Category Archives: productivity

Writers Horoscope for December 25: A gift arrives…

…yet more wisdom and experience from others.

buckets

Jeff Goins’ very manageable process [The System I Used to Write 5 Books and Over 1,000 Blog Posts] really makes so much sense.

  1. Bucket #1–Ideas
  2. Bucket #2–Drafts
  3. Bucket #3–Edits

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s wishing you the most enjoyable of holidays.

horizon-2679252_1280

Writers Horoscope December 24: Today, experiment randomly.

 

Yet another tip from Joel at Lifehack from 201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity.

Today’s random experiment: A video-based writing prompt.

 

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 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 16: You revive your notebook habit.

 

From 201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity,
one of Joel at Lifehack’s ‘rejuvenating tips’:
Carry a notebook everywhere.

 

notes1notes2

Hey, they’re just notes. But my observation of the uncooperative nature of computers nudged me toward drawing a parallel with some people. Possible subject for a short essay or blog post.

I also like the story possibilities of YouTube alerting a teacher to a student straying a bit from the assigned work.

Writers Horoscope December 15: You revisit an oft-forgotten strategy.

It’s certainly easy to jot down these ideas in a notebook, but sometimes the alternative tool forces one to rethink key points and make different connections. I also think the digital nature can afford writers/creatives a few options to branch their work toward other projects/products.

In revisiting Seth Godin’s Rules for Working in a Studio, I would say I adhered to the following:

  1. Don’t hide your work.
  2. Upgrade your tools.
  3. Change something.
  4. Obsess about appropriate quality; ignore perfection.