Time to Write

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Can you beat this procrastination record?

In an article in the (London) Times, children’s authors told how they got started. Meg Rosoff said, “I procrastinated  about writing a book for 35 years, always sure I’d never write one good enough.”

 So what finally got her writing? “When I finally tried to write a novel,” she says, “I was inspired by some really bad books I’d read, thinking, ‘at least I can do better than that.’”

 That’s not a bad strategy when you lack confidence. While you don’t necessarily want to compare yourself to the worst, it’s a prescription for disaster to compare yourself to the best. Don’t ask whether you can write like (insert name of best author you can think of)…ask whether you can write like you. And then start! At least you (probably) won’t have procrastinated for 35 years!

(for eight free mini-lessons how to overcome procrastination, go to www.tameyourinnercritic.com. There's no charge and we never sell or share our list.)

Use the power of milestones for your writing or other creative project

Big projects like writing a novel or screenplay or clearing up a massively messy office or losing X pounds of weight are big enough to be daunting. Often it’s easier to put them off.

 One approach I’ve mentioned before is chunking down—that is, breaking a big task into smaller chunks. To make this really effective, it helps to establish clear milestones. For a screenplay, for instance, these might be writing the outline, writing the first act, writing the second act, and finishing the first draft. You can experiment to discover what size chunks work best for you.

 If you put the larger goal out of your mind and focus your energy on reaching the next milestone, you will find that your motivation and energy surge.

 Another thing that helps is to plan a little reward for yourself each time you reach one of the milestones. This doesn’t need to be anything major or expensive; it could be going to see a film, buying a new CD, taking off half a day to go to the park, or whatever makes you happy.

 (for tips on how to be more creative and productive, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to BstormUK@aol.com.)

What to do when your writing (or you) are rejected

Unfortunately, rejection is part of the game for every writer or free-lancer. Knowing that doesn’t always make it easier, though. One way to turn it into something that has a positive element is to follow these steps:

 1: Take some time to lick your wounds. There’s no getting away from the fact that being rejected can be depressing or painful. Acknowledge that and allow yourself a day or two to experience those feelings. Putting a limit on the time that you’ll spend on this phase tends to make it pass more quickly.

 2: Consider what, if anything, can be learned from the experience. Ideally the person doing the rejecting will have given you some feedback, but especially with publishers that’s not always so. But replay what you did and brainstorm whether you could have done anything differently or what changes might be worth making before you submit the work somewhere else.

 3: Don’t take it personally. I know this is difficult but much of the time it’s just a mis-match. To give you an example, a few years ago I was casting actors for a short film. The two main roles were a grandfather and his grandson. We cast the grandfather first, so whoever we chose for the other role had to look like he could plausibly be his grandson. That meant rejecting some fine actors who just didn’t have the right look for that part. If your manuscript is rejected, it may simply be that the publisher already has something similar in the works. Or his or her taste may just not be similar to yours.

 4: Get back on the horse as soon as possible. If submitting a manuscript, get it out to the next place on your list. Consider the whole thing a game of hide-and-seek. Somewhere out there is the person or the company that will appreciate your work and be eager to have it. Your job is to weed out the people who don’t. Mixing metaphors, you may have to kiss a bunch of frogs before you find the Prince!

 (More advice about the psychological side of writing is found in my book, “Your Writing Coach,” published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon and other online and offline retailers.)

How to make today the day you write

I received an email the other day from someone who wants to write and keeps resolving that tomorrow will be the day they start, but so far it hasn't happened. I suspect the problem is the fear of the blank page--some people put so much pressure on themselves that what they write, even in a first draft, must be really good and that keeps them from going forward. Here is the advice I gave--maybe it will be useful for you as well:

I'd suggest that you decide on a project you might want to write, but instead of making starting such a big thing, just take a few minutes each day to brainstorm any aspect of the project and jot down your ideas (don't judge them at this stage, just write down everything and put the notes into a box or folder).

For instance, if you want to write a novel , you could brainstorm who your protagonist might be and what he or she is like. From there you might have decided who some of the other characters might be, and do the same for them. You might have an idea for how it starts, or maybe just for something that might happen in the middle. Again, jot them down and put them away. Even ten or fifteen minutes a day on this is fine.

After a while, I think you'll feel that you have a lot of material and then you can sift through it and see what fits together. Based on that, you might feel ready to write the opening, or maybe a scene from the middle or the end. Just write those without being too worried about whether they'll end up in the final version.

I suspect that when you are at that stage, you'll feel more and more motivated, and writing will come much more easily.

(for more help with your writing, get my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey, and available from Amazon and other online and offline retailers. You can find out more about it at www.yourwritingcoach.com.)

Wise words for when you get discouraged

 When it takes time for the world to recognize your genius it’s easy to get depressed. On Hugh McLeod’s “ten questions” feature on his website, interviewee Mark O’Donnell (co-writer of “Hairspray: The Musical”) had these wise words:

 “Don't look down. I didn't realize that the odds are against the struggling artist, but I assume talent, patience and work will vindicate those meant for whatever the dream may be.

 And, as Yeats suggests, "Be secret and exult." Take joy in what you do, even if as yet it goes unseen.”

 

Might be good to write that down on an index card and keep it in our wallets…

(for inspiration for your creative endeavors, subscribe to my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to BstormUK@aol.com)

On writing to overcome your own fears

Adrianne Courters (who writes as A. Kiwi Courters) is an extreme example of how sometimes we write in order to overcome our own anxieties. According to the Alameda Sun, she started writing while recovering from a serious automobile accident. She says, “I was scared. Every time I looked in the mirror, I saw someone I didn't recognize. Between the pain and the painkillers, everything got kind of surreal."

Her appearance also scared her two young sons. She explains, "I tried to come up with stories that were scarier than my own situation, just to get out of that fear mode. And I tried to make it more comfortable for Skip and Neal. They think Mom's pretty cool now. I have more metal in my bones than (comic book and movie hero) Wolverine."

She is now free of the wheelchair and crutches but plans to continue writing as a sideline to her full-time job.

The article mentions where you can find her work: "Stalker of the Blood Red Sands" in Rage of the Behemoth, published Rouge Blades Entertainment June 1; "New Fish" in Cthulu Unbound 2, published by Permuted Press June 30; and "Duma of Valley Kifaru" in the October edition of Kaleidotrope magazine.

(for tips on how to overcome the seven main fears that can stop you from writing, see my book, Your Writing Coach, published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon and other online and offline retailers--the fears and their solutions are covered in the first chapter.)

Video interview with Sark

I've long admired the artist and writer, SARK, who has written a bunch of colourful books designed to bring out the writer or artist in everybody. But until I saw the video below (which I found in the Developing Talent newsletter), I never knew what her name stood for. 

One of the key points in this five-minute interview: action comes before inspiration. 

(You can also find tips on how to be more creative in my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to BstormUK@aol.com.)

Can hypnosis help you be a better writer?

I've had training in hypnosis and NLP and am always interested in how hypnosis can be used to help people. One experiment reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute used a group of 200 people scheduled to undergo breast biopsies or lumpectomies. Half of them were given a fifteen-minute hypnosis session, the others received routine anesthesia and nondirective empathic listening. The hypnotized patients experienced less pain, nausea, discomfort and anxiety without medication following surgery, and spent 10.6 fewer minutes in the operating room. This also resulted in a saving of almost $800 per patient for Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

That's pretty powerful, isn't it? So can hypnosis help you be a better writer, too? I believe it can. If you're interested in finding out more about how, go to www.timetowrite.com and click on the "trances" tab on the left. You'll find an explanation and some trances you can download (for a modest fee).

When what 'everybody knows' is wrong about writing

In an interview in The Writer magazine, top writer Robert Crais (“Hostage,” “Demolition Angel”) gave this insight on what publishers want—and why you shouldn’t pay attention:

 “…publishers chase heat just like TV networks chase heat. Y’know, if a small-town lawyer show suddenly becomes a break-out hit series…small town are suddenly in, big cities are out.”

 He wasn’t aware that “white guy detectives set in LA” were out when he wrote one of them (“The Monkey’s Raincoat”). Everybody told him to forget it, but “fortunately everyone was wrong. That’s why I tell aspiring writers never—never—chase heat. You must write what you love.”

 That gives me renewed encouragement for my novel, “Hollywood Max.” I’ve been told nobody wants Hollywood-based stories unless they’re written by a celebrity, but I’m going to hang in there.

(For more on conventional wisdom--and how to avoid it--see my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey Publishing and available at online and offline retailers.)