We writers can get pretty weird about our work. Depressed. Anxious. Neurotic. Self-obsessed. Hysterical, even. If writers had enough money for therapy, the mental health field would be booming. But instead what we have is an entire readers market dedicated to writers who write about writing and the struggles we writers face. Ours aren’t your … [Read more…]
Yesterday, while I was spooning down a trifecta of Tutti Frutti frozen yogurt — honey, cherry almond, and vanilla custard — I was secretly fantasizing about killing someone. I’d been dishing to my pal J about the latest novel I’m reading and loving. It’s a Y.A. fantasy that my adult daughter wrote. J was like, … [Read more…]
Much of my personal and creative life began to fall in place when I started to practice yoga and study yoga philosophy. It was on the yoga mat and in the classic texts that I found the best instructions for healthy thinking and practical spirituality. These enhanced my writing life. (You can read my paper presented at the … [Read more…]
If you’ve got creative goals, my bet is that you’ve had to face anxiety about whether you would actually meet them. In its most dangerous form this anxiety becomes generalized — the free-floating fear that seems to emanate from your creative project and engulfs you when you approach it. When I’ve had this anxiety, it shuts … [Read more…]
Winter is a difficult time because of its darkness. Writing, too, is difficult for the same reason. That means writing in winter may feel like a double whammy. But it doesn’t have to. If you’re a sun worshipper, a creature of the light, you need to understand, darkness is important to the creative process because (1) it … [Read more…]
I love a good ritual! A few years back I invented a ritual to celebrate the new year and honor the things I wanted for myself and my life. It started as an urge to give others what they most wanted. Just before Christmas 2015, I had been brainstorming gift ideas for a couple of close friends. … [Read more…]
Validation is a tricky thing. We all need it…. Ok, most of us need it. If you don’t, there’s a good chance you’re a sociopath. And if you need too much of it, you’re needy and exhausting and we all wish you’d work on your self-esteem. It’s hard to strike a balance. Or to even know where … [Read more…]
In these final days of summer, let’s take time to honor the season’s fiery energy before it’s gone. That fire manifests itself in lots of activity, frequently recreational activities, because the days are longer and we feel more alive, and because the season’s heat is balanced by the cooling qualities of play and leisure, which restore and … [Read more…]
Now that we just celebrated the solstice, summer is officially in session. Woohoo! Who doesn’t love the fun, high-energy playfulness of summer? You’d think that energy might be great for your creative projects, and you’d be right — that is, if you weren’t so busy doing so many other things. The challenge of summer is … [Read more…]
You’re a smart and practical person. You see the problem: You’re not writing enough. Or not publishing enough. The solution is simple, right? Write more. Publish more. It’s not rocket surgery. It’s self-evident: like the solution to being 20 pounds overweight. Lose 20 pounds. Duh. At first, the need for a solution is a constant-yet-quiet thought in the … [Read more…]