Slice of a Writer's Life -- Monkey mind, Negative Inner Critic, Tools
Yes, I have it -- when your mind ALWAYS chatters at you. Some of it's good -- ideas, characters whispering in your ears. Most of it I just don't want to hear anymore, the negative inner critic -- you don't do this right, you forgot to do that, everyone is passing you by...
So, for the good ideas, I keep a pad or pencil, or a microcassette near. Beating the negative inner critic is harder. Affirmations help. Hey, how many times do you think your negative critic puts you down throughout the day? Affirmations counter that. I AM a good writer. People enjoy my books. The person who gave me one star on Amazon is obviously quite, quite deluded...and yes, we've seagued into Artist's Ego -- the one star was for my book -- but what is THE best reflection of me? My work. That's why we take everything so personally. Giggles hasn't attacked anything of mine lately and for that I am profoundly grateful....so now we've gone a little literary and stream-of-consciousness, which is fine for journals and blogs but not too hot for genre writing.
I have an icon on my desktop to banish the negative inner critic, that I use too rarely. It's a .wav file of the Wicked Witch of the West screaming, "I'm melting. Melting..." Love that, always gives me a lift.
As for Monkey mind, when you focus on your writing, it can go away. Then there are meditation programs, too. I'm working through the new Wild Divine computer biofeedback game now. Raise energy. Lower energy. Breathe....
So this is a bit of a slice of a writer's life today. What did I do yesterday? Wrote very little a couple of paragraphs, but I had an "aha" moment on what came next in the chapter. I'd already set it up, (I LOVE when that happens) all I have to do is write it when I get home from the day job and massage tonight. My pinched nerves have been making themselves known.
Yesterday, I also bought and set up a new multi-function machine so I could scan and email galley corrections of Sorceress of Faith off to Luna. Popcorn for dinner for the rest of the month. Did a lot of inputting for promo for Access Romance which will have stuff (blurb, excerpt, reviews) of each of my books...
May you have a long stretch of writing today, and may inspiration smack you on the head.
Love to all,
Robin
So, for the good ideas, I keep a pad or pencil, or a microcassette near. Beating the negative inner critic is harder. Affirmations help. Hey, how many times do you think your negative critic puts you down throughout the day? Affirmations counter that. I AM a good writer. People enjoy my books. The person who gave me one star on Amazon is obviously quite, quite deluded...and yes, we've seagued into Artist's Ego -- the one star was for my book -- but what is THE best reflection of me? My work. That's why we take everything so personally. Giggles hasn't attacked anything of mine lately and for that I am profoundly grateful....so now we've gone a little literary and stream-of-consciousness, which is fine for journals and blogs but not too hot for genre writing.
I have an icon on my desktop to banish the negative inner critic, that I use too rarely. It's a .wav file of the Wicked Witch of the West screaming, "I'm melting. Melting..." Love that, always gives me a lift.
As for Monkey mind, when you focus on your writing, it can go away. Then there are meditation programs, too. I'm working through the new Wild Divine computer biofeedback game now. Raise energy. Lower energy. Breathe....
So this is a bit of a slice of a writer's life today. What did I do yesterday? Wrote very little a couple of paragraphs, but I had an "aha" moment on what came next in the chapter. I'd already set it up, (I LOVE when that happens) all I have to do is write it when I get home from the day job and massage tonight. My pinched nerves have been making themselves known.
Yesterday, I also bought and set up a new multi-function machine so I could scan and email galley corrections of Sorceress of Faith off to Luna. Popcorn for dinner for the rest of the month. Did a lot of inputting for promo for Access Romance which will have stuff (blurb, excerpt, reviews) of each of my books...
May you have a long stretch of writing today, and may inspiration smack you on the head.
Love to all,
Robin
posted by FantasyAuthor RobinDOwens | 6:11 AM
2 Comments:
Well, I am sitting down and fleshing out a chapter of Louie.
This one was difficult to write and I was blocked for a while because somethng was percolating and I couldn't quite figure out what the chapter was supposed to reveal.
It did appear. BIG time. And now I am sitting here opposite my heroine saying, "Couldn't you have told me this in chapter one????? did you have to wait til chapter 30?????"
Ugh!!!
But now that I know her secret, things are going MUCH better.
Terri
Excellent, Terri. Sometimes it takes a while to find out about your characters.
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