Writers have to deal with a lot of rejection. Even those of us with tough hides experience moments of doubt. The worst is when you get a triple whammy: your article was killed; you got a surprise bill; and your dude told you he wants to see other people. Times like these try our resolve, but that’s life, right? Oh, if only it were so easy to go Zen. When life seems to have given me a special seat at my own private shit show, some of the strategies below help me cope. Basically, they all boil down to one thing: treating yourself as you would a beloved 7 year old kid who’s had a tough day.
Author: Marly Kurtzer
5 Tips for Living Creatively
Many years ago, I remember reading in one of Natalie Goldberg’s books that writing gives you magic powers. I happen to believe this is true, but even if you’re not into the woo-woo, exercising a creative skill does give you many tools for facing life’s obstacles. The strange thing is that we rarely think of transferring our creative skills to solving life’s dilemmas.
So here are some creative habits that have helped me become a stronger person in general.
Tips on Accepting Feedback
No matter how well you write, few of us has such exquisite control over our material that we can be 100% sure of how our stuff reads to an outside party. This is particularly true for new material and comedy. In short, we spend so much time alone, scribbling away, that we may lose perspective on how a piece might impact a reader.
Hence the need for a trusty outsider who will provide useful insights. Sometimes, though, you can have too much of a good thing; too much feedback can be overwhelming and even debilitating. How to go about integrating this pile of comments? And is every single comment necessarily useful and on point? Distinguishing a pertinent comment from one that’s completely off can be a trick in and of itself.
Here are some tips on handling feedback:
Get Your Downton Abbey Snarky Recaps Pipin’ Hot!
That’s right. We all know you secretly watch a certain British period soap while pretending to watch more manly fare like Homeland, or Justified. It’s okay, dude. Seriously. We are all dying to know what colors Mary chose for her wedding and whether Edith is finally going to meet a nice boy and settle down. And who doesn’t have an inner diva who takes notes on the Dowager Countess’ perfect putdowns? Well, lucky you, cuz I’m recapping Downton Abbey for Basket of Kisses again. Get your snark on, peeps!
9 Ways to Reignite Your Passion for a Project
If you’ve ever run a long race then you know about “the wall,” that dreadful moment in which your energy flags, your body hurts, and the finish line feels a thousand miles away. You’ve already logged in too many miles to give up, but gathering the extra strength necessary to cross the finish line feels, well, impossible. What’s funny is that no one talks about a “creative wall,” since every creative person has felt her passion wilt during a long and difficult project at one time or another. Sometimes it can be really hard to keep going when you’re going through a seemingly endless grind.
The New Year is a perfect time to get your mojo back, baby dolls! Because you know that you have to be in it to win it, even if at times you feel like plunking your fanny on the couch and pigging out on popcorn while watching marathon sessions of trash reality TV. And so here are some tips to get that fire relit.
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