By Carol Grannick on February 25, 2010
This morning as I savored my organic, fair-trade coffee from Costco, I leafed through my Cook’s Garden catalogue, and dreams of spring and summer rushed in.
Now, I’ve gotten much better about living in the present, and have tried to maximize my experience of winter by enjoying the inside life, and not having a tantrum when [...]
Posted in Rethinking Writing Obstacles | Tagged dreaming, writing dreams
By Carol Grannick on February 15, 2010
If you’ve looked at the first and second installments of my series on writers’ jealousy, you’ll recall that I encouraged you to stay calm about the experience of jealousy, and to reconnect with your ethical “core” values and beliefs so that you can behave well, even if you’re feeling jealous.
Those learned or natural behaviors will [...]
Posted in Rethinking Writing Obstacles | Tagged jealousy, writers' jealousy
By Carol Grannick on February 8, 2010
The first post in my series on how to handle jealousy with positivity encourages you to accept the feeling as natural and normal. For some of you, that will help jealousy pass.
For others of you, the feeling will stay uncomfortable and inconvenient, putting a roadblock in the way of your own writing.
You may have noticed [...]
Posted in Rethinking Writing Obstacles | Tagged jealousy, writers' jealousy
By Carol Grannick on February 2, 2010
Jealousy propels us into negativity and drains energy, productivity and creativity. Jealousy focuses our energy on who we aren’t or can’t be, and inhibits us from being and becoming the writers we are and can be.
Posted in Rethinking Writing Obstacles | Tagged jealousy, writers' jealousy
By Carol Grannick on January 14, 2010
What works for me is to have both a ‘big dream’ and a series of small, manageable steps to focus on.
Posted in Rethinking Writing Obstacles | Tagged writing goals, writing resolutions
By Carol Grannick on December 28, 2009
In the spirit of end-of-year reminiscence and thoughtful self-assessment, I realized yesterday that my closet held beautiful, exotic clothing that I’ve collected over several decades. Clothing that is lovely to look at, but clothing I don’t wear, or am uncomfortable in when I do.
The clothes don’t belong in my closet. Not because I don’t [...]
Posted in Lessons From Life, Rethinking Writing Obstacles | Tagged writers' block
By Carol Grannick on December 21, 2009
You don’t need me to tell you that as a writer, you’re not supposed to take rejections personally. You’re supposed to get past them and get back to writing. You’re supposed to…
You get the idea. And you know the idea.
Lots of fabulous writers’ sites provide encouragement to learn from rejections and move on – move [...]
Posted in Rethinking Writing Obstacles | Tagged rejection, writers' rejection
By Carol Grannick on December 10, 2009
You want to get to work. You think about getting to work. You’ve got one, two, seven projects on your mind.
But nothing happens. You walk past your writing space and imagine yourself writing. Your heart glides over and sits at the desk. But your body stays away.
Why can’t you work?
Maybe you get agitated. Then you get annoyed that [...]
Posted in Learned Resilience: How To Do It, Rethinking Writing Obstacles | Tagged downward spiral, how to stop negativity spiral, writers' block
By Carol Grannick on December 7, 2009
I couldn’t wait to get back to novel writing this morning after a prolonged, chosen and necessary time away due to a family death. My middle grade novel in verse called to me, and I answered.
I’m going to get a bunch of writing done this morning!
But by the time I put my current partial draft in front [...]
Posted in Rethinking Writing Obstacles | Tagged overwhelmed, writers' block
By Carol Grannick on December 2, 2009
In the past month, my sister and I have spent fifteen or twenty hours a week sorting through, packing up and donating the material things of our mother’s life. Things that surrounded her with some sweetness, comfort, and perhaps grace, nothing she’d had in childhood. Things she collected, admired and loved, all part of her [...]
Posted in Lessons From Life, Rethinking Writing Obstacles | Tagged closing up parents' homes, revision
