Branching out with my writing
Notebooks were put on this earth to be:
All this deep stuff about rationalizations and humanness. Let’s take a break.
Back to the practical level.
Always keep three pens and a sterilized needle with you when you’re writing longhand. Odds are, at least two of the pens won’t work or will peter out when you’re in mid-chapter, at which point the third one will avert an ugly display.
And if the third pen goes belly-up, a quick sweep of the needle across your forearm [for dramatic effect] will provide you with enough fluid to at least finish that page and get you to Urgent Care.
The last two days we covered rationalizations.
But as I was slaving [slaving, I tell you] over those two posts, I noticed the living room needed a little straightening.
That’s when the ‘I’m writing.’ rationalization kicked in. A close call. I almost pulled myself out of the chair and did something productive.
It was then I realized this tennis match between reasons for writing and not writing speaks to this: Our neuroses, weirdnesses, and just plain humanness can fuel daily inspiration, development of characters and plot, and blog content for decades to come.
And trust me, our humanness never stops.
Well, okay, until that whole persistent breathing habit stops.
At that point, progress does tend to drop off a bit.
And please, don’t get me started on cryogenics.
More on rationalization.
From the ‘turnabout is fair play’ department: Now it’s time to use your writing as a go-to rationalization…for not chiseling marinara off last night’s dinner dishes, diving into that IKEA assembly ordeal, or changing that hard-to-reach light bulb on your nightstand.
Not interested? Then you only have yourself to blame for not topping the New York Times Best Sellers list.
If your well of ideas has run dry [we’re talking dust clouds wafting up from the bottom, I mean, even Lassie wouldn’t drop down there to save Timmy… that dry], just list a few of your favorite rationalizations for not writing.
Honest, it can open up a whole new conversation…within yourself…or, at the creepy level, loud enough for others to hear…better yet, on paper.
Sometimes, all we writers need is a little understanding and when you’ve said to yourself, “So, what’s been going on?”, well, you’ve come to the right place.
More on the power of rationalization tomorrow.
Come and join me as I run the show this weekend.
Any other rule ideas? Share them with me in the comments section.
1. No instant replay. No checking with off-site officials who, let’s face it, are sitting around spilling queso all over their screens and powering down sushi like there’s no tomorrow.
2. On second thought, limited instant replay. No, check that. I’m back to no instant replay.
3. Halftime show: 12 minutes. If it goes longer, all entertainers will be banned from future Super Bowls.
4. If a team is ahead by 25 points, play is stopped and the Patriots’ comeback from last year is replayed on the scoreboard at triple-speed. Both the Patriots and the Eagles could use the reminder.
5. The Jumbotron will be used to provide alternative entertainment to what’s happening on the field. [Included in the alternative entertainment will be a burrito-eating contest between the two Man vs. Food guys, Casey and Adam.]
6. Before the National Anthem, the two teams’ owners will engage in an arm-wrestling contest. Loser buys ten tickets for the following year’s Super Bowl, to be given to the winners of a raffle with proceeds donated to the charity of the winner’s choice. In addition, both owners have to match the proceeds of the raffle.
7. If an official throws a flag, he has to explain it to the crowd and audience. No referee conferences allowed.
8. Touchdown celebrations excessively choreographed will result in immediate post-game suspension of that player and any and all of his Rockettes who play along.
9. Any player engaging in non-scoring celebrations will be required to perform the same routine–appropriately garbed– during the next Summer Olympic rhythmic gymnastics competition.
10. No timeouts to freeze the placekicker.
11. On second thought, no timeouts in the last two minutes of the game, period. Let the players play.
12. Fans aren’t immune to consequences during the game: Anyone who strolls in and asks any questions about jersey color or the location of a penalty box will be summarily dismissed to the room to play Twister with the kids.
A Conversation with Jon Acuff
Today’s Challenge Prompt from Jeff Goins is about finishing this 15,500 word adventure. More than likely more than that.
And so I chose to bring in a guy who is currently on the forefront of finishing, Jon Acuff, who published Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done.
I bought the book and it is the most recent one I’ve, uh, finished.
A worthwhile investment, I have to say.
Moving on…I selected some quotes—in italics—from the book [thank you, Goodreads] and will apply them to my 500-Word Challenge experience.
Here goes…
[By the way, I’m not counting the quotes as words toward my total. That would be flat-out cheating, right?]
“The harder you try to be perfect, the less likely you’ll accomplish your goals.”
Jon, you did a nice job picking apart perfection and it helped me rip through my challenges without listening too intently for ‘the voices’. One hundred word bursts were often the norm and that felt good. What else felt good? Clicking ‘post’, even though I knew the writing wasn’t a third draft product. I will admit there were times when I spent a little too much time editing, and even adding an image to spice things up, but all in all, it was nice to have that feeling of ‘my work here is done’.
“But more than just analysis, perfectionism offers us two distinct distractions: Hiding places and Noble obstacles A hiding place is an activity you focus on instead of your goal. A noble obstacle is a virtuous-sounding reason for not working toward a finish. Both are toxic to your ability to finish.”
These two concepts tagged along throughout the month. Much of the writing certainly didn’t address many of my main goals, such as developing an online course as well as completing stories in a series I’m working on. And while I benefited considerably from the month, I wondered if I leaped into this as yet another side trip, yet another ‘hiding place’. I think those terms are essentially other words for ‘rationalizations’ and I could easily rationalize my participation—building consistency, rising above perfection, exploring new directions and voices, even. But at the end of this month, what will I have to show for it? A corollary to your chapter on hiding places and noble objectives—the more we delve into those side trips, the more of a burden we face…not only in playing catch-up with the projects we really want to finish, but in somehow justifying our decisions to veer off-course. And we not only at times have to justify it to ourselves, but we might also have some stakeholders we might have to convince. No easy feat.
The bigger rule was “For something to count, it has to be difficult.” A lot of high performers carry that sort of secret rule along with them. If an exercise is enjoyable and you have fun doing it, it must not count.
Bravo to me for not falling prey to this secret rule. The 500-Word Challenge was rarely a grind. And when it felt that way, it was more a product of stupid annoying technology. It was fun to come up with new directions and new formats for the daily challenges. I enjoyed the Q and A from imaginary readers and will continue to play with that. For the last year, I’ve for the most part played it straight in my blog and this challenge often enabled me to cut loose a bit. Uh-oh, confession time. I strayed from this challenge to ensure I quoted you correctly: Make It Fun If You Want It Done. And in the process, I ran across your Finish workbook. That baby is printing out as I’m completing this sentence.
All you have to do is win more today than you did yesterday and repeat the whole thing tomorrow.”
Okay, I’ve passed my 500-word goal already, but I’ll close by addressing this quote. Love it. And the challenge absolutely cemented this philosophy. So what’s next? Staying the course set by this final quote and building a focus on fun, halving my daily goals, keeping an eye on data [even if it’s words per day…or productive habits practiced], and dodging the ever-present hiding places and noble objectives.
Image courtesy of Lance Grandahl/Unsplash
Word Inventions