Saturday, June 26, 2010

What would you write if you weren't afraid?

Yesterday I was reading a guest post on Copyblogger by Johnny B. Truant that really got me thinking.  Here's what caught my eye:

"If you’re stuck in your writing, I’d bet almost anything that it’s because deep inside, you’re hung up on what’s dying to be said versus what “should” be said in the eyes of your family, your friends, the world, or even yourself.

You hesitate on topics, on phrasing, on fears that your grammar is bad. Take your pick of an excuse, but what’s stopping you is you."

How many times have you wanted to write something but you stopped because of what others might think? Of course, there are times when we need to think about what we write before we do, but I think Johnny is right.  We self-edit way too much.  We push our creativity away because we are afraid of the response we'll get.

I find it interesting how fearful so many people are about their writing. The fear of writing is known as graphophobia, but I don't think most people have graphophobia.  What they have is fear of revealing themselves.  Fear of being judged by others.

There are great posts all over the Internet about how to overcome your fear of writing, but I think you should start by asking yourself, "What would you write if you weren't afraid?"  Johnny B. Truant gave himself a pen name to free himself from the fear of judgment, and that's when his writing took off.

I have a good friend who publishes a blog called Cranky Blog. I highly recommend that you subscribe to it. What I love most about Cranky Blog is its fearlessness. Quite often I'll read something there and have the simultaneous thoughts, "I can't believe he wrote that!" and "I agree with that 100%." And then there are the things I don't agree with at all, but they are written with such a clear honesty and fearlessness that I can't help but read more.

If you have ever just let your creativity fly free without thought about how it might reflect on you, you know how freeing it feels.  I'm not talking about irresponsibility or libel, but speaking your truth with courage.

So, ask yourself what you would write if you were not afraid.  Then write it!

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Thursday, June 24, 2010

Is writing supposed to be fun?

Sure, there are times when writing is a lot of fun for me. When I'm feeling inspired and creative, what I have to say seems to flow like water. But then there are those times when that water seems to have frozen to ice, and it's a grind, like I'm a sculptor with an ice pic hacking away at what will eventually become a beautiful ice sculpture, but right now it's just a block of cold, shapeless ice.

Whenever I'm in that very un-fun space and hacking away at a piece, I always think, "Gee, isn't this supposed to be fun?"  And then I hear my mother's voice saying, "Who ever told you that?"

The truth is that no one ever told me that, but I have a tendency to expect it to be enjoyable because it is fun for me so much of the time.  So much so that I am actually surprised when it's not.  I'm disappointed, and I have a little internal, mental temper tantrum about it.  Of course, the temper tantrum doesn't make it any easier or more fun, so the hacking grind continues until I either take a break or finish the project.

Now, you would think that recognizing this pattern would enable me to change it, right? Well, not entirely. I think there are times when the writing will just not be fun.  In fact, isn't it true that even things you love are not so great in excess?  Have you ever eaten so much chocolate that you couldn't look at another piece of chocolate for awhile?  O.k., that's a bad example, but I think I made my point. I think the same thing happens with writing for me. There comes a point when I have done so much of it in such a short period of time that it's just not fun anymore.

So, knowing that, how can I make it less of a grind?  Here's what I try to do:  I take breaks.  I switch projects when I can. I remind myself why I am writing what I am writing.

In the end, it's more enjoyable than not.  And I focus on the good time.

Also, completing a large writing project is something like giving birth to a baby (minus the physical pain and blood, of course). Once the baby is here, you tend to forget all about the pain and the difficulty of the process.  All you can see is the good.

That's the fun part.

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Read more of The Writer's Journey.

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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

One Step at a Time

My writing workload today is huge, almost overwhelming.  I have a very large  grant that needs to be finished.  That means I need to get about 100 pages written in the next couple of days. I also have a grant review and critique to write for a client, several book reviews that I promised to other authors, blog posts, a newsletter, and some website edits.

The question that keeps streaming through my mind is, "How am I going to get all of this done in the next couple of days?"

The answer - One step at a time.  or maybe it would be more accurate to say one word at a time.

Here's what I know:  The more I think about it and worry about how I'm going to get it done, the more I lose precious writing time. The time will be much better spent by getting started with the writing.

Here's something else I know:  Once I get into the flow of writing, time flies and I seem to be able to get more done than I think.

So, like everything else in life, it's all about taking that first step.

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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Pressure and Creativity

I tell people and myself that I don't like stress and pressure.  The truth, however, is that I seem to get more done when I'm under pressure, regardless of the fact that I don't like it.  I do like being productive and finishing projects, but I don't like feeling like I'm under the gun all the time.

I wonder about the effect of the pressure on creativity.  Would I be more or less creative if I had more time to get writing projects done? Is there something about being under pressure that gets my neurons firing so I think better? Or is that just an excuse for poor time management?

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Thursday, June 10, 2010

So Many Writing Media Choices, But Are We Saying Anything?

I was sitting outside behind the office yesterday writing a letter to a friend (yes, I was actually writing a letter longhand) when it occurred to me that we have so much variety in media for writing now compared to 50 years ago, or even 25 years ago.

In a single day,  I used several different media for writing. I wrote by hand (the letter, notes at meetings, quick post-it notes to myself),  I used the computer for many tasks (email, evaluation projects, grant work, web content, blogging, tweeting, Facebook posting),  I journaled using an application on my iPhone (yes, I have become quite accustomed to using that teeny-tiny keyboard), and I dictated some notes (both dictation onto a tape for real-person transcription and dictation using Dragon software directly onto the computer).

The choices 50 years ago were to write by hand or to write using a typewriter.  There were some folks who used dictation machines, but dictation was not nearly as widespread as it is now with all of the great voice recognition software that's available.

I know I write a lot more than I did when fewer tools were available. The fact that the amount of written material has increased dramatically and exponentially in recent years tells me that the same is true for many other people, too.

It makes me wonder, with all this additional writing, are we really saying anything?

As far as grant writing is concerned, it seems we are required by funding sources to write more and more (yet they still complain about having to read and score so much), and the nature of the current scoring processes, combined with the intensive level of competition, makes grant selection processes more random than they should be (read my post The Federal Grant Selection Process: Random or Fair?).

As far as email goes, I really like how it keeps me connected to folks, but there are some people who use it to process their thinking, rather than to communicate the thoughts they really want to communicate.  Have you ever read a lengthy email and by the time you get to the end you don't know what the writer was really trying to say?  If so, you know exactly what I mean.

I think we all need to think more before we write. This is particularly important with the rise of social media and instant communications.  It used to be that you had a chance to formulate your thoughts, cool down, reflect, etc. before you were expected to respond to someone.  Now, there is an expectation of an instant response, and that's where many of use get into trouble.  We write things that should not be written, and once it's out there in cyber-space, it's out there forever.

Don't get me wrong.  I love the fact that I can connect to so many people virtually.  I have developed friendships and working relationships that would never have been possible without the assistance of modern technology, but I have had to learn the hard way to discipline myself. Thinking first used to be natural because instant communication wasn't possible (well, it was never natural for some folks, but you know what I mean). Now it is a discipline that must be developed.

More people can get their writing out to the world now, but are more people thinking about what they write?  Are they writing anything worth reading?  Are they writing things that add to the positive development of the human race and improve the human condition? Are they lifting people up with the written word or tearing people down?

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Saturday, June 5, 2010

Not a Victim

One of the great things about being self-employed is that I have choices, and I know I have choices.  It's the second part of that statement that's so important to me.  Everyone has choices, but people who are working for someone else often don't realize it. They think their livelihood comes from their employer.  If they lose their job, they are in trouble. They are victims of the economy, and that's precisely how they see themselves - as victims.

Their biggest problem, though, is not the loss of the job, but the victim mentality because when you think of yourself as a powerless victim, you can't even see the many opportunities that are presented to you.

As a self-employed writer, I have a deep understanding of the reality that I am responsible for my own success. That understanding allows me to see opportunity and take advantage of it.  Some of the things I try are really successful - even beyond my wildest dreams - and other things I try are not, but I know my livelihood is not dependent on any single client or project or strategy.

So, you can be a victim because you lost your job and you can't find another one, or you can open your eyes, realize that you have choices in life and that opportunities are everywhere. Make a list of the skills you have and what you love to do.  Then start to look for ways you can make money doing those things.  Look beyond regular jobs to business opportunities.  If you are a writer, then write! As you start to look for opportunities, they will appear.  Then it's time for the real action.

In my Grant Goddess blog, I wrote a post awhile ago entitled Are You the Bear or the Salmon?  Take a minute to read it.  Which are you - the hunter or the victim?

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