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This Writer’s Life at a Crossroads

We’d like to think that things move in a steady trajectory onward and upward. That in life and art we steadily improve, increase our skills and capacity, and ultimately arrive, fulfilled, at some better place than where we started.

But it seems the real path is circular, a spiral that moves forward but can bring us back to where we started. Or maybe it feels more like a squiggly Picasso line.

When clients come to me, ‘stuck’, they worry about their ability to move out of a rut. I assure them that ruts are a normal part of the creative cycle. It’s normal to arrive at a need to renew and refresh your commitment to your art.
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Two Simple Ways to Be Creative Daily

 
My office futon is folded out and my illustrated journal, pen, free writing journal and timer all lie there, inviting me to rest, write and color.
The yoga mat and tennis racquet are in the garage, next to my bike.
Appointments for tennis, yoga, and friend gatherings are on the calendar.
Without these simple strategies for making sure these ‘optional’ practices are in my life, I might never draw, do my free writing, exercise, or get time with friends.
Having visual reminders and time blocked on the calendar are two simple ways to make sure the things that make life pleasurable actually happen.
What works for you to have non-essential but important things in your life? Share your strategies in a comment below.
Daily Writing Impulse
If you’re looking for a way to gain traction on a simple writing practice, perhaps a daily reminder in your inbox will help.
Because this was requested so often, I’ve developed a writing prompt subscription service.

Monthly or annual subscriptions to the Daily Writing Impulse are available here.  Start anytime and use the prompts to write if not daily, at least several times a week.
Subscribe to Impulses, my bi-weekly newsletter, to get insider discounts on this and other offers.
A discount for the Daily Writing Impulse is available to Impulses subscribers and Original Impulses clients before August 1st, 2011. Get the newsletter now and get the deals all year round.

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Liberate Yourself from Old Projects

There they are – bulging in the file cabinet, collecting dust: your old writing projects. Some are complete, but most are 80% finished.

When you look at them, you feel a mix of emotions:

  • Despair that you never finished that great story
  • Hope that someday you might finish that great story
  • Excitement – when you revisit the idea, you really like it. There’s some good writing in there.
  • Overwhelm – where do you start?

You close the drawer and try to forget about these half-bakeds. You want to write new things but after seeing this logjam, you lose confidence that you can ever complete something.

It’s one of the most difficult decisions to make – revive a project or abandon it. Use my coaching questions to help discern whether the project(s) can be resumed or are ready to be dropped.

1.        Where did the impulse for this project come from? Was this your idea or someone else’s?

2.        What is your motivation now? What is important about completing this project?  Get clear about what you expect completion of this project to do for your life.

3.        How has the project changed? Is this piece still in the same genre? Has the focus of the work changed?

4.        How have you changed since you began this project? Take a look at your circumstances. Assess your maturity, your commitment, and your other obligations. Is there still room for this project?

5.        What tools or skills do you need to finish? Assess required time, space, and resources to get a realistic picture of what you need to complete the work. Locate the support, books, and other reference materials that will help you to complete the piece.

6.        What are your strengths? Where else in your life have you stayed with a project even when you didn’t know you could? Take stock of your completion history and know that you can complete a project.

7.        What would it feel like to set this project aside? Check in to see if you are ready to let this project go. Notice if you feel regret, remorse, or relief when you consider shelving this project.

8.        What does your gut say? Respect yourself. Do what you need to do to feel that you are doing the right thing for you, right now. Trust your instincts to guide you in making decisions that you can live with.

Incomplete projects may be costing you more than you think. Lack of confidence, inability to focus, fear of starting new projects can all be caused by these partial projects that are clogging the queue.

List your unfinished projects and use these questions for each of them. Do the work or let go, and open yourself to new creative energy in your life.

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Listen to Find Your Writer’s Voice

I opened the document eagerly, excited to see the progress my client had made. She had read a book about how to write a book proposal and had dutifully followed its dictates.

But when I read the proposal, I was dismayed. The ‘about the author’ section was particularly awful. It wasn’t that it was poorly written – it was just drafted in someone else’s voice.

My client had followed the advice to write about herself in the third person. But that didn’t work for her book, which was a very personal story.

Don’t take advice – listen instead
In our efforts to find our elusive writing voice, we often seek advice to make it easier. Sometimes being told how to write isn’t as helpful as being taught how to listen.

As a professional listener, I’m always attuned to what’s being said and how. When you tune in, you can hear your voice become clear. Soon, you’ll be empowered to write captivating blog posts, authentic articles, and amazing books – resonating with your authentic voice.

Listening practices for artists of all kinds
These suggestions apply to artists in all media; rather than jumble the article with multiple examples, I invite you to play with these ways to listen for your authentic voice.
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Got the Creative Blues? Write Your Acknowledgement Page

There comes a point in the writing of your novel when it’s just a slog. You’re close to the end but you don’t feel like you’ll ever see that finish line or hold your book in your hands.

This creative despair can be crippling. Time to lighten things up with gratitude.

The quickest way to gratitude is to write your acknowledgement page. If you’ve written a book, you know that this page isn’t just a nicety. Finishing a book really does require all those people, and even though it’s your name on the cover, the names on the acknowledgement page are equally important.
They’re especially valuable when you need to gather encouragement. You may not be able to invite them over to soothe your writer’s soul, but you can bring them together by drafting your acknowledgment page. [Read more…] about Got the Creative Blues? Write Your Acknowledgement Page

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Not Getting Things Done? Enter the Deadline Zone

Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a focused space in which to write your book or finish your project? You often yearn for that far-off creative zone, an idyllic escape where you can focus on your work without daily distractions, tempting dates with friends and other seductive projects.

A mountain getaway would surely help you stay focused on one project. You may even replace Julie Andrews with an image of yourself, singing blissfully to the sky because you’re so tuned into the creative flow!
Sigh. Maybe you can’t escape your daily grind, but you can create what I call The Deadline Zone. This is less a place than a practice – and your ability to shut off distractions to complete projects is a key factor in your success.

Something about the word ‘deadline’ strikes fear in the hearts of many. Most people understand the urgency and focus of a deadline. [Read more…] about Not Getting Things Done? Enter the Deadline Zone

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Juju Infusion 2: Dealing with Difficult

Creativity in unexpected places…join me for this week’s infusion of creativity – Juju Infusion!

Quick links for things mentioned in the show:

AWP Association of Writers and Writing Programs

Vital Yoga

Baer Ridgway Exhibitions

Curious Amsterdam: June 13th – 19th – last chance to register this week.

Kathy Loh

Demetri Martin

Tartine Bakery

Original Impulse Inc.

Hello!

Welcome to episode two of Juju Infusion.Take a break to inject an infusion of Juju –
good, zesty creative energy – into your life.

In this episode:

  • Falling in love at the AWP conference.
  • Yoga Juju: Utkatasana! (Say it with me.)
  • Journal Juju: Join me on my jaunt to Northern California
  • Journal Juju – Last week’s winner of the journal juju giveaway was Janet Keen. Who is it this week? Watch to find out!

Plus more surprising juju in action.

Thanks for watching and please do let me know what you’d like to see in future episodes!

If you watch my show, please let me know by rating it or by leaving
a comment below. (You’ll want to leave a comment anyway, to be entered
in the Journal Juju giveaway next week!)

To your juju infusion,
 

Cynthia

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Ten Creative Sinkholes and How to Paddle Past Them

I received a note from a former client the other day and asked her to frame it as a testimonial. She wrote this:
“Cynthia doesn’t just talk the talk when it comes to writing and creativity…she walks the walk.”

I like to think that whatever success I have is because I completely relate to the thrilling white water rapids ride my clients experience when they want to bring a book or blog or art or business to life.

When I coach my clients, I remind them that I am paddling alongside them. I constantly push my creative edge by riding the waves of new projects. E-books, blog posts, creative excursions and videos all provide me with my class IV rapids.

I navigate these thrills by being willing to learn, willing to ask for help, and willing to go beyond perfection in order to complete and launch initiatives. I know the sinkholes in the creative process and I know how to paddle past them.
But I confess that while I do walk the talk, I’m not telling all. I’ve been operating under the premise that I need to have everything figured out before I present it to you.  And that my own creative paddling isn’t interesting to anyone but myself.

I feel it’s wrong to give the illusion that I have everything figured out.  Being able to live with an imperfect process is essential to making anything. So I’ll share a peek into what I am working on to share how I paddle past common sinkholes in my creative ride.

My hope is to show you how I get a big idea and paddle past the common inner and outer sinkholes  to launch. Hopefully my process will illuminate something about your own creative path so you can ride the creative wave and launch more easily.
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Writers and Artists: Pay Yourself First

You might not be used to depositing checks earned by the sweat of your pen or paintbrush (yet). That doesn’t mean you can’t start becoming financially savvy with your art. One of the top tips for becoming financially empowered is to pay yourself first.
How can you do that without incoming cash? Set your intention, and take a little action. Here are eight fun steps to make money a part of your creative life, even before you get paid from others.
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Earning Your A

Writers and other creative types are often notoriously hard on ourselves. Yes, I got published, but they didn’t pay much, you’ll hear. Or, sure I got a show, but it isn’t a solo show. Dissatisfaction is the bane of the creative’s existence.

It could be said that dissatisfaction drives the creative type to keep creating. If we were perfectly content with the world, we wouldn’t have to make anything new, would we?

Yet, this cranky perspective can also keep us from really enjoying the process of producing art. In The Art of Possibility, Benjamin Zander shares this exercise for banishing the ‘not good enough’ demons that haunt us. It’s called Earning Your A.
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