by Jenna | Mar 16, 2017 | Writing Articles
I've been sick too much this year, and thought it worth revisiting one of my favorite articles from 2013 on "when to write and when to call it a day." Here's an updated version for you:
During a live coaching call for my Called to Write community, a writer once asked about how to know when to push through and write if you're not feeling well versus how to know when to focus on regaining your well-being.
In my opinion, the answer depends a bit on the circumstances, so let's look at some specific scenarios.
1. You've just come down with a wicked cold or flu.
Assuming you have a solid, regular habit in place, when you get really sick or you're just those early stages of wretchedness, it's okay to take a few days off from writing, knowing that you'll get back to it as quickly as you can.
When I'm feverish, wiped out, or worse, I know the most important thing I can do for my body is to rest and heal.
I have found myself writing even while sick at times -- because I felt truly drawn to work on my piece -- but in this case my focus is very much about listening to my body.
This is very much like being an athlete, and knowing whether or if to train when you're sick or injured, and when to take a day off.
I also trust myself enough deep down, after months of regular writing, to know that I'll re-establish my habit as soon as I am able, usually within 2 to 3 days. The longer you're away from your habit, the harder it is to get going again, so it will behoove you to pay attention to starting again quickly, even if you start small, such as in 15 minutes a day.
2. You're going through a rough patch in your life, you're generally tired or run down, maybe you're not sleeping very well, or maybe you're mildly sick.
On the other hand, if the chips are down and you're having a rough time in your life, maybe you aren't sleeping well, or maybe you're getting better from that wicked cold or flu, I'm inclined to recommend that you simply ease up on your writing time a bit, but still keep writing. When I've gone through particularly difficult phases in my personal life, I've made a point NOT to stop writing, but to carry on at my "rock bottom minimum" level of writing.
As a writer, it's worth knowing what that minimal level of involvement is with your work for you -- the amount of writing that will keep you engaged and connected to the work. For me, it's a minimum of 15 minutes of writing a day, even if it's morning pages just to keep writing flowing, though ideally it's on my main project. For another writer, it might be 5 minutes or 60 minutes. It varies between individuals, but the point is, know what YOU need to do to sustain your connection to the work even during a challenging phase.
I gained tremendous confidence and strength from seeing myself commit to and show up for doing the work every day, no matter what.
In concert with easing back to your minimum, when you're going through a phase like this, make a point to ramp up your self-care. Put sleep, healthy food, good hydration, fresh air, and exercise at the top of your list and get yourself back into balance. But do stay connected to the work.
3. You're in a bad mood or someone said something terrible to you and your confidence is shaken.
A common refrain among writers -- particularly those of us who are more sensitive and easily affected by other people and experiences -- is "I'm just not in the right mood to write today." This can particularly come up if you've lost confidence because of something someone said about your writing or if you've been hooked by the Comparison Monster ("Everyone else is doing so much better at this than I am!"), or even if you're just in a crummy mood.
Hear this now: There’s a difference between self-care and mood.
Being in a bad mood is NOT a good reason not to write.
Let's face it, you wouldn't be here, right now reading this, if writing was easy to do.
As Steven Pressfield says, "It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write."
Don't let a bad mood or a rough day become an excuse not to write.
There are far too many reasons to resist and procrastinate about writing, and if anything, I think we need to err on the side of writing more regularly and consistently than not.
As Brian Johnson says (via Jack Canfield), "99% is a bitch. 100% is a breeze." So hang in there, do the work, and make it easier on yourself. (A side note: A weekdays-only practice at 100% works.)
You'll most likely be pleasantly surprised that your level of productivity and your ability to create are not at all related to your mood.
In fact, you may find -- as many of our Called to Write members do -- that your mood may well shift when you write anyway, and if even if it doesn't, you'll still have demonstrated your commitment to yourself, which is deeply affirming and happiness-building.
(See also my post called "You Can Change Your Life in a Split Second.")
4. You're going through a painful period of loss, grief, or personal anguish.
At another end of the spectrum is experiencing an extreme loss -- like a death of a loved one. When my grandmother died in 2012, I felt as though I was in another world -- approaching the veil of life and death on some level -- and I found it very difficult to write fiction in yet an entirely different world. So I choose to take a few days off from "real" writing, though I did do a tiny bit of tinkering with my script one day.
On the other hand, Steven Pressfield recommends writing even during times of "personal anguish" in his excellent post of the same title.
He says, "I’m not saying pain is good. I’m not advocating screwing up our lives for the sake of art. I’m just making the observation that our genius is not us. It can’t be hurt like we can. Its heart can’t be broken. It’s going to send the next trolley down the track whether we like it or not."
My experience is that those few brief days of being between worlds while in grief are the only spans of time in which I have felt truly unable to write, and then, just as I've said above, I still get back to writing as quickly as possible.
5. You need to refill your creative well.
All this said, I am a firm believer in taking big "put my feet up" days off. I love to pick out a day on my calendar when I can feel the need building up, that I block off "just for me." I take my son to school, and then proceed to do whatever I feel like doing, which usually involves some combination of a fantastic herbal or decaf beverage, a movie in bed, a nap, maybe a meal at a favorite restaurant. It might also involve going shopping at a beloved and inspiring store, like an art store or museum shop. Whatever it is that feels inspiring and uplifting.
On these days, I fully, completely enjoy my Not Writing time, and I know I'm replenishing and rebuilding to dive back in the next day.
Bottom line
The bottom line, for me, is that each one of us needs to experiment, listen to our own bodies and inner selves, and find what works best for us. And, like I said, given the massive opportunities for resistance, fear, avoidance, procrastination, and self-doubt, my strong recommendation is to find a way to stick to your work as regularly and consistently as possible.
Warmly,
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This article was originally published in January 2013 and has now been republished with revisions.
by Jenna | Sep 15, 2016 | Writing Articles
In my Called to Write community, we primarily keep track of writing minutes, not word or page counts.
We do this because when we're plotting, outlining, revising, or editing, for instance, our word and page counts won't necessarily increase, but we are moving our books and screenplays closer to completion.
Pros and Cons of Focusing on Word Count
Many writers chastise themselves for not writing New Words when they're doing such work, and therefore undervalue the time they're putting in on development and revision, two critically important stages of a writing project.
Or they put the focus on writing New Words and increasing word counts and page counts ... but sometimes end up writing purposeless prose, simply to stay in action with writing. I know this can come up for writers during NaNoWriMo, where the concern is often keeping the writing going to meet one's daily word count.
On the up side, keeping words flowing is a powerful way to build a habit of writing. A big obstacle for writers is getting into the practice of getting words out and onto the page. Having a "keep writing and don't stop" mantra helps that flow get established.
On the downside, I know there are many writers who struggle with what they're left with at the end of a writing session (or a writing month, as in the case of NaNo). There are just that many more words to cull, manage, organize, and edit.
How to Approach Writing During Writing Sprints
What I recommend is using writing sprints (you can do your own or join us in my Called to Write community) for any kind of writing-centered work that moves your project forward. I still use a "keep working and don't stop" approach, but I don't put my attention on more words; I instead immerse myself in whatever stage of the project I'm working on that day. So if I'm in the outlining stage, I concentrate working on the outline for the full 60 minutes I've set aside to write, and I don't stop or do other things until my timer dings.
And yes, I write with a timer, which I highly recommend. It's a great way to jumpstart a writing session, and it really helps a writer keep their attention on the work, rather than slipping away to other things. This works particularly well when said writer is tracking and recording their writing minutes so they know every minute counts.
As an added boost of writing energy, participating in writing sprints with others super-charges the writing energy and help writers stay on track. You still have to come into the writing session or sprint with a clear intention, but the good news is that if you're writing every day or near daily and working on one main project at a time, that's pretty easy to do because you tend to stay clearer about what your next steps are. You can do writing sprints online or in person.
Two Caveats About What Counts As Writing Time
I have two caveats when it comes to what counts as writing time.
- Caveat #1: I recommend tracking research time separately from writing time. Research can become a black hole, so it's important to make sure you're not endlessly researching as a form of procrastination or perfectionism disguised as procrastination (this is where you're so worried that you'll get it wrong that you try to read everything in your field to make sure you're not leaving anything out). I like what Steven Pressfield recommends in Do The Work* -- a "research diet" of no more than three books on your topic before you begin writing, and permission to do more research later once you've written your first draft and truly know what else is needed to flesh out the story.
- Caveat #2: Be clear on what you're doing for development and know when to call it done so that you're not endlessly perfecting the story before you start writing. This isn't exactly a counting issue but it's an important one to pay attention to. It's easier for me to write "be clear" than it is to actually achieve that, I realize! It's a very iterative process and knowing when you're done requires a full-on gut check.
YOU know deep down if you're procrastinating on starting pages or if you still need to work on your deeper structure and meta work for the story. And there's a real spectrum here too: Many of us are so nervous about spending overly long on development and self-monitoring for procrastination that we're constantly and internally pushing ourselves to rush into pages, while others of us get stuck in perfecting mode.
A good clue is this: What's driving you to keep working? Is the story working for you, but you're telling yourself it's not good enough or thinking that other people won't like it? You may be trapped in perfectionism. Take a good hard look at your work and see if there are any key issues you can work on elevating and then move forward.
Alternatively, if you're thinking to yourself something like, "I don't quite feel good about this yet but I really need to start pages," you may want to give yourself permission to spend a little more time on the development work. Ultimately even story development and actual page writing become an iterative process themselves, so it's true that some working out happens on the page.
There's no one right answer here (with writing, there rarely is) but tuning into your own inner knowing about what's really going on can be illuminating.
Next time I'll share my current list of the development steps I'm using with my screenplays (and novels, it looks like!). In the meantime, if you're holding a limited definition of what counts as writing in your own mind, I invite you to expand it. Here's the list of everything I can think of that "counts" as writing. Hopefully it will free you up to relax a bit more into your writing process.
What Counts as Writing
- Concept brainstorming
- Writing loglines
- Writing premise lines
- Developing character profiles
- Structuring
- Plotting
- Outlining
- Writing a synopsis or treatment
- Brainstorming and mind mapping
- Writing scene cards
- Writing actual New Words
- Revising
- Editing
- Wordsmithing and polishing
What else would you include on this list? Have I forgotten anything? Let me know in the comments.
* Affiliate link
by Jenna | Aug 18, 2016 | Writing Articles
Steven Pressfield has been among my greatest sources of inspiration since I committed myself to taking my call to write seriously.
Around that time, a friend suggested I read The War of Art.
It was life-changing.
Since then, I’ve continued to be deeply inspired and motivated by his other books including Do the Work, Turning Pro, The Authentic Swing, and his newest book, The Artist’s Journey (among others).
Steven’s work, his ideas, and his message have become a part of me. They’ve become a cornerstone for how I approach my writing practice, and what I do as a writing coach.
In fact, the core of what we offer at Called to Write could not be more perfectly aligned with The Artist’s Journey, both of which span the practical nuts and bolts of writing all the way to the more spiritual aspects of calling, destiny, and purpose.
Today I’m sharing 15 of my favorite quotes from his books, with the intention of inspiring you, as he has inspired me.
#1. “There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t, and the secret is this: It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.” ~ The War of Art
I have found this to be true, over and over. Every time I’m tempted to check something online or take care of something else first, it’s resistance. And this is what we do with my writing community — help writers overcome fear, doubt, and resistance, and sit down to write. Every day. For me, showing up to one of our daily writing sprints helps me press that inner “Go” button and get to work. Every time.
#2. “If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), ‘Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?’ chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.” ~ The War of Art
I have very much found this to be true. Those who question their calling are the most likely to be truly called. I also find that a writer’s sense of identity is a byproduct of actually writing. In other words, once we’re writing, regularly, we feel like writers. And it’s surprising how little it takes to get to that place.
#3. “Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.” ~ The War of Art
I also loved what I heard Steve say in an interview once, “Figure out what scares you the most and do that first.” Fear (and resistance) truly shows exactly where we need to grow. If there’s a place in your writing you’re experiencing resistance, look there first. That novel idea you’re avoiding, the story you’re longing to write but you’re scared you won’t be able to do justice? Go there.
#4. “The professional arms himself with patience, not only to give the stars time to align in his career, but to keep himself from flaming out in each individual work. He knows that any job, whether it’s a novel or a kitchen remodel, takes twice as long as he thinks and costs twice as much. . . [he] steels himself at the start of a project, reminding himself it is the Iditarod, not the sixty-yard dash. He conserves his energy. He prepares his mind for the long haul.” ~ The War of Art
Writing is very much about the long haul. Every screenplay I’ve embarked on has taken far longer than I’ve ever anticipated. I’ve learned now to catch myself when I start saying things like, “this will practically write itself!” and to recognize it as one of the many voices of resistance playing tricks with my mind.
#5. “Creative panic is good. Here’s why: Our greatest fear is our fear of success. When we are succeeding — that is, when we have overcome our self-doubt and self-sabotage, when we are advancing in our craft and evolving to a higher level — that’s when panic strikes. . . When we experience panic, it means we’re about to cross a threshold. We’re poised on the doorstep of a higher plane.” ~ Do the Work
“Threshold” is a perfect word here — there are transitions in each work where panic appears. When we’re closing in the on the end, when we’re pushing our envelope. It’s fascinating how that’s often the moment when things go awry and panic sets in. The most important thing is to not make it mean anything.
#6. “Start (Again) Before You’re Ready: I was living in a little town in northern California when I finally, after seventeen years of trying, finished my first novel. I drove over to my friend and mentor Paul Rink’s house and told him what I had done. ‘Good for you,’ he said. ‘Now start the next one.'” ~ Do the Work
I’ve always loved this concept, because it reminds me that this is a lifetime choice for me. I’m a writer. This means I will always be writing. So when I’m done with one, I celebrate it, but then I get going on the next.
#7. On writing “A Character Smarter Than I Am: I realized something I had already known: The part of our psyche that does the writing . . . is far deeper than our personal ego. That part is tapped into a course whose wisdom far exceeds our own. All we have to do is trust it.” ~ The Authentic Swing
Something I love about Steven Pressfield is his ability to bring in the reverence and awe of drawing on our greater, wiser selves with our writing. That even while we’re doing the “blue collar” work of writing, much like digging trenches and just showing up and putting in the time, we’re also resonating with the Muse on a higher plane. The work comes through us, when we let it.
#8. “Aspiring artists often kill their careers in the cradle by overworrying and overthinking. Don’t do it. … You discover who you are as you go along. What defines you is what you have done, but the weird part is you never know what that’ll be until you do it. The trick is: Do it.” ~ The Authentic Swing
Just do it. Just do the writing. And I don’t mean — “just write” — I still prefer to plot and plan my work. But writing is where the answers lie, pen to paper, fingers to keys, even if I’m dialoguing with myself, noodling to figure out what I’m doing. Thinking isn’t writing. I put words on the page to find out what I think, what I know, and who I am.
#9. “How Writing Works . . . The trick to writing, or to any creative endeavor, is that once you start, good things begin to happen. You can’t explain it. You don’t know why. An energy field is created by your love, your will, your devotion, your sweat. . . Trust it. Be brave.” ~ The Authentic Swing
Writing takes on a life of its own. Writing regularly brings a kind of self-sustaining momentum to it, once we get it going. That’s where the magic happens.
#10. “Before we turn pro, our life is dominated by fear and Resistance. We live in a state of denial. We’re denying the voice in our heads. We’re denying our calling. We’re denying who we really are. . . What changes when we turn pro is we stop fleeing.” ~ Turning Pro
Turning Pro is one of my favorite books of Steve’s. When I read it, I straighten up and get serious about my work, no matter whether I’m loving or hating it. I take it seriously.
#11. “When we turn pro, everything becomes simple. . . We now structure our hours not to flee from fear, but to confront it and overcome it. . . This changes our days completely. It changes what time we get up and it changes what time we go to bed. It changes what we do and what we don’t do.” ~ Turning Pro
Yes. Once we commit, we redesign and reconsider everything. We recognize the effort it takes to overcome the resistance, and design our writing lives to minimize that friction and get ourselves to the page as quickly and as easily as possible, each and every day.
#12. “The amateur believes that she must have all her ducks in a row before she can launch her start-up or compose her symphony or design her iPhone app. The professional knows better. . . Athletes play hurt. Warriors fight scared. The professional takes two aspirin and keeps on truckin’.” ~ Turning Pro
Although some might find the idea of writing hurt harsh, I’ve found that so many of the stories we tell ourselves about why we can’t write just aren’t true — and most especially those things we tell ourselves we have to have or have done first (like having more time, more money, better computers, or the bills paid, house clean, laundry done, kids off to college… you name it).
#13. “The artist on her journey confronts no foes that are not of her own creation. Her fear is her own. . . She has created them mentally. She can defeat them the same way.” ~ The Artist’s Journey
Most everything that stops us with our writing comes from within us. Our fears, our doubts, our excuses. Our addictions. (My experience is that grief may be an exception to this.) I love Steve’s point that we can defeat these the same way they are created.
#14. “On the artist’s journey, all strengths are mental. . . [and] are self-generated . . . all may be acquired by effort and force of will.” ~ The Artist’s Journey
Our strengths, just like our fears and doubts, come from within as well. We can learn resilience, patience, courage, and more.
#15. “An artist’s identity is revealed by the work she or he produces. Writers write to discover themselves… whether they realize it or not. But who is this self…? It is none other than the ‘second you’ — that wiser ‘you,’ that true, pure, waterproof, self-propelled, self-contained ‘you.'” ~ The Artist’s Journey
An underlying concept of the The Artist’s Journey is that our “second self,” the part of ourselves that is greater and wiser, is the one who writes. When we allow her to do so. I call this part our “essential self” — the part of us that remains when everything else (ego, personality, negative habits, limiting baggage) has been stripped away and we can step forward fully into ourselves and shine. Steve suggests that our role as artists is to move between our first and second selves, essentially “returning with the elixir” over and over again, as we write, even many times in day, and that the core of what we’ve been put here to do is to make that journey over and over again.
I love this.
If you’d like to check out these books for yourself, here are links to them on Amazon.com and Black Irish Books (Steve’s publishing company). The Amazon links are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you click on them and purchase the books that way.
by Jenna | Jan 18, 2016 | Writing Articles
Here at Called to Write, we’re rereading Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art.
I’ve read it at least five times already. And referred to it many times in between.
This month, as part of starting off the new year, I invited my Called to Write members to read (or reread) The War of Art with me. We’ll have an online book club discussion about it next week where I’m sure we’ll learn even more about this brilliant book as we discuss it together.
Here’s why I made this pick.
The War of Art is a Bible for Writing
The War of Art has been like a bible for me since I first read it. It was the first time I understood that I wasn’t struggling to write because I was lazy, or “a procrastinator” by nature, unoriginal, or lacking ideas. When I read it, a lightning bolt of understanding flashed through me. I was afraid. I was afraid I would fail, that I would succeed, that I wouldn’t do my ideas justice. Resistance was what was paralyzing me.
It was then I began to understand what it meant to face the fear and work anyway, and to help other writers do the same.
We Sometimes Need Help Finding Our Way
2018 was a hard year for many of us. It was rough personally, socially, politically, and more.
In my own life, 2018 was borderline apocalyptic. Between losing my father early in the year, several temporary-but-limiting-and-impacting health issues, wretched tech problems with the (old) writing program I was running, the terrible air quality and fires on the west coast over the summer and deep into November, and the political and cultural climate we’re living in right now, not to mention the day-to-day regular stuff of taking care of a family and running a business… well, like I said, it was rough. And between dealing with grief and all the other ruckus, my writing took a bit of a hit. I was writing, but not the way I wanted to be and resistance was high as the year drew to a close.
When life gets rocky, I focus on getting back on track as quickly as possible.
The War of Art felt like the perfect way of clarifying and reorienting, for all of us.
We Do Better, Together
While I knew reading The War of Art alone would be fruitful, I also know there is power in reading and learning together.
I also know it can give us a common language to communicate about our writing challenges, much as we were able to do after reading Finish by Jon Acuff last year.
I also sense, in the midst of this globally challenging time, that collectively strengthening our resolve, grit, resilience, sovereignty, and drive will help us better support each other to stay on track with what we were put here to do.
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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.
