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First, You Gotta Write!

Published on by Kristi Holl

As I mentioned in Tuesday’s post, one of my goals for the sabbatical was to regain my love of writing. It had become such a chore, and I wasn’t sure why.

I hoped it was because I had contracted for a couple of educational books in topics I wasn’t interested in. Don’t get me wrong. I was very grateful for the work. It just wasn’t fun. And no matter how “creative” I tried to be, it felt like I was writing term papers for kids.

Was It That Simple? No

So the first thing I decided about the sabbatical was that I was going to put serious writing time into an unfinished novel. I still loved the story, although it wasn’t a commercial topic. I wanted to write it anyway.

So that’s what I did. Did that solve the problem? Well…no.

I couldn’t get started. And when I did, I couldn’t stick with it. This happened day after day. And it became painfully clear that I’d never recover my love for writing unless I was actually writing!

I Am NOT Blocked!

I refused to think I was blocked. Saying “I have writer’s block” always sounded like a cop-out to me. But whatever I chose to label it, I wasn’t writing. And the first week had slipped by already.

Then my friend sent me an email about overcoming procrastination. The procedure was for tackling business tasks you don’t want to do: filing estimated taxes, cleaning your office, developing proposals, and the like.

But the procedure intrigued me because it dealt with changing how you think. And changing my automatic non-conscious thinking has been the most helpful thing I’ve ever done in many areas of my life. So I applied her procrastination technique to my writing.

You may find the technique too simple, or even silly. (I did when I first read it.) But I’m going to pass it along here, just in case. It worked for me, and it might work for you too.

Overcoming Procrastination Tip

Here’s the step-by-step procedure:

  1. Think of something in your work day that you need to do that typically drains your energy or causes you to procrastinate.
  2. Notice your self-talk before, during, and after the dreaded event. (e.g. I don’t want to do this, this is so boring, what a waste of time, I can’t do this, what’s the point of this?)
  3. Now get curious. How could you reframe that event so that it becomes positive? (e.g. I’m so glad to be a writer, I’m blessed to have a good imagination, I have something to say that will entertain/help/encourage people, my writing skills improve with every project, I’ll feel like a real writer when I’m done, this is what I was created for, etc.)
  4. Before, during and after you accomplish the writing, take three deep breaths and remind yourself of the reasons you feel good about what you are choosing to do. (NOTE: I started small, just writing for ten minutes each time.)
  5. Imagine that the writing goes smoothly and effortlessly and has a positive result.

That’s it!

Did It Work?

The email my friend sent me said that if you practice this approach at least three times in a row with a work task, you could expect significant change in performance, attitude and energy.

I noticed a more positive attitude came first. (I suppose that happened because I realized I wasn’t honestly blocked.) The performance increased second. (I started writing longer than ten minutes at a time within a couple of days.) I can honestly say I felt better in both those areas after using the technique three times. The writing energy didn’t increase until a week had gone by. (I had been sick right before the sabbatical, so that might have been partly why.)

I didn’t keep using the technique after the blocked feeling passed (except when I had to do a different writing-related task that I didn’t enjoy, like filing self-employed taxes.) But any time that the writing felt stuck or I was just tired, I found that reading those statements aloud before, during and after the writing did help get my head back on straight.

In order to love writing, we have to be writing. If you’re stuck, this simple technique just might do the trick.

Regaining Your Love of Writing

Published on by Kristi Holl

Before my three-month sabbatical started, I printed out a few articles that struck a chord and that I wanted to take time to ponder. One such article was “When the Thrill is Gone.”

Here’s a bit of what it said, and I hope you’ll read the whole article.

In recent weeks, I have had conversations with a genuinely startling number of writers who confess that they have lost their hunger to write. One says he is weary of the struggle to publish; another says she’s lost her motivation; another just shrugs. “It’s hard.”

Some wonder if they ever had any talent to begin with, or maybe they did and it has dried up like last year’s clover. Some have lost hope of ever landing that longed-for contract or agent to help with the overwhelming business of publishing. Others have dived into indie publishing with great hope only to discover it’s a lot of work for little return.

The thrill is gone. Maybe it’s time to throw in the towel, get a divorce from this ridiculous passion, call it quits on a marriage no one but you ever thought was going to amount to anything.

The author of the article, Barbara O’Neal, was so right when she said this could be caused by a number of different things-–but it isn’t the writing. 

So What Causes It?

She mentioned several causes, and if you feel like you’ve lost your love of writing, they are worth exploring:

  • exhaustion from various aspects of your writing career added to stress from life experiences
  • internal and external pressure (from our own expectations and expectations of others in our writing life)

On Friday, after you’ve had a chance to read her article and do some thinking about it, I’ll share with you some of things I discovered about my own loss of joy in writing–and how it came back.

The author gives a five-step process for recovering your love of writing, and I think it would be worth your time to print out her whole article. If you don’t need it today, you will need it sometime in the future. Life happens. Exhaustion and pressure happen. And writing dreams–and the love of writing which propels us forward–can die on the vine.

Don’t let that happen to you.

Making Creativity "Work"

Published on by Kristi Holl

It’s good to be back to the blog! It’s been a wonderful “learning time” during the three-month sabbatical. I won’t repeat what most of you received in my August newsletter. [Sign-up to the right.] Instead, today I want to talk about the nuts and bolts of creativity. Specifically, a writer’s creativity.

Creativity is a mysterious concept to most of us. We don’t really understand what it is, where it comes from, why it leaves us, and how to make it “work” consistently. We give it a lot of power over us because of this.

Does it have to be this way? I’ve learned over the past three months that the answer is a resounding NO!

Coaxing Creativity

The author of The Soul Tells a Story says “if I know from experience that inspiration arrives under certain conditions, I will make sure to re-create the conditions that invited it initially. Thus my early experience comes to determine how it is I will work.”

The first month of the sabbatical went pretty much how I expected. I had set up conditions in May to help me be productive on the novel, plus do a lot of craft study. I logged in a LOT of writing and studying hours. But then June… I had planned for school being out (grandchildren here), but then along came an unexpected chance to write adult mysteries. What a dream come true if I could do it! I have always loved mysteries–and have published many for children–so I wanted to submit a couple of ideas. It took me most of June, including once pulling an all-nighter after the grandchildren went home, but on June 30th I submitted two detailed chapter-by-chapter outlines.

I signed contracts for both adult mysteries in July! I am elated, but my creative writing routine in June didn’t look at ALL like my routine in May. No study to speak of, no progress on the middle-grade novel. Plus that all-nighter wiped me out for three or four days. (No wonder I stopped that practice after college!) But it got me to thinking in July, as the sabbatical was drawing to a close and I face actually producing the mysteries, just what conditions were the most conducive for creativity on a sustained basis.

Your Own Style

Each writer is different. I know writers who must be surrounded by noise and people or loud music in order to write. You find them in coffee shops, focused on their laptops. I am just the opposite, preferring quiet and solitude when I can get it.

But life didn’t get simpler as I got older. It gets more complex as you add in-laws and grandchildren. (If you want to read a terrific article about this, see “Encroachment” by Robin LaFevers.) In part, she said these two things:

The pressing demands of daily life have a rather sobering ability to suck all of the creative oxygen out of a room. They don’t even have to be big, catastrophic type demands. Sometimes simply the endless dripping of life’s mundanities can wear away our reserves until there is nothing left. There are just so very many ways to be pulled in the direction of others–in spite of how necessary facing inward is in order to give free voice to our creativity…

AND

But within about five minutes of their departure [kids going to college], I quickly discovered there are lots and lots of additional ways to be pulled outward and become other focused.

  • Extended family
  • Financial pressures
  • Mental and emotional clutter
  • The internet
  • Social media
  • Gatekeepers: critique partners, agents, editors, reviewers
  • The “market”
  • Readers

Take a Self-Inventory

All of those things can impact your creativity. If you’re not sure what conditions are best for your ability to create, think back to when you started writing. How did you work best then? What conditions did you just naturally create for yourself? What are the non-negotiables you must have for your creativity to flourish?

Here are some things to consider: 

  • Before writing, do you need some quiet time to think, meditate, or pray?
  • Can you write at any time of day–or only at certain times?
  • Can you write any place–or do you need your “office” to be the same each day? Can you write in the study room at the public library to improve concentration?
  • Can you write in tiny bits of time–or does your creativity absolutely require large chunks of time? Does it vary depending on the stage of your book?
  • How much socializing do you need in order to be your most creative? (This includes time with writers and non-writers alike, time to “talk shop” and time to just have fun.)
  • When you are stuck, does it help to read a book on craft (viewpoint, research, inspiration, etc.) to get your creativity flowing again?
  • Does reading other writers’ books help you be more creative–or does it make you feel anxious as you compare yourself to them?
  • Do you need a healthier diet or more sleep for your creativity to be at its peak? Or do you work best on short naps and skipping meals?
  • What kind of critique at what point in your project is helpful? What kind is the kiss of death to your creativity? (When is your ego more fragile?)
  • Do you work best with a deadline, or do deadlines make you freeze up? Do you do well with six-month deadlines but choke on series deadlines set every two months?
  • Can you be creative when dealing with emotional upset? Do you need to solve family problems before you can settle down to write?

Take Time to Know Yourself

As we’ve said before, just because conditions aren’t perfect doesn’t mean you can’t be creative. We’ve all had to produce work under some appalling conditions. But if you have a choice, it’s lovely to set up your life and home and schedule and diet and social life so that it most benefits YOU and your creativity. (And you probably have more choices than you think.)

Take time to answer the above questions. Life can take over! If you’ve been writing a long time, you may have forgotten what conditions kick started your writing in the first place.

Thinking Back…

I started writing when my oldest three kids were babies and toddlers. We had a farm in Iowa, lots of pets, big vegetable gardens, no Internet, few neighbors, lots of room inside the farmhouse and outside, lots of quiet and fresh air. It can’t have been as ideal as my memory makes it out to be, but it was very conducive to thinking and pondering and reading and writing.

At the beginning of my sabbatical, that old life bore little resemblance to my life today–so I planned ways to bring back some of those elements into my daily life. I loved having my children around me, and I’m happiest now when I’ve had plenty of contact with my four grandchildren. I loved living in the country then; now we live in a city, but next door to a park and greenbelt, so it is much the same if I just go outside more and enjoy the fresh air. Last weekend the grandchildren and I fed apples to the deer on the trail. I have a vegetable garden again, but it’s small enough to be fun.

The Biggie

The biggest change I see is having the Internet. I’m an introvert–preferring solitude and quiet when it’s time to write. Being online for any length of time is agitating to me, for some odd reason (even though I view very benign websites!) Afterwards, I find it hard to settle down and write.

During the sabbatical I experimented with staying offline until noon, having “no media days,” limiting email to checking it once or twice, but not actually responding to it till later in the day. I also wrote in places like the library without Internet access on my laptop. All those things increased both my creativity and my productivity on the novel. It doesn’t affect all writers this way, but it’s worth experimenting to find out what (if anything) it does for your creativity.

Now It’s Your Turn

What about you? What things do you suspect would help you coax your creativity out of hiding on a more regular basis? What changes are the hardest to make? What one change could you make today?

Saying YES to the Writer Inside You

Published on by Kristi Holl

Maya Angelou said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

I don’t know about that. I’ve had some bigger agonies in my life than that.

HOWEVER, after several years of burying an untold story inside me, I’ve decided to take some concentrated time to get the story on paper.

Halting Progress

I started this novel five years ago. I have started and stopped this novel so many times I’ve lost count. I still love it, but it’s one of those novels that isn’t commercial (no Amish vampires), isn’t a series, and isn’t edgy. But I love it. It stays with me every time I pause to write a series for someone, or teach a workshop, or critique a novel, or write a work-for-hire book for an educational publisher.

My novel is languishing half finished, and I’ve decided to take the time to finish it now. Three months of study and writing time is going to be my gift…to ME!

Changes

What will that mean? Several things. For three months (until August 1): 

  • I won’t be writing new blog posts. If you’re looking for help, there are hundreds of blog posts available here on all kinds of topics. (See the list down the right-hand side.)
  • I won’t be doing novel critiques for three months.
  • I won’t be available for guest blog posts, online interviews, or teaching a workshop.
I’ve been writing lately about retreats, but I decided I needed more. It’s like a sabbatical, time away from activities that can burn you out, then taking that time and energy and pouring into your work. I’m excited about the coming months! See you back here August 1!

Let's All Say "Ahhhhhhhh…" and Retreat!

Published on by Kristi Holl

Even when life is going well, the writing pressures, the marketing, the waiting, and the deadlines can make you dream of taking a writing retreat. Add in too many volunteer activities, caring for a baby, taking elderly parents to all their doctors’ appointments, and some days you want to run away.

Last week I mentioned a “book in a box” called The Writer’s Retreat Kit: A Guide for Creative Exploration and Personal Expression by Judy Reeves. I’ve looked longingly at it several times and read some of her ideas of creating writer’s retreats lasting from twenty minutes to several days, depending on the time and money you have available.

Madly Treading Water

This time, though, I’m not going to sigh and put the book box back. I’m going to delve deeper into the retreat idea and try some of the experiences. It’s no surprise that I’m as tired as I am–it’s been months since I could take a weekend (or one day) truly “off.” When I read the following opening page, I let out a big Ahhhhhh! I bet some of you will too. Judy writes:

Getting away: the wish and dream and fantasy of every writer I have ever known and, I expect, of nearly every writer I will ever meet, except for those rare and blessed souls who are lucky enough, or determined enough, or rich enough, to already be “away.”

What is “away”? It is someplace else. It is the place that each of us craves, and when we close our eyes, comes to us in all its wooded shadiness or vast, unending blueness. We visualize a mountain cabin; a cottage by the sea; a secret, hidden monastery; a wide-decked, win­dowed, pillowed, sweet-smelling, abundant, nurturing, solitary place where there are no “musts” or “have tos” or “shoulds.” No dishes to do or phones to answer or children/mates/partners with whom we must interact. No set time to start or stop, to wake up or go to sleep. No television. No email. No deadlines. No place to drive to. It is sim­ply a place to be.

“Away” is generally where we long to be as we arm wrestle the elements of our daily lives to make time for our writing and for that private and soulful part of us that we long to be with but so often set aside.

Getting Rid of False Guilt

It is not that we don’t love our lives; we do. Mostly. And we love the people in our lives — family and friends — and the work we do that allows us to afford the lives we mostly love. But sometimes it’s a little too much for a little too long.

What we want is to get away for a little while. We don’t want to just go on vacation, but to a place we go alone, or maybe with a few like-minded souls who also want to be alone, but in an alone/together way. To renew and refresh and explore and create and refill. To retreat. And to write.

A writing retreat.

Maybe it will be a place you rent. Maybe it will be a free picnic table in a park. Maybe it will be your own backyard swing.

The inner pressure is building. I’m about ready to run!

"They Say…" Writing Advice

Published on by Kristi Holl

I hope you new writers question everything “they say” you have to do to succeed. That includes any advice I might give on this blog.

Thirty years ago “they said” a new writer had to find a way to get to New York and meet the editors face to face if she wanted to sell a book. I had four small children and couldn’t afford that, but still got in “over the transom” to be fished out of the slush pile. I didn’t meet my editor face to face until I had done seven novels with her–and someone else paid for a business trip to NY.

Over thirty years, I’ve had 44 books published by various traditional publishers. Today “they say” you must attend conferences to meet editors face to face and increase  your chances of selling to them. I have met some lovely editors and agents at conferences I both attended and spoke at. I’ve paid for critiques with some of them. However, I’ve never sold anything that way.

Don’t Get Me Wrong

I’m not saying to avoid conferences or trips or critique groups or social networking or anything else “they say” you must do to succeed. There is some wisdom in all that advice. But does it all apply to YOU? No one else can tell you that.

This week I am taking some time to re-think a few writerly things I’ve been doing that “they say” are so important for writers to succeed in the digital age. Some things I will keep doing. Some, I suspect, I will drop.

Real Writing Advice

Some writerly advice never changes though. If you want some wise advice for writing success, read “Rules for Writing and Life” by Jane Resh Thomas.

Retreat Time: Is It Possible?

Published on by Kristi Holl

While recovering from an illness I picked up simply (I believe) from being exhausted, I was going through my favorite writing books.

One caught my eye and created an instant longing: The Writer’s Retreat Kit: A Guide for Creative Exploration and Personal Expression by Judy Reeves. It’s like a writer’s retreat in a box, with ideas for one-hour retreats, half-day retreats, weekend retreats and longer. They can be retreats at home or far away.

Retreat: a Definition

Among other things, the author wrote:

A writing retreat isn’t just about the time spent writing. Perhaps equally important as the time spent writing is the time given over to nourishment… For many writers, a retreat is a time for reconnecting with nature, for long walks in quiet woods or beside a restless seashore, for rowing on a lake or canoeing on a river. We long for a soundtrack of birdsong or trickling creek, for the lazy sway of a hammock beneath a shading tree, for a rocking chair on a generous porch, mint tea, a glass of wine or fresh, sweet water within reach. We want someone to bring us lunch. A retreat is a quiet place (except for the birds or maybe the profound purring of cat on lap), and when the time is right and good and when we are ready, it is writing.

Since I have met all five writing deadlines (some book length, some not), I am seriously considering giving myself the “gift of time” that such a retreat would take.

Pressure to Write

I’ve only gone on one writing retreat, and during that time, I felt the pressure to write continually. I had no one to cook for, no Internet connection, no one needing me for anything. It wouldn’t be like that when I returned home, so I felt much pressure to write, write, write!

But oh! A retreat without pressure or guilt? Wouldn’t that be heavenly? It wouldn’t have to be expensive–or even cost anything at all. I live near a pond and greenbelt area to walk in, I have a porch with a swing and three rockers, and I can fix the tea.

It’s the time that will cost me–time away from people and expectations and deadlines. It would be having the guts to say “no, I can’t,” when I’m home and free. Right now, I can barely fathom what it would feel like to retreat like this and not write until I really felt called back to it.

But oh! What an idea! I think I’m going to take a serious look at my calendar!

Cures for Procrastinators in One Minute Flat

Published on by Kristi Holl

Why is getting started often the hardest problem that writers face?

Today, I piddled around with journaling, reading blogs, watering flowers, some marketing…all the while “getting ready” to write. But by noon, I hadn’t written Word One.

There was no real reason for me to be unfocused. I felt fine, ate a healthy breakfast, had a lovely phone chat with my preschool granddaughter about our thunderstorm, cleaned the kitchen and straightened the living room. I was then ready to write…but I didn’t.

What Gives?

When I started writing umpteen years ago, I had babies and toddlers underfoot, lived on a farm, wrote a lot, and moved at lightning speed, multi-tasking before it was a word. I had no patience at all with writers like the one I’ve become: the writing procrastinators.

Back then, I had no time to procrastinate. If I didn’t write during the hour the kids napped, I didn’t get to write. I was in my office typing within a minute of tucking in the last child. No time to waste!

Times Change

No need to rush about so much now; hence, the problem. So what to do? Thankfully, I’m an avid collector of writing and writing-related books. I knew there was an answer to my problem somewhere on my shelves. And there was!

I pulled out a promising title: The 60 Second Procrastinator: Sixty Solid Techniques to Jump-Start Any Project and Get Your Life in Gear! by Jeff Davidson. The back of the book claims that “you can bust procrastination in one minute flat!” It’s a little book, but judging by the turned-down corners and the colored sticky tabs poking out from its pages, it is full of great ideas I’ve used in the past!

The author says “procrastination is a nasty habit and facilitated by distractions.” No argument there! Mr. Davidson also says: “Whenever you let progress on lower-level tasks or projects stand in the way of higher-level tasks or projects, you are procrastinating–you got that? Procrastination…is a recurring response to all that is competing for your attention.”

Lower level tasks? Yard work, email, lunch out, my favorite mystery. Higher level tasks? Writing, marketing, researching, attending critique group. But how do we shift our priorities to those “higher level” tasks?

Tried and True

Time for some of those one-minute solutions! I turned to the first dog-eared page, then the next, then the next. I remembered these ideas! They were simple–but they worked for me.

While it was tempting to procrastinate and read all sixty of the procrastination-busting techniques, I stopped after three. I put them into practice instead. And wrote. Happily.

What about you? Do you have one “tried and true” technique you could share?

Getting Your Ducks in a Row: Organization or Procrastination?

Published on by Kristi Holl

Some time ago one of Suzanne Lieurance’s email “Morning Nudges” hit me between the eyes, and I printed it out as a reminder.

I see this week that I need the same nudge again.

Maybe you do too.

Ducks on Parade

“People will tell you that before you start on any new venture it’s a good idea to get all your ducks in a row,” Suzanne said. “And that is good advice. However, have you ever known people who spend ALL their time getting their ducks in a row? Heck, they spend so much time doing this, they end up getting OTHER people’s ducks in a row, too. It’s as if they feel they’ll never be ready to start something new, something really BIG, something wonderful! They need to spend just a bit more time getting those ducks in a row, and THEN they’ll be ready. Yet, that time just never seems to come.”

Does that describe you? Sometimes it describes me.

Ducks Out of Control

Like these past months…I met two nonfiction book deadlines, finished a novel rough draft, taught a workshop, and did several critiques. Now I’m facing a massive revision of a novel that grew all out of proportion. I hardly know where to start. So in order to clear the decks for some serious writing, I decided to take a week to get all my miscellaneous ducks in a row.

I had a marketing duck, a website update duck, a critique duck, a newsletter, and a research duck. (I also had several grandchild visits–very cute ducklings.) The writing ducks popped out of line repeatedly, but after fifty hours I got them lined up.

And now I’m facing next Monday with no excuses. The ducks are in a row. There is time to write. Now what? I find myself noticing other little ducks  swimming out of line. (e.g. I really should clean my office first because I work much better in a clean office. I really should go to the gym for my stiff back and the eye doctor for new computer glasses. I really should visit the scene of my novel again and take better photos. So many ducks–so little time!)

The Procrastination Duck

I’m sure you know where I’m going with this. Yes, it’s important to get your ducks in a row. You don’t want to dive into a project half prepared. You waste precious time that way–and turn out shoddy writing.

But when does organizing cross the line into procrastination? There’s a point where we’re just putting off the inevitable–that blank page or revision that panics us. Only you can tell for yourself. What signs let you know that you’re crossing the line–and it’s time to bite the bullet?

Quack, Quack!

Before we can sit down and write, we all have certain ducks we need to have lined up. For some, it’s a super clean desk. For others, it’s doing the dishes and starting the laundry. For still others, it’s certain rituals that need to be in place.

At what point, though, do you tell yourself that “enough is enough”? I’d love to hear what works for you!

Five Stages of Procrastination

Published on by Kristi Holl

How is procrastination like a bridge you set on fire yourself? According to Neil Fiore in The Now Habit, it’s similar to a situation where we scare ourselves into being frozen.

Fiore says to imagine a very long flat board on the ground in front of you, and then imagine walking on it to the other end of the board. Piece of cake, right?

Then he says imagine raising that board 100 feet off the ground, reaching from one tall building to another. Imagine walking across it again. You don’t skip light-heartedly across now, do you? You worry about falling to your death–and you don’t even take one step.

Then, in the third scenario, he says to imagine you smell smoke and feel heat on your back. You turn, and the building you stand on is in flames. You’ll die if you don’t get moving. What do you do now? Without even thinking, you get across that board. You might crawl, you might sit down and scooch across, but you get across to avoid being burned to a crisp.

That’s procrastination in a nutshell. Here’s how:

Five Predictable Stages

  1. You let a task determine your self-worth. You think being successful at this writing task or goal will make you happy. You think your self-worth as a writer is wrapped up in this project.
  2. You use perfectionism to raise the task 100 feet above the ground–like the imaginary board above. “You demand that you do it perfectly–without anxiety, with complete acceptance from your audience, with no criticism,” says Fiore.
  3. You find yourself frozen with anxiety. Your imaginary difficulties with the project raise your stress level. Adrenaline kicks in. You seek temporary relief.
  4. You use procrastination to escape your self-created dilemma. This brings the deadline closer and creates more pressure. You delay starting so long that you can’t really be tested on your actual writing ability (what you are capable of if you’d started sooner).
  5. You use a real threat to jar you loose from the perfectionism and motivate yourself to begin. The deadline, fast approaching, acts as the fire in the building in the opening example. It forces you to get moving and actually begin the writing.

 Breaking the Cycle

The author of this terrific book then takes you back to the top of that building and asks you to imagine still being frozen as you face walking across that board. Then he says to imagine NO fire, but instead a strong, supportive net just three feet beneath the board. It stretches all the way to the other building. There is no danger.

How do you create such a writing safety net? His suggestions in the remainder of the book show you how. Stay tuned for some ideas that work!