Time to Write

Creativity can save a life--here's how it did

The writer and artist Sark revealed in the introduction to her book, "Make Your Creative Dreams Real," what first inspired her to follow her creative path:

When I was ten my best friend was 80 years old. His name was Mr Boggs. His house was my refuge. He and I discussed my creative dreams and he inspired me to tell stories about what I saw in the world.

Mr Boggs became very ill and went into the hospital. My mother explained that because of his age and health, he probably wouldn’t be coming home. I vowed to create something for him every day that he was in the hospital, and I sent him handmade books, cards and posters.

He did get out of the hospital and when he did, he said to me, “I think you saved my life. No one else called or wrote, and I had to get out to see you.”

I immediately started writing my first book, because I thought that if my art and words could affect one person that much, what might happen if I could share them with the world?”

However, her path was neither quick nor smooth:

From ages 14 to 26 I put my creative dreams on hold as I attended school and experimented with hundreds of part-time jobs…[at the age of 26] I began creating art and writing to share with the world. For years, my art and writing was rejected by magazines, newspapers, and publishing companies. Although it must be said that I didn’t send it out very often, because I was too busy surviving and crafting new work.

In 1988 she finally decided to throw herself whole-heartedly into her work, and to be led by the answers to two questions:

WHAT DID I HAVE TO OFFER?

HOW COULD I BE OF USE?

That led to a best-selling poster and then her first book, "A Creative Companion." But that was not without its challenges, either: 

I finally dared to create the kind of book I’d dreamed of making so many times. I faced massive self-doubt, ruthless inner critics, and nearly paralyzing fear, but I did it anyway.

She's gone on to huge success; it's reassuring that even the most successful people had doubts along the way.

It might be useful to think about how you'd answer her two questions and how the answers relate to your work...and what you could do (even if just part-time) if they don't.

(My book can't make you creative, but it can liberate the creativity you already have and show you how to get into a creative state of mind, give you specific ways to generate ideas, provide tools that will help you turn those ideas into real projects, and introduce you to inspirational stories of how others have done it. It's all in the book Creativity Now, published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)

Creative people: when you can't beat the forces of convention...

This is the story of a kind of unconventional collaboration. It also illustrates the principle, "when you can't beat them, join them"...sort of.

Street artist Mobstr is used to having his graffiti painted over. He decided to tell a story one line at a time, with the next one appearing when the previous one had been painted over.

You can see the results here: 

http://designtaxi.com/news/355932/Street-Artist-Teams-Up-With-The-People-Who-Destroy-His-Work-To-Tell-A-Story/

Who or what do you consider the opposition to whatever creative projects you hope to achieve? 

Could there be a way to harness that opposition to make it work for yiou?

Big writing (or other) project? Here's how to build momentum!

If you have a big writing (or other) project, one great way to build momentum is to spend a full day working on it with support from your peers.

IT'S GOOD TO GO MAD

That's what we do on my monthly MADs--Massive Action Days. It's all online. You sign in to our exclusive website, declare your goal for the day there, and get to work. Every hour I do a brief live video broadcast to answer questions and offer tips. You update us on your progress and everybody supports each other.

The people already doing the MADs find it incredibly productive and it's inexpensive--only £5 each when you sign up for ten. You can find our more at www.MassiveActionDay.com. 

What else can you do to build momentum? Let's start with the basics:

The formula is Velocity x Mass = Momentum

The more you apply effort, the more momentum you get, unless you encounter another important aspect of momentum, Resistance. Resistance can increase the mass of a molehill to that of a mountain.

FOUR POINTS OF RESISTANCE

In writing there are four points at which you tend to have resistance:

1: Getting started. The best solution is chunking down the goal into manageable chunks, scheduling regular time to work, and getting support.

2: The middle. You’ve done a lot but there’s a lot yet to do and the initial excitement has worn off. The best tools are: knowing this is normal, using a variety of brainstorming techniques (like the ones in my writing books) to get a fresh perspective, and making sure your Inner Critic doesn’t talk you into quitting.

3: After the first draft. The first step when you're ready to critique your first draft is to use methods for getting a more objective view of your own writing (wait a week, change location and posture, print it out on different colour paper and/or a different typeface, read once for general reactions and don’t try to fix it as you go—note the necessary changes, then go back into creative mode, at your usual writing location).

When it’s as good as you can make it, show to someone you trust to be constructive. Tell them you want them to jot down any problems they discern—where it’s boring, where it’s confusing, where they think what’s happening isn’t plausible, etc. Tell them you don’t want them to suggest solutions, only problems.

Fix the problems and repeat, but stop rewriting when the new version isn’t getting better, just different.

4: When you send it out into the world.  Put on your business hat, not your sensitive artist hat, and make a plan. Let your sensitive artist get busy on a new creative project so it doesn’t hang around getting tense.

>> In the next post we'll see how you can also build momentum for every working session.

(Want to get more things done, more easily? Using creative methods rather than more hard work? You'll find the ansswers in my book, "Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done." It's published by Pearson and you can get it from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A part of rewriting your book or script you won't like (but it'll help)

Are you on track for your writing or other goal? (Reminder 3 of 12)

Want to solve a writing or marketing problem? Ask 'How do THEY do it?'

Let's say you have a problem relating to your writing or selling what you write. You're stuck...now what?

I suggest a brainstorming activity I call, “How do THEY do it?” First you think of somebody who does something that’s similar to—but not exactly the same as—whatever you want to do. Then you look at what are the main things they do and translate those back to what you’re trying to do.

For example, let’s say you have finished writing a book or script and now you want to sell it. First let’s pick a “they.” Who sells stuff? Well, salespeople. Let’s pick the kind of selling that probably is the most daunting: door to door sales.

 WHAT THEY DO

What do THEY do? Make a list of their key behaviours and attitudes:

They go from door to door, calling on many potential customers in a day.

They come up with a first sentence or two that is designed to capture the interest of the potential customer so the latter won’t slam the door in their face.

They have a strong pitch that relates the product to the needs of the potential customer.

They have answers ready for the most likely objections, such as “I can’t afford it right now,” or “I’ll have to ask my spouse.”

They know that most people will say no, but that if they persist, it’s likely some will say yes.

They listen to what the non-buyers say and adjust their pitch accordingly for the next time they might make the sale. They learn from the no's.

WHAT WE CAN DO

Now what can we take away from that in terms of selling our manuscript or script? What would be our equivalents to what "they" are doing?

One is that we would approach a number of agents or publishers or producers, not one at a time. After all, a door to door salesperson wouldn’t say, “Well, Mrs Miller said she’d think about it and let me know next week, so I’ll just wait for her answer before I try next door.”

To get our foot in the door we would fashion a strong first sentence for our query letter or our pitch, so we  capture the interest of our potential customer.

We would think about what objections might come up—for instance, maybe that it would cost too much to produce a certain script—and we’d be ready with an answer. Maybe we could even build that information into the pitch or the query letter itself to disarm the objection.

For instance, if you were pitching a novel right now that features zombies, you’d want to be sure to explain very early in the letter or pitch how it’s different from all the zombie stories out there at the moment.

We would not give up after the first few rejections.

And we would listen to the feedback we get, and if several potential customers point out the same issue, we’d fix it before moving on to the next one.

That’s the “How do THEY do it?” strategy and you can apply it to just about any process that you’re finding difficult.

MORE EXAMPLES

Having trouble building a story? Figure out how the people who build houses do it and translate that back to story-building.

Having problems with a story that seems too predictable but you don't know how to throw the reader off the scent? List how magicians deceive their audience and find out which strategies might work in your story.

Finding it difficult to come up with ideas? Find out how advertising agency people come up with them and apply them to your kind of story-telling.

By getting inspired by people and solutions outsideo of your field you will come up with fresh ideas, not imitations of what everybody else in yours is doing already.

(You'll find lots more creative ideas for solving writing problems and creating powerful stories, in my book Your Writing Coach. It's published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)

How to challenge your excuses

In the last post I featured a quote that makes the point that we all make excuses. 

My favorite response when somebody says “I can’t” is “OK, but how would you do it if you could?”

Example: “I’d like to learn another language, but I can’t.” (Followed by lots of reasons—no time, not good at languages, etc.).

“OK, but how what would you do if you could?”

“No, no, I can’t.”

“OK, but what would you do if you could?”

Usually this evokes repeated denials and requires repeating the same question. Eventually the answer is something like this:

“Well, I guess I’d get a language app for my phone and learn a word a day while I’m on the train.”

Bingo! The first step. The hardest step.

However, excuses have a way of coming back. Sometime down the line you might hear, "I''ve learned quite a few words and I'd like to figure out how to put them together into useful sentences, but I can't (no time, etc.)"

That's your cue: "OK, but what would you do if you could?"

By the way, use this tool only with people who really want to overcome their excuses. There are people who use excuses to cover the fact that they don't really want to do the thing being discussed. In those cases, save your breath.

If you’ve been making excuses that you'd like to overcome, you can pay for me to come to your place and ask you that question over and over until you give in and come up with a good way to start to vanquish the excuse. However, that would be expensive (I’d charge you for first class travel).

The alternative is to get a friend or family member to do that for you. If you have kids, they'll love being your inquisitor.  Or you can do it for yourself.

I can hear you say, “Interesting, but this wouldn’t work for my problem.”

OK, but what would be the answer if it could?

(You'll find many additional innovative ways to manage your time and yourself, in my book Focus: Use the power of targeted thinking to get more done." It's published by Pearson and you can get it from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)

For writers and others who make excuses (that's all of us)

If you’re a writer--or maybe just if you're human--there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to relate to what James Altucher wrote about excuses in an essay on mindpowernews.com:

Everyone says, "I can't."  I can't be a medical professional unless I go to medical school. I can't be a movie maker unless I raise $10 million to make a movie. I can't marry a super model because I'm ugly. I can't I can't I can't. For every "can't " you should send me $10. I can do all those things. Particularly if I have your $10.

By the way, just notice when these things come up. It's not like you're going to get cured of paranoia. But notice when it appears.  Water withers the rock away. Every time you notice, the window clears a tiny bit. A smudge is gone. You get a glimpse of the light outside.

 

What I like, especially, is his acknowledgment that these kinds of things don’t just magically go away through positive thinking. They do go away eventually if you challenge them when they come up. For example, for years I’ve been helping people convert their inner critics into constructive inner guides.

It works.

But from time to time, somehow my inner critic kidnaps my inner guide, puts on an inner guide mask, and sneaks up on me. It happens less and less, but it’s a process. Don't give up, just keep on keeping on.

NEXT POST: HOW TO CHALLENGE YOUR EXCUSES

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Overcoming Procrastination (The Lesser of Two Evils Method)

Writers' Monday Alert: why to write and chew at the same time

Your teachers may have told you to throw away your chewing gum but it turns out it might be just the thing when you want to activate your brain and get writing.

Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Radiological Sciences report that regular gum chewers experience increased alertness, more thinking power, and faster reaction times.

The theory is that chewing may lead to a temporary increase in blood flow to the brain. Their scans showed that chewing gum affected up to eight areas of the brain.

If you decide to try it, you might want to go sugarless, but don’t overdo it—some dentists have warned that the sugar substitutes can increase mouth acidity, which can be bad for your tooth enamel. The fruit-flavored gum is the worst offender.

(Need to focus? Get my book, "Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done." It's published by Pearson and available now from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)

Are online ads driving you crazy? Try this before Gooface gets involved.

Writers spend a lot of time sitting down which, according to several recent studies, is not good for you. That's why the other day I went online to see where I could buy a laptop stand that I could put on top of my desk so that I can spend a bit of time every day writing standing up. That's when the trouble started.

It's the internet. It thinks I'm still in the market for a laptop stand, and it won't stop hectoring me to buy.

I was looking at an article on the Psychology Today site. Off to the right side of the page there appeared a looping slide show of laptop stands. Every two seconds or so the picture changed, making it hard to concentrate on what I was trying to read.

I moved the page to the right so that the slide show was off my screen...that's when I noticed there was a banner at the top also displaying laptop stands. The images were not moving but below each one was a "buy" button. Flashing on and off. 

I felt like I was being hounded by digital Mad Men who wouldn't leave me alone until I bought at least one more laptop stand, maybe more. 

I admit that the Kafkaesque quality may have been enhanced because I have insomnia and am writing this at 5am, after waking up at 3am...but even in less stressful circumstances having what you're trying to read surrounded by dancing ads is annoying.

I use Chrome as my main search engine and I've just installed Adblock Plus. It's free and it removes ads from most sites.

The parade of laptop stands has ended. Nothing is flashing at me to buy. Sweet relief!

I believe similar plug-ins are available for the other popular search engines. If you're being dogged by over-active ads, I recommend these highly.

I know it's a stop-gap measure. Targeting us based on our internet activity is big business. Also, private companies soon are going to be able to launch their own drones. It's clear that in a few years each of us will be followed everywhere by a personal drone that exhorts you to buy stuff based on the searches you've done and the web sites you've visited. This means quite a few people will have drones following them, shouting, "Buy porn! Buy porn!"

Gooface (Google and Facebook will have merged by then) will know who your favorite movie stars are, via on the tickets you order online, so the exhortations will sound like it's Leonardo di Caprio or Emma Watson telling you to download "The Housewife Hookers of New Jersey."

For the more reluctant buyers, drones made by Blackwater will be equipped with Taser-Lite technology that administers a mild shock (guaranteed not to be fatal, usually) until you buy the item in question.

I'd better get some sleep.

(image copyright Universal Studios)

If you write anything, someone will not like you

When former Spice Girl singer Gerry Halliwell heard that Margaret Thatcher had died, she Tweeted to the effect that Mrs T had been an advocate of Girl Power (the Spice Girls' motto).

It didn’t take long for a huge outpouring of “Oh no she wasn’t!” comments to flow in—most of them stated a lot less politely than that.

Halliwell removed her tweet and apologized. 

I’m wondering whether she took her Tweet down because she realized she’d been wrong or because she didn’t like getting negative messages from fans.

My guess is it’s the latter.

Very few people like it when somebody, much less loads of others, disagree with us or call us names. As you know, the anonymity of the internet can bring out the worst in people. Reading the comments on newspaper sites or blog posts on which anonymous comments are allowed makes you despair for the human race.

This is relevant here because when you write something—a book, a blog, an article, a short story—it will bring out the haters. With luck it’ll also bring out some people who like what you do, but they’re less likely to express themselves. Anger and frustration are stronger drivers than appreciation.

This is an aspect of writing that I’m having to get used to myself. I don’t like being disliked—and negative comments on the internet seldom make the distinction between an opinion or a creative project and the person who created it.

If you’re going to put something out into the world you’ll have to get used to it, too. 

A useful method: Think sympathetically about how much bile the person who makes these kinds of comments must have in their system for it to overflow so easily.

PS: I just spotted this article on Reuters: "Rudeness and throwing insults are cutting online friendships short, with a survey on Wednesday showing people are getting ruder on social media and two in five users have ended contact after a virtual altercation."

The article quotes Joseph Grenny, co-chairman of the company that conducted the survey: "...manners haven't caught up with technology.What is really so surprising is that so many people disapprove of this behavior but people are still doing it. Why would you name-call online but never to that person's face?"

How to solve the problem? The article says Grenny suggested "three rules that could improve conversations online were to avoid monologues, replace lazy, judgmental words, and cut personal attacks particularly when emotions were high."

 

The most important things Roger Ebert learned about writing and life

In his book, Life Itself, the late film critic Roger Ebert recounted the greatest writing lesson he ever received. It came from a slightly older colleague, Bill Lyons, when both were sports columnists.

After watching Ebert try again and again to come up with a great first line, Lyons advised, “One, don’t wait for inspiration, just start the damn thing. Two, once you begin, keep on until the end. How do you know how the story should begin until you find out where it’s going?”

Sound advice for any writer.

This is also the week that Ian Banks revealed he has cancer and will not be with us much longer.

Two wonderful voices, going or gone. As we get older parts of our extended lives fall away—the authors whose books we love, the actors we look forward to seeing in another film, and most sadly the friends and family members we somehow assume will be around forever (or at least the tiny bit of forever granted to us).  I suppose we should be glad we’re not the ones who have fallen…yet.

What do we learn along the way? Well, I like what Ebert learned:

“Kindness" covers all of my political beliefs. ... I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.”