Too Much

There is a line you have to be careful not to cross once you move past writer’s block and get going again.  It is the line of doing too much.

Once you realize that you can do this, that it is not hard, that it is actually freeing, you begin to take on more.  It is a good place to be but a dangerous one as well.

You have waited so long, you now value the lost time and are trying to reclaim it.  Now you risk bogging down again but this time you are at the opposite end, overwhelmed by projects.

Overwork can be as bad as no work.  Take a step back and relax.  Embrace the time and relationships you have reclaimed.  Doing the work is about enjoying it at a regular sustainable pace.

Good writing.

Good journeys

I have been thinking about you a lot lately.

I want you to be writing. I want you to be overcoming the fears that may be holding you back. I want you to be discovering that all it requires is a little bit of effort on a regular basis to accomplish amazing things. I want you to quit waiting for the right time and embrace now.

This blog, at present, is about taking those first steps to becoming a writer.

I won’t wish you good luck because it is not about luck. It is about the journey, taking a step at a time, even in fear, towards your destination.

In only seconds (maybe 8), you can discover how awesome you can be.

Know Your Limits

So often, the talk that surrounds writing is about getting you to do the work and extend your skill, craft, and abilities.  Something freeing that I have discovered in the past year is knowing your limitations and working with them.

Are you able to do it all on your own, or is it better to work with a partner? Even though you dream of a high level of writing, is it better to realize, in this moment of time, you just don’t have that ability within you? Perhaps you are struggling with a story that is  too far out of your grasp and you require help on it?

Sometimes, we need to accept the fact we can’t do it alone, even though our stubborn side refuses to listen.

Limits can go the other way as well. Sometimes, we set our bar to low, perhaps for easy money or because of a fear of failure. We need to be always willing to push ourselves into uncomfortable territory or what might seem an overwhelming situation, to prove to ourselves what we are capable of doing.

Limits are never static. They change as we change. They are a part of us. Identifying them can work to our advantage.

The Genius of Later

Your first pass of a story is the closed-door session.  It is the story session.  It is about you listening and writing what you hear.

The challenge is to keep yourself out of the way.  You need to ignore the nagging voice in your head that questions what’s going on the page.  You have to put it off by telling it, “Not right now.  We’ll sort this out later.”

Avoid challenging the story too much in the early stages.  Let it play itself out and allow yourself to discover it.  Afterwards, go back and clean it up.

The guts of your story happens in those early days.  It is in the many rewrites afterward, that you’ll discover the genius of what you were trying to say.

To you, the one not writing

There are no tricks. You likely know the basic rules. Reading a bunch of books won’t help you start.

You need to start writing. Do it lots and do it often. After writing, look at it after a few days or months and figure out ways to improve it and make it better.

Show it to people. Listen to what they think you wrote. Don’t argue. Decide what will make it better.

Enjoy doing it. Otherwise, you are doing it for the wrong reason.

Start young while time is on your side.

Don’t get caught up in your own headgames. They may only lead to not writing.

Not writing is not your goal. Writing is. Don’t forget it. It’s amazing how many people do.