Philosophy Friday

GOOD VIEW
(This is a photo I personally took last week of the Pontalba Apartments on St Ann Street, across Decatur facing the Jackson Square park. Sorry it's fuzzy but how cool would it be to live there?)

















GOOD STUFF
Still feeling the positive effects of a great conference
The scale is back under the 160 mark
Doing great with the pre-creating stage of a new book
Went to settlement on my grandmother's house

GOOD ADVICE
Last Friday, the Novelist's Inc welcomed certified counselor and licensed family therapist Eric Maisel for a two hour workshop on The Trials and Traumas of the Creative Life. Dr. Maisel has the typical psychologist's are-you-really-sure-you-want-to-jump-off-that-roof? voice but never did I feel he was talking down to us, let alone talking us down.

Dr. Maisel started off by saying that one of the only things we can positively control is the way we talk to ourselves. (Obsessive/ compulsive codependents with ADD like me, are you listening???) Not only do we negate things - "I'm a lousy writer because ________" - but we also say negative things in camoflage - "I'm so busy right now." or "I'm too tired to write." You have to change your mind, in other words change the way you think about yourself and your work.

The official mantra from my experience is I MATTER AND MY WRITING MATTERS. That means that my work is more important than getting the laundrt done. My work is more important than email. My work is [dare I say it?] more important than blog touring. My work is more important than any of the goofing off and procrastining I allow to interfere with my writing.

Another thing I learned (which could not be more pertinent since I'm scheduled to give a workshop on this topic) is that "all writer's block is self-censorship". We have to create in the middle of things; we need to clear away the 'white noise' of other voices- editors, friends, agents, reviewers, even readers- and protect the work, trust in ourselves and honor the process. You have to say, "I'm tired BUT I can still write." and "Anxiety is like a snow globe- everything will all settle down in a minute" and "I'm commited to loving the work in front of me becasue whatever else happens is part of the process."

A couple of authors who attened commented later that they are not the 'airy-fairy' or 'artsy-fartsy' type and this workshop did nothing for them. As for me, two hours was nowhere near long enough and so I was thrilled to find out that Dr. Maisel will be giving an all-day workshop at next year's NINC conference. I'm already there.