Comments on: The “Resistance” Is What Keeps You From Writing

By: Andrew Toynbee

Andrew Toynbee — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:06:35 +0000

I’ve always been told that if you are passionate enough about something, you will move heaven and Earth to achieve it. I’ve been writing since I was at school (back in the Black and White days) and aside from the odd ‘Black Dog’ days (even Churchill had them!) have wanted nothing more than to be properly published.
In the past six months, I have fallen out with my co-author, been forced to change jobs, and had a serious house fire and yet remained determined to produce, before the end of 2010, my first real novel.
Despite everything, the passion remains. My Muse will not let me rest (and rightly so!), bombarding me night and day and night again until I make notes at the very least.
So;
Get passionate (about your writing!).
Get about your writing.
Get out your writing
GET WRITING!

By: jblan

jblan — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:37:23 +0000

@Archan Mehta I totally agree with you. Writers DO need to do whatever works for them. As far as writer’s block goes…I don’t believe in it. But that’s me. And a whole other debate.

@Rebecca You have to do what works for you. So if Godin’s “big-picture” thinking is too much for you, don’t think that way. It’s all about what works for you.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:23:25 +0000

Hmmmmm. He makes a few good points but I don’t like the idea that we have to find something so huge and all consuming that we literally can’t wait to work on it everyday. That kind of thinking actually paralyzes me – and a lot of other people I know. I actually wrote a post exactly about this week. You might find it interesting. http://virginnovelist.blogspot.com/2010/01/finding-your-passion-or-am-i-even-on.html

By: Archan Mehta

Archan Mehta — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:12:21 +0000

Jennifer:

Thanks for this post. I appreciate your point of view.

However, writer’s block is a reality. Maybe it is a genuine condition. And the artist is not trying to make up excuses or giving you a sob story. What’s the solution?

For example, there are writers out there who may not want to write every single day. Maybe they have other things lined up and tasks that need to be tackled. Their agenda is different; their priorities are unusual.

A person, for example, with a full-time job may not have the time to write every day. Maybe this person pursues writing as a hobby and can’t afford to leave his/her day job. Maybe this person also writes when and if inspiration strikes. There are disciplined writers and then there are writers who are “stream of consciousness” blokes too. It takes all kinds to move the world and one is not necessarily better or worse than the other. That’s what I feel anyway. It is really a complex issue.

What works well for one person may not work at all for another person. Some writers prefer the step by step, methodological approach, others write better when they let their imagination run wild. There are others who write by inspiration, when the light bulb goes off. For writers, there is a whole continuum of possibilities.