited for (and are still waiting for) the economy to rebound, Reebok launched Travel Trainers, a lightweight, packable sneaker – sold in Japan from airport vending machines.

While American auto-makers whined about high gas prices for the dearth of gas-guzzling SUVs they produced, Honda built the Pilot, a car that looks like an SUV but gets twice the gas mileage.

While you’ve been waiting for the muse to strike so you can start something amazing, thousands of entrepreneurs have launched successful small businesses.

•  What’s your biggest regret about the 2000s?
•  What do you wish you had started, joined, invested in, or built?
• Do you wish you’d at least had the courage to try?

Here’s a challenge for you for the new decade:

Find ideas that matter and to share them. Push yourself and those around you to demonstrate gratitude, insight, and inspiration. Take risks.

Choose optimism. Choose action. Choose excellence. Don’t be satisfied with “business as usual.” Do “business as unusual.”

With thanks to Seth Godin. This article is adapted from his book, Small is the New Big, pp. 256-259. Seth’s words inject me with the courage to do business as unusual.

Laura Christianson owns Blogging Bistro (www.bloggingbistro.com), a company that helps businesses and individuals enhance their Internet presence through Web sites, blogs, and social media marketing (particularly Twitter and Facebook).

She’s the author of three books and particularly enjoys mentoring emerging writers and teaching at Christian writers’ conferences. Laura lives with her husband and their two teenage sons in the Seattle area.

Twitter- @bloggingbistro
Facebook page – bloggingbistro

To start your e-mail subscription, send a blank e-mail to bloggingbistro@aweber.com. You’ll immediately receive an e-mail confirmation notice. Click the link and you’re subscribed.

I respect your privacy. I promise not to sell, rent, or distribute your contact information.

Words to Live By

It’s the beginning of a new decade and I can feel a tsunami of wants, desires, and dreams roiling just beneath the surface. So I’m taking Chris Brogan’s advice: Pick 3 words for 2010.

“I’ve practiced something I call “my 3 words,” where I come up with three words that I use as guidance for how I should conduct my efforts in the year to come. I set goals around these three words. I build deadlines and projects around these words. They don’t have to mean anything to you, but the process might prove interesting to you, especially if you’ve found goal-setting difficult in the past.”

I stepped away for a while and gave  myself time to unearth them from the coffers of my subconscious, where, no doubt, they’ve been slumbering for who knows how long. Slowly, over the course of the morning, they popped into my mind, one at a time, like the burst of flavour on your tongue when you bite into a juicy fruit gum.

So, without further ado, here are my 3 words for 2010: Freedom, Unique, Authentic.

Where to go from here? Well, I can erect a few signposts to help me on my journey. Here’s one:

Gifts to myself:

• sing when I feel like it, without giggling behind my hand and muttering, “oh…dear” immediately afterward.
• laugh more often, especially for no reason. In other words, take life less seriously.
• be grateful for every breath I take, every delicious moment on this earth.
• write every day, without editing, judgment, or walls. Allow the creative process to unfold willy-nilly, unburdened by the voice that stifles.
• play with my voice; i.e., the spoken word, as well as the written one. Allow my authentic voice to ring out, loud and clear. Take a page from Edith Bouvier Beale, who played with her uniqueness and therefore remained a child forever. (I’ll take the best parts of her and throw away the weird stuff.)

So, that’s it for now. Maybe I won’t take life so darned seriously in this brand spanking new decade. And maybe I’ll be more open to whatever crops up for me. Resistance is futile, anyway, so I might as well throw my arms wide and enjoy the ride.

Photo:  robinsan

Let Your Dreams Fly

Like most people, I’m feeling a definite itch to do something big in 2010. There, I’ve said it. The sky didn’t fall in, the applecart wasn’t turned over, and I’m still standing. At the beginning of a new decade, I feel like the world is waiting…waiting for me to make a change, take a stance, push beyond self-imposed limits. Well, ok, the world doesn’t give a rip, but I do.

So, I’m going to let my dreams fly. In order to receive all that I’ve ever dreamed of, I have to let go of the old, though. Open my tightly clenched hands in order to receive the new. The unexplored, the undiscovered, in short.

Wheeeee….I can’t wait for January 1st….

Photo:  Ү

Train Your Brain

“The more you learn and develop the capacity to listen to your heart, the more you figure out who you are…discover yourself.”

“We can change our lives. We can do, have, and be exactly what we wish.” – Anon

“Your life is a reflection of what you desire”….. CWG

“Your personal answer to the question, “Who are you?” is very critical to your success, distinction, and influence in life.”

Like manna from heaven, Cheryl Richardson’s blog post, entitled, “Master Your Mind,” fell from the sky and landed in my inbox this morning. She poses the question:  “Are You a Worryah or a Warrior?” (Cute – and the timing couldn’t be better.) She outlines four simple ways of dealing with the demon Worryah.

“1.  Make a decision, right now, to become a Warrior.  All positive change begins with a decision – a choice to rise up to a whole new way of being in the world.  So, if you tend to be a Worryah, make a decision to take charge of the most powerful creative tool you own:  your beautiful mind. 

2.  Let your body lead. When you start to ruminate about something, catch yourself and immediately move your body in an outrageous way.   I know, I know.  This might sound a bit crazy, but stay with me.  Do something wacky with your body. 

3.  See yourself as a Warrior.  Take a few moments to find an imagine of yourself as a Warrior. (I chose Robin Hood – a stretch, I know, but he really does embody a take charge attitude.)

4.  Do something for someone else.  Sometimes the fastest way to shift from “Worryah to Warrior” is to get out of your own head by giving support to someone else.”

“While worrying is a normal human behavior, you can limit the amount of time you spend in this suffering state by choosing to do something different.” 

Great tips, but can they really change my life? Do you know what I’m going through right now?! I can hear you asking.

I know, I’m going through a spot of trouble, myself, at the moment. And these drop-your-face-in-your-hands moments come along, every now and again, right out of left field. But the point that Cheryl is making is that we each have the power within ourselves to train our brain in order to change our attitudes.

In other words, it’s a choice, like everything else in life. So, to get me through the next few hours, days, weeks, months or years, with a positive attitude, I’ll need to get proactive. Laugh, even when I don’t feel like it. Smile at the dog, dance around my livingroom, and do some volunteer work for a local nonprofit organization.

Or, watch people like Susan Boyle, who teaches us that anything is possible if we trust in our gifts and don’t give a hang what other people think.

We Attract Who We Are

I stumbled across a blog post about a basic law of the universe: we attract who we are. According to the author,

“Positive persons are:

• Committed to developing compassion towards themselves and others, and having an open heart
• Courageous about following their dreams
•  Those who seek to be authentic and believe in themselves, even when externals are crumbling
• Aware of their darkside, and are trying to heal it
• Willing to learn from mistakes

 Positive persons aren’t:

• Perfect, phony, or positive all the time
• Beating themselves to a pulp over shortcomings or a black hole of pessimism
• Constantly mired in fear or tolerant of letting their hearts harden.
• Squeaky clean do-gooders who neglect their own well-being.
• Saccharine pleasers who ignore their darkside and unconsciously act it out at the expense of others.”

Bulls-eye. It hit me right between the eyes, and came to me at the perfect time.

Today, I made a decision to change my life. Not a life-altering, seismic shift in my life, but rather, a change in the way I think.

In short, I am going to do what I want. No one else will care, but I will. And so, I am packing up my kit bag and going on the road. Nothing like Jack Kerouac, mind you, who is best known for his book, On the Road. More like Laura Ingalls Wilder, who waited until she was in her 60s before daring to show anyone her manuscript.

Well, I’m not in my 60s, but close enough. Close enough to retirement that an inner voice, today, rose up in terror – or could it be I’m just plain sick-and- tired of letting my dream of writing a novel rise up in the air and drift away, like a child’s prized balloon? – and demanded to be heard.

If we attract who we are, then it stands to reason that I need to get proactive. That is, spend time actually writing.

Another blog post came my way, with a great waving of arms in the air, shouting to me that journaling is the best way to practice the art of writing.

“Perfect!”, I thought. In hindsight, I realize this is the reason I created this blog in the first place.

If I am to attract who I am, then let’s get on with it. Commit to my dream, take tiny steps each day to move it forward, and voila! According to the law of attraction, I will attract only positive, like-minded people into my orbit.

What about you? What’s your dream? What have you kept under lock and key, too afraid to show to anyone but Izzie, your pet Iguana?