Consider this quote from basketball great Michael Jordan: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” His point? To be so successful, […]
Month: July 2013
Frustration and the Serenity Prayer for Writers
This has been a frustrating week on several levels. When I’m frustrated, it’s usually a sign that I’m trying to control something I can’t control. This can be a person or a situation or an event. The process can churn your mind into mush until you can’t think. On the other hand, making a 180-degree […]
Your Writing: Who's in Charge? (Part 3)
(First read Mental Boundaries: Who’s in Charge Part 1 and Emotional Boundaries: Who’s in Charge? Part 2.) By now, you’ve changed your thoughts and your attitudes. However, in the final analysis, taking charge of your writing life comes down to taking action. Are you actually writing? Have you developed the Seven Habits of a Highly […]
Emotional Boundaries: Who's in Charge? (Part 2)
(First read Mental Boundaries: Who’s in Charge?–Part 1) Are you tired of feeling the same defeatist way about your writing? Are you ready for something new? 2. Attitudes Changing your thoughts will change your mental attitudes and emotional feelings about writing. Even so, there will be times throughout the day when you will be faced […]
Mental Boundaries: Who's in Charge? (Part 1)
Your writing life is the sum of all the writing-related choices you make. Choosing means to make a decision each time you come to a particular crossroads. Most decisions are not deliberate. Instead we unconsciously follow our habits, choosing what is easiest because it’s what we’ve done for years. We choose negative thoughts about our […]
Regain the Passion (Part 3)
(First read “Regain the Passion” Part 1 and Part 2.) How to Regain Lost Passion If you were passionate about your writing in the past, but haven’t felt that way for a long time, there is a definite sadness mixed in with the lethargy. It feels like falling out of love, and in a very real […]
Regain the Passion (Part 2)
(Read Part 1 of Regain the Passion first.) When does passion flourish? Under what conditions? First, a writer’s passion is generally at its highest point when life is going well. (Big surprise!) When relationships are smooth, health is good, there’s enough money to pay the bills, the writer is following a healthy diet and getting […]
Regain the Passion
Has this ever happened to you? You’re half-way through a short story revision, or the rough draft of your novel, or the research for a biography—and without warning, you lose your desire for the project. The passion evaporates. You feel lethargic, sad, and brain dead (or least oxygen deprived.) You put your writing away for […]
The Writing Season
My daughter’s expecting her second baby any day now, and it’s fun watching her during this “nesting” season. Today it struck me how much her preparations for a new life are like those plans made by writers who want to write for a lifetime. Having babies takes serious preparation. So does having a writing career. […]