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Do You Want to Write? Then Lie (to Yourself) Written by Heather Spiva ~

Does that sound a bit extreme? Maybe even immoral? Well, it isn’t if you’re the one who wants to write and get published.

To be a writer, it boils down to a very simple action: writing. You have to actually sit down, grab a pen, or put your fingers to the keyboard, and begin. I know, harsh right?

Dreaming about being a published author has its place. If you didn’t dream, how would you know what you wanted? But fleshing the dream — making it a reality–requires discipline. A heck of a lot of discipline. And it requires the willingness to stick with your craft when the rejection letters fill your inbox more than your friends’ chit-chat.

So how do you keep with this discipline? It’s really quite simple: You lie. Here’s a very possible tête-à-tête between your will to succeed (published author: PA) and your will to dream (unpublished author: UA).

PA: “Okay, sit down. It’s time to write.”

UA: “But, I only have an hour or two at best (big sigh). Why now?”

PA: “Because you have to start somewhere! We have two whole hours. This is perfect.”

UA: (bigger sigh) “But now?”

PA: “You already asked that. Listen (smiling to self) let’s just sit down for 15 minutes and write what we can. That’s not too bad, is it? And after that, if we’re done, we’re done.

UA: “15 minutes? That’s it?” Looks at you like you’re nuts. “You sure?”

PA: “That’s it. That way we both get what we want.”

UA: “Okay (nodding in agreement and scratching chin), sounds alright. We can do that.”

Do you know what just happened?

You tricked yourself into writing for fifteen minutes. If you’re fully invested and dedicated to writing for fifteen minutes– but have a two-hour window– then the odds are good your muse will find you. And instead of giving up after a quarter of an hour, you’ll keep writing for longer.

Better yet, you’ll write for the full two hours!

You‘ve got to take what you can and work with it. And if you only write for those fifteen minutes and you’re ready to stop when your time is up, so what?

That’s 50, 100 or 500 words you didn’t have fifteen minutes ago. That’s truly remarkable.

Lie to yourself. Tell yourself you’ll only write for fifteen and see what happens. It’s plenty of time to accomplish a lot (write a part of an article or story, a chapter to a book) or nothing at all (watch TV, eat some grapes, wiggle your toes) only hoping you’ll find the gumption to write later.

By lying to yourself — or tricking your psyche– you pass the biggest hurdle of all: starting the darn thing. Without the effort, there is no book, or article or poem or story. And without that, there is no point in dreaming.

Encourage yourself. Be a dreamer, but be a doer. And most importantly, when it comes to psyching yourself out, be a liar.

Disclaimer: Not recommended for most areas of life, especially for worthwhile relationships with people. However, this philosophy is recommended for those who procrastinate their gym time. Apply, execute and repeat.

~ Thanks Heather ~

Heather Spiva is a freelance writer, from Sacramento, Ca. When she’s not writing, she’s reading. And when she’s not reading, she’s taking care of her two adorable — but rambunctious– boys.

You can find Heather at her blog A Work in Progress. Follow her on Twitter @HeatherSpiva and Facebook.

What about you?

Do you fool or trick yourself into writing?

How?

Leave a comment. It’s good to know.

[lie pic taken from CartoonStock.com]

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Is Writing Like Football?

“The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want.”

Ben Stein – Attorney, Author, Actor and Commentator

CURRENT STATUS: Reminder, Motivator and Review Meeting (Read on if you want to join me in my Corporation of One meeting)

What l have learnt:

• So timely. I need to get out of my own way to write again (via Murderati blog).
• Lighting the Night so Your Readers Can See (via Michael Larsen’s blog). Sometimes I forget to be gentle with myself. You too. Be gentle with yourself.
• Tighten Up (via Chris Brogan’s blog). Good advice. Once you’re on top of your game. And even when you’re not. Like me. He writes about presenting. I say it works with everything else too. Yes, yes, tighten up.
• Why You Fail at Writing (via Scott Berkun’s blog). We fail because we fail at reading. Thinking well means writing well. What about thinking too much? No, that’s not the same is it? It reminds me to read more. To read more means less writing time. What I need to be skilled at is juggling. I want to be a super juggler.

What I have done:

• Reading ‘Glasgow Kiss’ by Alex Gray.
• Added Word of the Day to the blog. It will teach me too as I’m sure I’m the only one who looks at my blog pages the most. It bothers me that everyone expects me to know more words than the average person. Why? I’m not a walking dictionary. I wish I was a walking dictionary. A super dictionary juggler.
• Read all of Query Shark‘s queries in one sitting. My eyes bled after. And I’m still not sure how to write a good query. Oh, but I know not what to do when it comes to structure. Just not the words to use. I did send myself a long email of reminders. It’s marinating.

WORD COUNT: Night Walker 147,000 words in total. I have not written since Thursday 12 August. It’s been 3 writing days excluding the weekend. Yes, I feel bad even without all the analyzing. *skulks away* *skulks back* I still have today to do something about it. Today isn’t over yet. *strides away* I need to get out of my own way and yet be gentle with myself. *stops* What? *thinks*

Sit back and relax. Here’s today’s film review:

INCEPTION *****5 Stars

Directed by Christopher Nolan Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard and Cillian Murphy.

~ Film reviewed by Oosters ~

It’s a pretty remarkable creative position Christopher Nolan has established.

Coming from a low-budget, independent background, he has taken those genre-challenging, structure-defying roots and kept them with each step up his career ladder, onto the broadest canvas there could possibly be.

He now makes films with the biggest budgets available in popular film, which are met with both critical acclaim and massive box office returns.

With his latest work, he has not only attempted something completely original (what was the last summer blockbuster not a sequel or based on other material?) and highly ambitious (the ideas and concepts this film is based on are far from easy to thrust onto a multiplex audience), he has even gone so far as to take his own auteur sensibility and made a huge blockbuster with what appears to be personal and self-referential intent.

The plot concerns a leader of a team who are responsible for “manufacturing dreams” (the Hollywood system has frequently been called the “dream factory”) – specifically, creating something which is a simulation of reality, something which lures us in, asks challenging questions and leaves us, on waking, scratching our heads.

With a lead character who bears a striking physical resemblance to the director himself, it’s difficult not to draw parallels to what Nolan does as a filmmaker, putting together films which are convincing enough, thoroughly entertaining yet also unafraid to ask metaphysical questions from an audience perhaps not used to hearing them.

Not that this is all some pretentious, soul-searching art film. It has moments that are visually stunning, including a bravura single-shot fight sequence down a corridor which shifts gravity four or five times without cutting, another sequence where a city street folds in on itself, and the odd moment of visual trickery that would make M.C. Escher proud.

There is emotion too, sudden and unexpected in its intensity, all the more cutting and unsettling for its truthfulness. It seems to literally take on everything it can, and somehow find something honest in them all.

Popular entertainment with cunning narrative tactics and an emotional punch.

A big blockbuster with a personal and artful message inside it.

A grand metaphor for the art of filmmaking itself.

The stuff dreams are made of, indeed.

Why aren’t there more of these?

Have you seen the film?

What did you think of it?

Leave a comment. It would be good to know.

[film photo taken from here]

Predators – Film Review

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – Film Review

Whatever Works – Film Review

Shrek Forever After – Film Review

“When you are clear, what you want will show up in your life, and only to the extent you are clear.”

Janet Attwood – Author

CURRENT STATUS: Reminder, Motivator and Review Meeting (Read on if you want to join me in my Corporation of One meeting)

What l have learnt:

• Honest thoughts from an agent on the first five pages (via Neverending Page Turner).
• 15 Interesting Motivations for Villians and Heroes (via Superhero Nation).
• The difference between dedications and acknowledgments (via edittorrent).
• Don’t write your query in the POV of your character (via Query Shark). It’s good to know.

What I have done:

• Read ‘Sleepy Head’ by Mark Billingham.

WORD COUNT: Night Walker 147,000 words in total. Thursday 12 August wrote 1,000 words.