I stink, you stink and here’s why.
Sometimes I get to the end of the day or week and think, what did I do? My mind searches for some meaningful action and all I can think of is the many times I refreshed my email inbox or the times I popped over to Facebook and Instagram to see who was loving me.
I think, well, I stink. This week stunk.
Happen to you, too?
It turns out this ignorance of what we did is completely common. In her book The Progress Principle, Teresa Amabile shares how her research revealed that people who kept consistent track of what they did at work were happier and more satisfied with their work. People tracked their thoughts and feelings on a daily basis, and Amabile discovered that seeing and acknowledging these small wins contributed to a greater sense of satisfaction.
Sounds good, right? You probably already know that having a relationship with your inner self through writing gives you a greater sense of satisfaction and control in your life.
But what if you don’t pay attention to your daily and weekly small wins? You can go around feeling like you kinda suck. Any negative thing that happens to us – a harsh word from a boss or colleague, a negative review (or no review) or your work, a nasty altercation in traffic – these negative things carry more weight than positive instances. [Read more…] about I stink, you stink, and here's why…
Third Time's a Charm: Interview with author Jonathan Fields
My friend and mentor Jonathan Fields has come out with his book How to Live a Good Life. I’ve been part of Jonathan’s world since I stalked him and wanted to hire him to help me publish my novel Chasing Sylvia Beach. Back in 2011 when said stalking was happening, I had no idea that I would become a participant in his Good Life Project Immersion program and go on to become a faculty member of the GLP team.
Jonathan did help me with my novel, but he also helped me with so much more. Before I knew him personally, I saw the savvy and successful businessman. I remember being on one of his free Tribal Author calls. When he said ‘There’s never been a better time to be an author’ I shouted with joy. Here was someone finally focusing on how much creativity and power we have, instead of how challenging it is to get a book published.
As I came to know Jonathan more, I have seen more than just his savvy. I’ve seen his deep care and commitment to the creative process. I’ve witnessed how much he contributes to those around him – helping us have more self-awareness, more self-confidence and more joyful action.
His book, How to Live a Good Life, brings much of what he has been teaching and learning into one place. Insights from his research, from his podcast interviews and from his role as a perpetual student are bundled into this book that I know will change many lives.
After more than four years deeply immersed in Jonathan’s world, I can say that I have definitely benefited from his business savvy and that my business is stronger for it. But the real benefit of learning from Jonathan is that he continually points me toward being and expressing more of me. To full-on, unabashed sharing of my gifts. To recognizing that all of me, even the goofy parts, deserve a turn on the stage. When you pick up a copy of his book, look for me in the chapter Dance Like No One’s Watching.
Jonathan agreed to an interview for us, and while there is a lot I could ask about the contents of the book, I wanted to focus on his unexpected path to writing How to Live a Good Life. Enjoy this conversation about sticking with it even when you don’t know how.
[Read more…] about Third Time's a Charm: Interview with author Jonathan Fields
Easily manage all your great ideas
There’s a lot inside you. Books. Blog posts. Essays, and then there’s that class you want to teach. Oh, and poetry, too.
Ring true? If you’ve been bitten by the writing bug, chances are there is a never-ending stream of ideas you want to write.
One of the biggest challenges we face is knowing what to write, and when. How to prioritize all of our great ideas? It’s going to be different for everyone, but as a seasoned writer’s coach, I have some ways to help focus enough so we can write what we want.
First you want to get clear on why you are writing and what you want for your writing. Is it for yourself only? For your loved ones? Or do you have publishing goals you want to meet?
Get clear on what you want for your writing. Now, check out this handy exercise from my book Create Your Writer’s Life.
1) Make a list of ten things you want to write.
These could be specific (an article about ADD) or broad (honest journal pages every day). They can be short term (a birthday letter to Vicki) or long term (a novel about real people).
2) Assess your list.
Decide which items you want to focus on. Go through the list. Make a check next to the projects you will work on in the next year.
Repeat this process, using the following units of time. What will you work on in the next:
- six months
- three months
- next month
Example of a list of writing projects:
- Yoga article √√
• Artist profile article √√
• Artist technique article √√
• NPR piece √√
• Letter to Sara √√√
• Daily journal entries √√√√
• Novel √√
• Nonfiction book √√√√
• Essay about ex √√√
By looking at the number of checks next to each item, you can easily see which projects have the highest priority. The more checks, the higher the priority. The nonfiction book has four checks, which indicates that I want to work on it this month. Journaling also has four checks, indicating that that is also a priority now.
The yoga article and artist profile article, with two checks each, are not as important now, but I would like to get to them in the next six months. Now I have a clear sense of what I will work on now, and what will come afterward. The list propels me from ideas into action.
The items that have the most checks carry the most juice and energy for you now. Begin today.
Before you plunge in with your project, take some time to get familiar with it. Brainstorm it. Mind map it. Draw it in colors. Feel free to outline it. Know that it will change as you work on it, but this is the initial getting-to-know you phase.
Warning! Don’t get stuck in the planning process. Often we don’t have the whole thing mapped out and need to plunge into the writing even when we don’t have everything figured out. I’ve seen clients drain their enthusiasm for a project by outlining it to death.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What’s important about this project?
- What will be different for me when I am done with it?
I’d love to know how this process worked for you. Feel free to share your experience below.
Now that you are clear about what to write, let’s get that in ink! Join us to write every day in February, May or October and by the end of the month you will be glowing and gloating about all the process you’ve made.
Join us to write every day.
Are you guilty of these creative faux pas?
A ‘faux pas’ {ˌfō ˈpä/} in French is literally translated as a ‘false step’. We usually think of a faux pas as a social gaff, a mistake that puts us on the wrong side of the conventional line.
But today I want to talk about some of the mistakes we may be unconsciously making that get in the way of having a satisfying writing life.
In the twenty years I have been working with writers, these are ten things we do that I know diminish our writing happiness. These faux pas are common to writers and any kind of artist. Check the list to see if you are – oops! – making any of these missteps.
Faux pas 1. Blabbing. Writers are always excited about their projects. This is good! But when you blab your ideas, you lose motivation to actually write them.
Faux pas 2. Overambitious scheduling. We all think we need hours and hours to write, but then we never manage to block off all that time. Start small and build. Fifteen minutes, several days per week, adds up.
Faux pas 3. Spending too much time reading about writing. Admit it: you know when you are procrastinating by reading rather than writing. Don’t spend your precious writing time reading someone else’s words.
Faux pas 4. Isolating yourself. The loner archetype may be appealing but isolating yourself robs you of the chance to grow beyond the known. Find other writers to share the adventure with. Connect with writing buddies in workshops, at readings, in libraries and bookstores.
Faux pas 5. Comparing yourself to others. If you make a comparison and it propels you to do more writing, the comparison has been useful. If it makes you feel like giving up writing, give up comparing instead.
Faux pas 6. Letting your inner critic take the lead. We tend to take the negative voice in our head as the truth. In my work with my clients, we always start by identifying that inner critic. When we know its tendencies, we can more easily know when it’s taken over. Choosing which perspectives to orient our actions to is one of the most powerful ways to honor our creativity and get things done that matter to us.
Faux pas 7. Staying in student mode. Classes are great, but if we’re counting on them to do all our focusing work, we’re not building our own creative muscles. Use the momentum of the class to continue writing once the class is over.
Faux pas 8. Giving in to discouragement. Every writer I’ve worked with despairs about how long it’s taking for them to write. But writing is a long process, and we have to accept that it’s not a rush job.
Faux pas 9. Judging your writing prematurely. Our inner critics love to get in on the critique action right away. Give your words a bit of space before you bring a critical eye. Leave a day or at least several hours before going in with the red pen.
Faux pas 10. Abandoning hope. I’ve been writing steadily for twenty-two years. I am always finding ways to improve my writing and am grateful for the challenge to be better. It takes time to hone a craft, so steady on!
If you’ve found yourself guilty of some of these creative missteps, don’t sweat! You are now aware of them, and that’s the first step.
Design a class that's perfect for you
Do you love the anticipation and excitement that comes from signing up for a new class? Perhaps you are like me, always studying, always feeling inspired by new insights and connections. Ever since I was a girl, I have loved being a student. When I became a teacher in 1994, I felt like I was at home designing both cooking and writing classes.
So it’s natural for me to think of my creative projects as classes I am both designing and taking. No one is grading me on these, but I find that the simple frame of a curriculum does a lot for me.
Framing things helps us focus. I’m always working with my clients to help them feel a sense of structure and focus. Without a frame, it’s easy to feel like we are all over the place, randomly consuming and creating and never getting anywhere.
Maybe you use a framework that suits your style. If you’re curious about how my clients and I develop our own course of study, read on.
Elements that go into my curricula:
Identify your creative edge.
My current creative edge is combining text with images, improving my composition and exploring hand lettering. All of these elements are present in my series 365 cups, where I draw, letter and write short bits of poetry or story. It’s the perfect amount of challenge and I love it.
If you’re having a hard time identifying your creative edge, imagine seeing a class description and saying ‘That! I want to take that class!”
The class description should show what you are learning and what you will leave the class with. I’ve been teaching since 1996 and I’ve written hundreds of class descriptions. Here’s a description I wrote for the series I am working on now:
Illustrated micro-essays
Bring your drawing, lettering and design skills together to produce a series of illustrated micro-essays around a theme. In this year-long class, you will:
• learn how to design a pleasing page layout
• gain practice with hand lettering and illustration
• practice how to succinctly and powerfully tell a story or share a mood in just a few words.
At the end of the 365 days, you will have a body of work that shows your progress and that could be compiled into a book, a series of greeting cards or illustrations that can be sold or licensed to others.
I would sign up for that class in a heartbeat – and I did by making it up!
In 75 words or less, write your course description that allows you to work at your creative edge.
Specify your satisfaction metrics.
We so often feel like we didn’t do enough or didn’t do things correctly. I’ve found it helps to identify what, specifically, will help you feel satisfied.
An exercise from the book The Art of Possibility by Benjamin and Rosamund Zander helps us to determine our own satisfaction metrics. Called Earning Your A, you simply write down what would you need to do to earn an A.
Clarify your A at the beginning of your ‘semester’ and return to it often to see how you’re doing.
Select source materials.
There’s such an abundance of podcasts and books and blogs to inspire and inform us. What materials relate specifically to what you are trying to achieve?
I’m currently reading things related to what I am teaching, a new course called Drawing as Meditation. These materials also contribute to my training as an artist and I can see their influence in my series.
On my reading lap are Frederick Franck’s Zen Seeing, Zen Drawing and Lynda Barry’s Syllabus.
Podcasts I listen to while drawing or cooking:
• The Savvy Painter
• On Being
• Design Matters
• NPR Arts and Life
What inspires or accompanies your work?
Show your work
In his book Show Your Work, Austin Kleon encourages us to develop our work and ourselves publicly. This showing can help get feedback and encouragement.
Every day I post a piece from my series on Instagram and Facebook. It’s not easy on travel days or when I am teaching like at Camp GLP last week. Some times require me to do several pieces in advance.
I use the hashtags #WIP (work in progress) and #showyourwork to feel like part of a community of global artists putting things out there.
Where do you show your work and how does it impact you?
Make consistent time.
One of the main reasons people sign up for a class is to force themselves to be consistent. But you can train yourself to be consistent on your own terms.
Doing a daily challenge works to help me stay on track. Using rituals like I wrote about in the last newsletter also helps.
Even if you don’t have a ton of time for your writing or creating, you can be consistent. One session a week, every week is consistent.
What can you commit to in order to show up consistently for your creating?
What does your course of study look like for this autumn? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.