Enjoyed this article- I recently finished my PhD whilst working other jobs. Although it wasn’t an intrinsically creative exercise, I also didn’t have a hard deadline, and got very little done for a long time. What eventually worked for me was very similar to the examples described: the pre-dawn writing sessions, or the post-dinner late night writing sessions- essentially, just learning to make it an imperfect part of my life; realising that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be the person who could neatly fit the project within the confines of 9-5.
I love the way this article simplifies some of life's biggest challenges. Simply put - if you want to overcome excuses then first get an understanding of what they are by writing them down.
When it comes to writing - I saw a really fantastic IG quote on a friend's account that ties in well to this article: "If you want to be a writer, then write."
We have a tendency overcomplicate things - and with good reason most of the time! But maybe at the end of the day, those reasons are in fact just excuses that can be overcome.
I love how this applies to all creative desires. Or just everything I guess. This quote from Toni Morrison reminded me of how I often think about my skincare ritual:
“I have an ideal writing routine that I’ve never experienced”
I fantasize about waking up and having slippers and a robe next to my bed and walking to the bathroom and having all my products easily accessible and a sink that was big enough to not get water all over the floor. The sink will never change, the slippers I sometimes remember.. but I often just bag the whole thing because it doesn’t meet my ideal vision but how stupid is that?! I can still take great care of my skin without having the ‘ideal routine.’ Great reminders here.
“Demoralization complete and seemingly unbeatable,” Steinbeck wrote in his diary in August 1938. “I’m not a writer. I’ve been fooling myself and other people.”
Blasphemy! Marquez, Wallace, Plath, so many others, all said the same thing. Unfathomable how hard we can be on ourselves. I’m happy I read this!
I’m not a writer but I found this article interesting. There was nothing really new but the fact that this author actually did the work! It’s easy to talk about the “how to” but another to actually “do.”
I've never truly considered writing a book, despite writing many non-fiction articles over the last 30 years. My wife has written two books in the last five years, I admire her. I don't think she does anything to motivate herself, I'l have to ask.
One is called "Living Through the Storm." It's about the tornado that hit our house in 2013 and the year following. The second is called "Love Fosters Faith." It's about the lighter moments of our fostering for 9 years.
Thank you! Both sound fascinating and I’ll look into them. Living Through the Storm hits home for me because my husband and I lost our home and possessions to Super Storm Sandy back in 2012. Life changing, to say the least, as I’m sure you know too. Thanks again.
No problem. We got lucky and our insurance paid about $75000 on house damage and about $45000 on personal property damage. Many people in our neighborhood lost their houses, there are still some empty lots. Also, we had a check from the insurance company in less than a week, some were waiting over a year.
This is great, I'm garbage at keeping up with spreadsheets but the idea of a practice that forces you to look at your reasons for not facing that "terrifying" blank page is brilliant. I may have to try this!
A great idea, the results could be scary
Enjoyed this article- I recently finished my PhD whilst working other jobs. Although it wasn’t an intrinsically creative exercise, I also didn’t have a hard deadline, and got very little done for a long time. What eventually worked for me was very similar to the examples described: the pre-dawn writing sessions, or the post-dinner late night writing sessions- essentially, just learning to make it an imperfect part of my life; realising that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be the person who could neatly fit the project within the confines of 9-5.
I love the way this article simplifies some of life's biggest challenges. Simply put - if you want to overcome excuses then first get an understanding of what they are by writing them down.
When it comes to writing - I saw a really fantastic IG quote on a friend's account that ties in well to this article: "If you want to be a writer, then write."
We have a tendency overcomplicate things - and with good reason most of the time! But maybe at the end of the day, those reasons are in fact just excuses that can be overcome.
I love how this applies to all creative desires. Or just everything I guess. This quote from Toni Morrison reminded me of how I often think about my skincare ritual:
I fantasize about waking up and having slippers and a robe next to my bed and walking to the bathroom and having all my products easily accessible and a sink that was big enough to not get water all over the floor. The sink will never change, the slippers I sometimes remember.. but I often just bag the whole thing because it doesn’t meet my ideal vision but how stupid is that?! I can still take great care of my skin without having the ‘ideal routine.’ Great reminders here.
This is such a brilliant and easy-to-do exercise. Learning about Steinbeck’s writing circumstance was also illuminating and inspiring.
Blasphemy! Marquez, Wallace, Plath, so many others, all said the same thing. Unfathomable how hard we can be on ourselves. I’m happy I read this!
I’m not a writer but I found this article interesting. There was nothing really new but the fact that this author actually did the work! It’s easy to talk about the “how to” but another to actually “do.”
I've never truly considered writing a book, despite writing many non-fiction articles over the last 30 years. My wife has written two books in the last five years, I admire her. I don't think she does anything to motivate herself, I'l have to ask.
Impressive, please let us know! Also, what were the books about?
One is called "Living Through the Storm." It's about the tornado that hit our house in 2013 and the year following. The second is called "Love Fosters Faith." It's about the lighter moments of our fostering for 9 years.
Thank you! Both sound fascinating and I’ll look into them. Living Through the Storm hits home for me because my husband and I lost our home and possessions to Super Storm Sandy back in 2012. Life changing, to say the least, as I’m sure you know too. Thanks again.
No problem. We got lucky and our insurance paid about $75000 on house damage and about $45000 on personal property damage. Many people in our neighborhood lost their houses, there are still some empty lots. Also, we had a check from the insurance company in less than a week, some were waiting over a year.
This is great, I'm garbage at keeping up with spreadsheets but the idea of a practice that forces you to look at your reasons for not facing that "terrifying" blank page is brilliant. I may have to try this!