First we talked about the anxiety stirred up when it’s time to start a writing project. Then we talked about four causes of this “weakened mind anxiety,” a term coined by Eric Maisel in Fearless Creating. The next obvious question is: what do we do about it? As it turns out, we do many things […]
getting started
Weakened Mind Anxiety (Part 1)
For the past week, I’ve been suffering from “weakened mind anxiety,” according to Eric Miasel’s Fearless Creating. It’s the anxiety that comes when you begin a piece of work. It’s not the anxiety that comes from choosing an idea. It’s not anxiety from developing characters and plot. It’s not anxiety produced by setting some deadlines. […]
Procrastination: Make It a Movie
Procrastination: the Movie? Yes…making a movie is one way to overcome the temptation to procrastinate and build good writing habits, day by day. Yesterday, on the first day of NaNoWriMo, I had such good intentions. But my novel idea looked overwhelming to me (and rather stupid, I must also admit). I dinked around, trying to get started, […]
Stage Three: Start-Up
If you’ve done the previous stages of exploration and preparation in “The Five Stages of Success,” then you’re probably eager to begin “Stage Three: Start-Up.” Time to get the show on the road! You have your writing dream, you’ve made the decision, and you’ve taken some steps to turn that dream into reality. I found […]
Stage One: Exploration
If success is a journey, where are you along this continuum? As we go through the five stages of success–and learn to celebrate each stage–you’ll see each milestone for what it is: a huge victory. Getting Started As I mentioned in “The Five Stages of Success,” my first step along the way was taking the […]