Writers Horoscope December 23: Emptying your head…revisited.

From a favored source of inspiration…

Another rejuvenating tip from Joel at Lifehack:

Do an info-dump so your head is clear enough to create instead of worry.

empty your head

I’ve referred to Julia Cameron’s ‘morning pages’ before, but they are well worth revisiting. Quote from Cameron: “There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages*–
they are not high art. They are not even ‘writing.'”

Srini Rao, in his Why I Write 1000 Words Every Day, advocates this approach as well.
Quote from Rao:
“By getting incoherent thoughts out of your head and onto a blank page, you make room for coherent thoughts and better ideas.”

***

Note: Joel at Lifehack also suggests singing in the shower. I held off on sharing that with you, but that was one serious In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida I recently belted out.

Writers Horoscope December 22: You call off the pity party…

 

A friend sends you a link about these courageous people and suddenly, whining about having to rewrite a paragraph, chapter, or book seems a little pathetic.

So, go forth–feeling fortunate–and put your literary gifts to use today.

Writers Horoscope December 21: You welcome conflict…

into your writing.

argument-conflict boxing glove

Things had been getting a bit drab, stilted.

Not so much after digging up my July-August 2013 Poets & Writers article, The Art of Conflict, by Dan Barden. [Sorry, link only provides a summary of the issue.]

A few noteworthy points:

“Your characters should more or less always be having a bad day.”

“Conflict is what creates growth. Conflict is what creates character.”

“The other thing I can tell you about conflict: No matter how extreme it gets, people will identify with it.”

***

So in this season of love and peace and goodwill, go out there and wreak a little literary havoc!

Writers Horoscope December 20: Today, your non-conformist gene kicks in.

SW trooper dolls with Elmo cropped

You break away from the evil empire of ‘the conventional’.
You write Chapter 1 of a cozy romance. You outline an overthrow of an evil intergalactic dictator. You pen a love poem…to pizza.

Even if the Elmo in you stays for a day, savor your departure.

Even better, document and share it. Share it here, even!

 

Writers Horoscope December 18: You’re on the alert for new material.

peephole

Even with other active projects [and possibly because they’re growing a little stale], you keep your eyes and ears open.

I was killing time in a department store yesterday and decided there must be something I could conjure up. And I did…

kohls notes attempt three

The face-tucking seems a little desperate, I admit, but it was first draft material and, come on, don’t tell me there aren’t some people that evoke that kind of reaction. ;->

Writers Horoscope December 17: You have a newfound appreciation…

for literacy.

***

Got this message in my inbox. I guess it was written well enough to escape the ‘Junk’ folder.

online scam

I have believe that these people didn’t bother to hire a proofreader. [Strikes me as a side hustle opportunity for those with a shaky moral compass.]

I better check with my bank to see if they have temporarily suspend my account.

 

Writers Horoscope for November 16: You couldn’t help yourself.

Writing projects…coming at you from all sides.

coming at your from all sides

Most of them half-completed. [if you’re lucky].

Let’s hope you’re taking yesterday’s dealing with guilt advice to heart.

But there’s still work to do.

Sort out the three or four ‘loudest’, most insistent projects.

And get back to scheduling.

Give each of them at least 15 minutes.

[You and I both know those sessions will stretch to 25 or 30 minutes.]

You will see real progress and, even more important, you can sleep soundly knowing these projects are no longer collecting psychic dust.

 

Writers Horoscope for November 14: You will encounter something scarier than failure.

boy-covering-face-regret

Regret.

The TV show can wait.

The dishes can wait.

The laundry can wait.

Your creative life can’t.