Thanks for making this video Cynthia and letting us share in your enthusiasm. I can definitely see it in you and I have also experienced those kinds of breakthroughs, sometimes after way too much resistance. I have compassion for my resistant self but I also know from experience what lies on the other side can be so incredible. As for getting there faster, that's hard. So much is based on our own human nature, personalities, but I find that reminding myself about the last time I resisted something new in my writing practice and when I finally did it, how revolutionary it felt--those reminders help, because then I can say to myself, "Remember the last time? do you really want to wait a year or several months to get to that point again? Take a risk. What have you got to lose? You can always go back to the old way if it doesn't work." That little pep talk helps. For me, with this fourth novel, I am feeling more confident than ever and I am following quite closely for the first time Lisa Cron's The Story Genius method of creating a novel. I used it partially for my third novel, to great effect, but now I am seeing its "genius" when creating a new novel from scratch. I have a direction and each day when I turn to my manuscript, there is no anxiety over the blank page or screen. I know exactly where I want to go, to deepen my knowledge of these characters. Her method is based on building scene after scene, so your database sounds like a perfect tool to complement it.
I've resisted story structure for SO LONG! Then I got this graphic novel called Land of the Dead and looked up the author, Brian McDonald, who did a podcast series called You Are a Storyteller. When I listened to him talking about "story armature" something clicked in my head and now I love thinking about structure and I've outlined my fictional memoir in advance, and it's even FUN! I don't know if you can do it faster. I notice a lot of time when I feel stuck on a project, after a while I learn something important that I didn't know before and then I'm able to go further on the project. So keep learning? Because we don't know what we don't know?
I love the sound you give to grungy fear— I know it well! My most recent growth with my great friend resistance was the awareness that I was being unwilling to enter a negotiation.
I wanted the result to be MY way.
I negotiated with the understanding that there was 90s garage band musician self and a higher self at the table with the topic being considered (a real life one that May one day be included in a sitcom). The result is TBD.
Thanks for making this video Cynthia and letting us share in your enthusiasm. I can definitely see it in you and I have also experienced those kinds of breakthroughs, sometimes after way too much resistance. I have compassion for my resistant self but I also know from experience what lies on the other side can be so incredible. As for getting there faster, that's hard. So much is based on our own human nature, personalities, but I find that reminding myself about the last time I resisted something new in my writing practice and when I finally did it, how revolutionary it felt--those reminders help, because then I can say to myself, "Remember the last time? do you really want to wait a year or several months to get to that point again? Take a risk. What have you got to lose? You can always go back to the old way if it doesn't work." That little pep talk helps. For me, with this fourth novel, I am feeling more confident than ever and I am following quite closely for the first time Lisa Cron's The Story Genius method of creating a novel. I used it partially for my third novel, to great effect, but now I am seeing its "genius" when creating a new novel from scratch. I have a direction and each day when I turn to my manuscript, there is no anxiety over the blank page or screen. I know exactly where I want to go, to deepen my knowledge of these characters. Her method is based on building scene after scene, so your database sounds like a perfect tool to complement it.
I've resisted story structure for SO LONG! Then I got this graphic novel called Land of the Dead and looked up the author, Brian McDonald, who did a podcast series called You Are a Storyteller. When I listened to him talking about "story armature" something clicked in my head and now I love thinking about structure and I've outlined my fictional memoir in advance, and it's even FUN! I don't know if you can do it faster. I notice a lot of time when I feel stuck on a project, after a while I learn something important that I didn't know before and then I'm able to go further on the project. So keep learning? Because we don't know what we don't know?
I agree, keep learning!
resistance in our process, is so interesting isn't it?! thanks for this reminder: surrender sooner!
I love the sound you give to grungy fear— I know it well! My most recent growth with my great friend resistance was the awareness that I was being unwilling to enter a negotiation.
I wanted the result to be MY way.
I negotiated with the understanding that there was 90s garage band musician self and a higher self at the table with the topic being considered (a real life one that May one day be included in a sitcom). The result is TBD.