Category Archives for Writing
Why You Should Write for the Trash
“I’ve never had so much fun and freedom drawing! I’m going to keep a trash can next to my easel from now on.” The effusive young woman seated across from me was a far cry from the frustrated ball of nerves I had encountered a week before.
The trash can wins every time.
Writing Your Own Manifesto
I’m not into “woo” things. I don’t meditate, I don’t get mind mapping, and I’m not big on “lifestyle design” (although I find value in some of its components).
I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, either. The task is arbitrary and pressure-filled, and resolutions are virtually impossible to stick to. If you want to set up yourself for disappointment, just make a list of “goals” that you’re probably not going to achieve/attain.
So, when I ended up somewhat randomly in a “Writing a Manifesto” workshop at a conference, I was skeptical. Like, full-on MythBusters skeptical.
How Arrogance Stops Us From Writing
It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you’re a writer, you’re probably not in possession of a good fortune. Instead, you are quite likely to possess some degree of self-doubt, low self-esteem, jealousy of and comparison with other more successful writers, and even self-hatred. (Or, alternatively, need to fend these feelings off with aggressive insistence on your own superiority and achievement.)
Yes, there are apparently healthy and wealthy exceptions to this “starving, tortured artist” stereotype. But the modern epidemic of depression and anxiety, combined with a budding writer’s drive towards honesty and introspection, together produce more than enough messed-up wordsmiths to keep the stereotype going.
Writers are probably no more miserable than the rest of the population; they’re just more honest. A good writer tries to represent reality as they encounter it, as opposed to buying into the pervasive social norm of “fake-it-til-you-make-it” happiness.
But are self-doubt; anxiety; compulsive worrying and comparing; inability to feel genuine joy for the success of others; and terrible struggles with perfectionism, motivation, and procrastination really necessary parts of being a writer? Or have we just normalized them to stop ourselves from feeling so bad…
17 Gifts for Writers & Entrepreneurs in 2017
Can we take a moment to rejoice that this year is almost over?
Thank god…
Alright, now back to stressing about what to get your friends and family for the holidays.
Last year, I wrote about some really great stuff and was even gifted a couple of the items I recommended (yay — my family reads my articles!).
As with most annual activities, I always have the goal of making things bigger and better than the year before. Some of the items I found this year are pure genius, so I consider that goal accomplished.
I’ll let you have the final say, though.
So buckle up, and let’s shop for the writers and entrepreneurs in your life.