This one was intersting to read. I truly believe how our belief system can affect our way to get through life, being an example myself of how we can sabotage our ownself just cause we are used to it and also used to see people doing the same with themselves. I remember i always heard that it was easy to play the victim of the situation or being the victim of our own belief system but to be honest.. it's way easier to live a peaceful life. That's why I keep asking my self what am I choosing to keep with certain beliefs or with certain behavior.
I think I just philosophied too much Lol
Anyways! Reading your post made me stop and think what am I still choosing that is not giving me this whole creative wellness.. Funny that although I think I'm capable of writing and I actually enjoy a lot my stories, I cannot see myself using my real name to sign and own my fictional stories. I've been writing for the last 18 years and still using a pen name.
You philosophized just the right amount for my taste, lol. I wholeheartedly agree on the radical importance of mindset and the tendency that many of us have to victimize ourselves rather than simply accepting and taking responsibility for what we think and how we engage with the world. Your hesitancy to publish under your real name is definitely a great aspect of your creative mindset to explore with gentle insistence.
I had an idea of maybe creating a thread with a list of some of the books you've mention, Kristen. or links to some articles on certain elements mentions throughout the wellness issues. I love to read and expand my mindset on different topics or views. I often find that as writers we're told to just read craft books, or only in the genre we are writing it. And that is fine and good, but I think if we want to take a more holistic approach and to fight limiting beliefs we need to explore other areas, even if it's just for our own curiosity.
This is a great idea! Thanks so much for suggesting it. Perhaps I can add some book recommendations and article recommendations to the end of each episode when applicable. I can tell you now that one of the books that had the biggest impact on me this year is Untamed by Glennon Doyle. It's a memoir rather than a book specifically written for creatives, but it's had a huge impact on my understanding of intuition, authenticity, and aligned work. In fact, I think I specifically mentioned it in issue 1. :)
Hi, Kristen. This article really hit me this morning. I've been writing a novel series for the last few years, and I keep telling myself that I'll edit when it's all written, all four books. I tell myself that I want to make sure the plot is aligned and I don't break my magic system and I don't have character inconsistencies. But I realize I'm terrified of editing. One of my biggest fears is that I'll never be able to edit a novel-length piece. I've edited articles and term papers and short stories, but editing 120k words?? Whoa, this is the big one I'll be working towards. Thanks for the wonderful, thought-provoking pieces.
Effy, I'm so glad this issue resonated with you. Editing can be an absolutely overwhelming prospect, and it's completing understandable to harbor some fear of it.
I'm not sure if you're looking for advice at this point in time but, just in case, here's my biggest tip aside from working on mindset and self-belief: edit in layers.
So many writers approach the editing process by trying to work through their manuscripts in chronological order, fixing everything at once. This is a massive, inefficient undertaking. If you want to make editing less overwhelming and more efficient, then focus on multiple small drafts, fixing big story-level issues (e.g., structure, characterization) first, then scene-level (e.g. dialogue, description, inner narrative), then language (e.g., word choice, sentence structure, etc.). And you can even break this down further, tackling just one or two points in as many drafts as you'd like. Makes the process so much more manageable!
This one was intersting to read. I truly believe how our belief system can affect our way to get through life, being an example myself of how we can sabotage our ownself just cause we are used to it and also used to see people doing the same with themselves. I remember i always heard that it was easy to play the victim of the situation or being the victim of our own belief system but to be honest.. it's way easier to live a peaceful life. That's why I keep asking my self what am I choosing to keep with certain beliefs or with certain behavior.
I think I just philosophied too much Lol
Anyways! Reading your post made me stop and think what am I still choosing that is not giving me this whole creative wellness.. Funny that although I think I'm capable of writing and I actually enjoy a lot my stories, I cannot see myself using my real name to sign and own my fictional stories. I've been writing for the last 18 years and still using a pen name.
I'm gonna reflect more on this.
You philosophized just the right amount for my taste, lol. I wholeheartedly agree on the radical importance of mindset and the tendency that many of us have to victimize ourselves rather than simply accepting and taking responsibility for what we think and how we engage with the world. Your hesitancy to publish under your real name is definitely a great aspect of your creative mindset to explore with gentle insistence.
I had an idea of maybe creating a thread with a list of some of the books you've mention, Kristen. or links to some articles on certain elements mentions throughout the wellness issues. I love to read and expand my mindset on different topics or views. I often find that as writers we're told to just read craft books, or only in the genre we are writing it. And that is fine and good, but I think if we want to take a more holistic approach and to fight limiting beliefs we need to explore other areas, even if it's just for our own curiosity.
This is a great idea! Thanks so much for suggesting it. Perhaps I can add some book recommendations and article recommendations to the end of each episode when applicable. I can tell you now that one of the books that had the biggest impact on me this year is Untamed by Glennon Doyle. It's a memoir rather than a book specifically written for creatives, but it's had a huge impact on my understanding of intuition, authenticity, and aligned work. In fact, I think I specifically mentioned it in issue 1. :)
Hi, Kristen. This article really hit me this morning. I've been writing a novel series for the last few years, and I keep telling myself that I'll edit when it's all written, all four books. I tell myself that I want to make sure the plot is aligned and I don't break my magic system and I don't have character inconsistencies. But I realize I'm terrified of editing. One of my biggest fears is that I'll never be able to edit a novel-length piece. I've edited articles and term papers and short stories, but editing 120k words?? Whoa, this is the big one I'll be working towards. Thanks for the wonderful, thought-provoking pieces.
Effy, I'm so glad this issue resonated with you. Editing can be an absolutely overwhelming prospect, and it's completing understandable to harbor some fear of it.
I'm not sure if you're looking for advice at this point in time but, just in case, here's my biggest tip aside from working on mindset and self-belief: edit in layers.
So many writers approach the editing process by trying to work through their manuscripts in chronological order, fixing everything at once. This is a massive, inefficient undertaking. If you want to make editing less overwhelming and more efficient, then focus on multiple small drafts, fixing big story-level issues (e.g., structure, characterization) first, then scene-level (e.g. dialogue, description, inner narrative), then language (e.g., word choice, sentence structure, etc.). And you can even break this down further, tackling just one or two points in as many drafts as you'd like. Makes the process so much more manageable!