by Jenna | Dec 10, 2015 | Writing Articles
I believe in callings.
I believe that each of us has something that we were put here to do, and when we find what it is, we must do it with all our hearts.
And... it isn't always easy to get clear on what our calling is.
Why?
The noisy, busy world we live in and the noisy, busy minds we are encouraged to cultivate by the mainstream makes it hard to hear ourselves and the deeper whispers of our souls.
And that's often how a calling comes through, as a whisper.
It took me a number of years to come around to realizing that my deepest call is to write. I spent my 20s and 30s sorting myself out in that regard, changing careers, soul-searching, and more (like helping other people get clear on their life callings!), only to come back to the insight that my 6th grade self already had hit upon: I want to write.
Are you called to write?
If you're here, reading a website named "Called to Write", I'm going to assume that you also feel that call. That you have the inner compunction to put words to the page in some form. You may or may not be doing it yet, or maybe not yet quite the way you want to be doing it, but I'm guessing that one way or the other, you've been feeling the call to write for some time.
When I conducted a survey a little while ago, 71% of you said that you felt called to write without a doubt. That's huge. And fantastic!
And, interestingly, 71% of you also said that you struggle with procrastination.
Isn't that fascinating?
The very thing we feel called to do is the very thing we tend to avoid.
And it's entirely normal.
One of my favorite things Steven Pressfield says in The War of Art (aka "Jenna's Bible") is this:
"The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it."
In other words?
The bigger the dream, the more we fear and avoid it.
by Jenna | Dec 2, 2015 | Writing Articles
It's a busy time. There's a lot going on and a lot expected of us with the next round of holidays looming on the horizon.
It's also a time when we start looking ahead to the new year. Maybe more in the backs of our brains where we don't have to pay too much attention to it, but most of us are starting to think ahead to our writing in the new year and what we want to accomplish.
Some of us are even putting off writing until the new year, thinking we don't have enough time to do it now, with all the busyness.
Don't fall for the big blocks of writing time myth
The truth is, though, that most of us are putting it off because we think we need a lot of time to write. That it isn't worth writing unless we have a big block of time to write, where we can really dig in. And it's true, those long blocks of time to write can be lovely (when they don't scare the bejesus out of us and cause us to procrastinate even more!).
But we don't really need big blocks of time to keep our writing in motion.
We just have to do some writing.
10 Tips to Keep You Writing Through the Holidays
Here's what I suggest to my Called to Write members to keep writing through the holidays:
- Write small. Even if you're accustomed to longer stretches of writing time, it's okay to scale it back to a more manageable amount while you're balancing the busyness of the holidays too. Even just 15 minutes of writing a day (or 5!) is worth doing and will keep you connected to your project.
- Write first. Writing first in the day--even if you have to get up early--will help you bypass most of the challenges the holidays bring. This is because when you put your writing first, everything else comes afterward and fills in the remaining time. It will reduce your stress levels, you’ll feed your soul, and everything else will still miraculously get done.
- Set a rock bottom daily writing goal. If you know what your rock bottom minimum for writing is, it’s easier to know what to do on the really busy days. You might want to aim to write 250 words, or three sentences, or write for 15 minutes as your rock bottom. Then you know what you have to do when you’re in tough. (And it's okay to set your "write small" amount from tip #1 at your rock bottom minimum!)
- Set a holiday season writing goal. Whether you’re targeting completion of a major project or simply determined to keep writing no matter what, knowing what your goal is makes it easier to know if you are on track. This year, for instance, with a young toddler in the house, my goal is super, super simple: just to keep writing. That’s it. For another writer, it might be, to finish the draft of a novel by the end of the year. Once you know your goal, you can reverse engineer what you need to do to accomplish it.
- Know what your specific challenges are and how you will address them. For example, my older son will be off school for two weeks, so I’m thinking about what he’s going to be doing when I want to be writing and making plans to write when my husband is home and/or the kids are otherwise occupied. Maybe you'll be traveling, or having house guests. With some forethought, you can come up with a simple strategy to protect your writing time.
- Be clear about what days you are taking off. I know of writers who ONLY take off Christmas Day every year. I know others who write 365 days per year. I also know of successful writers who write only on weekdays and take weekends and holidays off. If you decide to take days off from writing, be clear with yourself about when, where, and how you will start writing again after the day or days off. You have to be ready to combat the inertia of not writing.
- Assume you will write. On the days you’ve planned to write, make the assumption that writing is happening, one way or the other. Ideally, you’ll have a plan and a schedule to help you stick to that plan, but if all else fails, just assume it’s a question of WHEN not IF. (Don't waste your life energy deciding whether or not you'll be writing. Just decide, and then do it.)
- Create support & accountability. Habit trumps inspiration, discipline, and motivation almost any day of the week, but habit can still get disrupted by changes in our routine, like the holidays, travel, vacations, extra social commitments, and just generally having more to do. You can use the power of accountability to help keep your habit in place even when it’s being disrupted by other things. Whether you’re checking in with your writing buddies, participating in a writer’s group like my Called to Write community, or talking to your writing coach, having people around you who believe in the importance of your writing and support you to keep doing it helps you stay strong when you’re around people who don’t get it.
- Be creative. When the going gets tough, be creative about how and where you write. For example, you might want to arrive at your appointments early so you can sit in the car and write for a few minutes, write on your phone in bed at night (this is one of my favorite tricks), keep a notebook with you at all times for moments of inspiration, or find other clever ways to keep writing even when life is happening.
- Write last. Last but not least, if you can’t write first, write last. Even if you take just a few minutes at the end of every day, write. This is my saving grace these days with a busy life with a little toddler.
I hope this list of ideas will get you thinking about what you can do to keep writing through the holidays so you can feel great about beginning the new year with a strong start.
Happy writing!
by Jenna | Nov 26, 2015 | Writing Articles
It's Thanksgiving here in the U.S., so many of us are thinking about gratitude.
It occurred to me that since here at Called to Write we focus on writing, it might be worth thinking about what we are grateful for that writing has brought to our lives.
So here's a place to share, if you feel so inspired.
Let us know in the comments ... what has writing given you that you're grateful for?
I'll go first:
- The satisfaction of pursuing one of my two most deeply held dreams, alongside my dream of becoming a mother.
- The joy of playing in far off imaginary worlds that I've always loved but never believed I could be responsible for creating.
- Incredible amounts of personal growth, self-discipline, self-confidence, self-trust, new habits, and new beliefs.
- Exciting adventures in learning about writing fiction and screenwriting.
- A tribe of incredible writers I'm grateful to call friends and colleagues.
It's your turn. :)
What has writing given you that you're grateful for?
by Jenna | Nov 25, 2015 | Reflections, Science Fiction
I wrote recently getting a handle on online distractions that keep you from writing, and prior to that, about cutting back on the online distractions that were cluttering my head.
I've been highly interested in this topic because I could feel my life-energy being sapped by these distractions and it's been really bothering me, despite the many changes I've already made. I do a good job of protecting my actual writing time from email and other online stuff, but the rest of my life? Not so much.
And it was mostly because of my phone. My computer use feels manageable. My TV consumption is minimal (though I have been watching lots of Prison Break and Breakout Kings as I'm prepping a sci-fi prison movie right now!). Having said that, I like being able to use my phone to read ebooks in the dark late at night without waking the baby (who sleeps in the same room) and being able to write on it when I want to.
But I don't like feeling like I can't be without it. Ever. YUCK.
(And honestly, the picture I've chosen to accompany this post keeps freaking me out -- it seems entirely emblematic of how so many of us are viewing our world through the filter of a device... constantly.)
My email trap
It was email that was really my last "hook" — I rationalized that as a business owner, I need to stay on top of things and make sure nothing was falling through the cracks. But that notion kept me constantly checking to see if I had any new messages.
And not only did I feel guilty for oh so frequently "checking" my phone when I was around my kids, I didn't like the way my brain felt always cluttered by all the checking, even after I'd taken Facebook off my phone, turned off almost all the notifications in the lock screen and more. It was like being tied into other people's energy and needs was keeping me on edge, in a hyper vigilant state of awareness and constant readiness. Again, YUCK.
Finding the courage and support to make a change
So I decided to participate in a "Look Up" two week online use "detox" program and see what shifts I could make.
We worked through a four-step process of first defining what we want, noticing what impulses were driving the behavior to check in online, accepting that those feelings and impulses (often discomfort) would not necessarily change but that we could learn new ways to deal with them, and finally choosing what we wanted instead. Then, every day, we answered simple journal prompts every morning to set our intentions for the day about our online use and how we wanted our days to go, and every evening, about how it went and what we learned.
I deleted Gmail from my phone
Initially I found myself sort of skirting the edges of changing my phone use, testing the water, seeing how it felt just to consider cutting back. (Which just shows how powerful an addiction it can be!)
Even before the program started, I installed the app called "Moment" so I could see how much time I was actually spending on my phone, and how many times I was picking it up. So in some ways it was good that I wasn't changing anything initially, but just observing. And it was kind of scary. There was one day, prior to the program, where I picked up my phone FORTY-NINE times. 49!! It's embarrassing even to put that in print.
On about Day 3 of the 14-day program I decided to take Gmail off my phone entirely. For good measure, I took off Chrome too, so my second-biggest, "let me just look that up real quick" excuse was gone too. I still have Safari there but since it wasn't my go-to program it just doesn't have the same attraction. While I was at it, I turned off every other kind of lock screen, pop up, and banner notification I could find on my phone (except iMessage and Reminders, which I do use) and on my computer.
It was so worth it.
I felt sort of jittery for about 24 to 48 hours, still on that automatic "must-check-now" auto-alert. It was mildly frightening to feel so much like Pavlov's Dog. Again, YUCK.
What changed for me
After that, everything got a lot more calm.
I found myself feeling much more present in my life and to my family.
My brain felt quieter, calmer, more alert.
I had more energy.
I started reading REAL BOOKS and putting my hands on REAL THINGS like baking food, drawing, collaging. I noticed that when I felt the urge to "check" I could make tea, or snuggle with my boys, or GO OUTSIDE and look up at the beautiful amazing sky that helps make life on this planet possible.
I also found that I could still use my devices for certain things: Kindle, Netflix, the timer, the calculator, iMessages, writing, and other apps I love and find incredibly useful without it taking over my time and energy. My phone became a tool again, instead of a constant companion or savior or whatever it was actually doing for me. It's been interesting to walk the line of finding what online use works for me and what doesn't, at least for right now.
I found myself being crystal clear about times when I absolutely did NOT want to be consuming any online stuff at all and have had a few spans of totally unplugged time (something I used to do weekly) and LOVED it.
It's started to feel kind of gross to be looking at my phone.
So I just don't do it much anymore. It mostly stays in my office, on the charger, except when I need it when I'm out and want it for emergency phone calls, or if I need it for another purpose, like the calculator or timer. Again, it's gone back to being a tool, and I like that.
I also found that the days have gotten So Much Longer! All those "little" checks and moments of time that were getting sucked into online use are suddenly mine again. My mind is clearer. My intentions are clearer each day. I feel more focused.
How my writing has changed
And as far as my writing goes, I have not noticed a huge change in my writing time, but I'm not surprised by that, since I've already been writing regularly and protecting my writing time well.
What I have noticed is that I feel readier to write when I sit down to do it. Now what swirls around in my brain when I'm out in the world is what I'm going to be writing about next, whether it's a blog post, my current script, or the next big project that's coming down the pipeline. It might sound like a small shift, but it's huge. It feels like I've reclaimed my own territory again. And it's such a relief.
by Jenna | Oct 30, 2015 | Writing Articles
So let's return to our topic of choosing your next writing project.
In my first post in this series, I wrote about where and how writers tend to get stuck choosing writing projects.
In my second post in the series, I wrote about using "decision criteria" to make choices about your next writing project. I should clarify here perhaps, that I'm specifically talking about long form writing projects (a novel, a feature script, a book, etc.). This is because long form projects tend to trigger a different kind of stuckness than short form projects which require less commitment (though there are certainly plenty of ways we can get stuck with short projects too).
In this third post, let's talk about some additional approaches I like to use when it comes to putting projects in order of "best fit" to "least best fit for now" and also about some intuitive approaches to choosing a project.
Let's start with project ordering.
** Check out the newly updated version of this series available
for download here (or scroll to the end of this post) **
Putting your projects in "order"
I help my clients get through project choosing paralysis by helping them think about which project comes first. This is important because many writers who are overwhelmed with choices and concepts and ideas feel attached to all of them and petrified by the idea of "giving up" any of them.
It feels like letting someone you love die, or choosing to marry one suitor and rejecting the other.
But this is more like having serial, monogamous relationships. It's about choosing which project you'll work on now, all the while holding in mind which one will come next, and then next again.
And yes, this works when you're working on a series, but it also works even if you're working with stand-alone, single-title projects.
The core idea here is to develop a project queue -- a list of your projects in an order that you'll work through. (And yes, of course it can and will change over time, it's just to help you choose the first one NOW, and to have a sense of what comes next, to calm down the part of your brain that freaks out about missing out on something.)
To put them in order, you can use a number of a different methods, including using decision criteria like those I described last time (like those being the operative phrase; it's important to come up with criteria that work for you, your brand, your writing career, your lifestyle, etc.).
You can also use intuitive decision making methods instead of or in conjunction to the decision criteria that help bring forth your own best inner wisdom about what comes next.
For me now, a lot of this happens semi-consciously, because I'm constantly sorting and sifting through my projects in the back of my brain, but it's worth discussing in detail if you're struggling with a choice.
Using intuitive decision-making methods
- My head says / My heart says. One of my favorite ways of helping my clients choose projects is to hold their collection of ideas in mind and then verbally fill in the blanks of these two statements, in turn, SAYING OUT LOUD THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND.
For the first statement, "My head says," keep your eyes open and complete the sentence out loud: "When it comes to choosing my next writing project, my head says ... "
For the second step, "My heart says," take a deep breath, let your head drop to your chest, put your hand over your heart, close your eyes and complete this sentence, also out loud, "When it comes to choosing my next writing project, my heart says ..." Just notice what comes and notice how it feels. Sometimes they'll match. Sometimes they won't. But your heart will have the true knowledge, if you allow it to speak.
Note that this exercise works best when you have someone to listen and hold the space for you, like a coach, mentor, or trusted friend. Deeper truths tend to emerge in the presence of a caring witness. (Thanks to Sonia for this one.)
- Follow your fear. Another one of my favorite methods comes from Steven Pressfield. In a video interview I saw of him, he said, "Figure out what scares you the most and do that first." The wisdom here is that our fear can be an incredible guide to exactly the next best place we need to go to grow as writers. We would not be experiencing the resistance and fear unless there was something very important lurking in that direction. So you check in with your project list to see which one scares you. Consider heading in that direction first.
I can still remember facing what I thought was my biggest fear, working on a non-fiction project, when a friend of mine said to me, "I don't think that's the one that scares you the most, I think it's the fiction project." And of course when I looked deeper, she was right. So I turned to writing my first script instead, about a painful issue that was so terrifying to me I had gone numb to it. (And that is one of the stultifying effects of fear by the way -- it can make you believe you don't care or feel nothing when in fact you feel "too much", so again, having a witness can be an important part of this process.)
- Light / heavy. With an unordered or ordered list of possible projects, without overthinking, zip down your list and make note of which projects feel light and which feel heavy. The "lighter" projects are usually good bets and you can move them to the top. Keep in mind that in relationship to method #2, "light" doesn't necessarily mean not scary, nor does "heavy" necessarily mean it is scary. Try using these two methods separately and see what happens. Oftentimes there's a useful overlap that is quite clarifying, and although they may seem counter to each other on a logical level, remember that we're using intuitive methods here. :) (Thanks to Isabel for teaching me this one.)
- Project into the future. Have a little chat here with your future self, about which is the next best project for you. Remember that s/he is already living it, so s/he'll have the perfect 20-20 hindsight to best advise you. Close your eyes, imagine meeting your future self in a cozy spot, and just ask, "What's my next, best project?" The answer may surprise and delight you -- and may knock all the other projects well down the totem pole! (This happened to me just a few nights ago.)
- Pay attention to what catches your eye. As you hold your list of projects in mind and move through your day and your life, notice what shows up, whether through other people's words, what you read or watch, or things you see in your day-to-day world. Sometimes a little nudge of clarity is all we need, and when we pay attention to the confluence of information and ideas and experiences we have, something will crystalize into a "Yes!" for a particular project above the others.
- Do something repetitive. One of the best ways to access your own inner wisdom and intuition is to do something repetitive. So ask yourself, "I wonder what my next project will be?" or "What's the next best project for me?" and then go for a walk, take a shower, scrub the floor, work out, or do something else that's physical and repetitive and just let your brain give you the answer whenever it's ready. Part of this is about trusting the process, giving it time, and knowing that the next project will be clear in its own right and perfect time.
- Notice which project bubbles up to the top. My favorite way of choosing a project is to just let them all circulate around in the back of my brain and see which project(s) start attracting new ideas and clarity and bubble up to the surface. Certain projects just seem to have the energy and drive to rise above the others. I'll usually have a favorite or two, a sense of which seem like the best candidates, and then wait to see what happens, and usually one emerges, just in time for the next writing rodeo.
Can you imagine using any of these tools to help you choose your next project?
Now that we've come to the end of this series, do you have any lingering questions or specific challenges about how to choose your next project? Ask me a question in the comments section on the blog and I'll be happy to try to help!
And if you're catching up, start here:
Thanks so much for reading!
Download the Newly Updated Guidebook Version Here
There's an updated version of this post and the two others in the series, assembled into a How to Choose Your Next Book (Or Screenplay) Guidebook with an overview of the process in a PDF format, along with a workbook in a PDF and RTF format. You can import the RTF into Word or Scrivener and work with it there.
Click the image below to download the Guidebook now.
