| Recently, one of my readers asked me to | | | | from such deflation, they voluntarily disable |
| elaborate on an idea I shared that maintains | | | | themselves and limit or terminate their output. |
| writer's block is a voluntary, self-induced condition. | | | | "I'll show them! I won't write! Aha!" |
| Here are the five points I made. If you're | | | | The CHOICE is to let the naysayers win, or to |
| suffering from a lack of written output, I hope | | | | disprove them by producing an astonishing |
| this material helps you to produce again. | | | | amount of content. Churchill said it well: "Success |
| (1) I don't endorse the idea that we're at the | | | | is the ability to go from failure to failure without |
| mercy of hidden forces that limit our productivity, | | | | losing one's enthusiasm." |
| phantoms that descend upon us and then | | | | (5) Third party publication is not the defining |
| miraculously abate or persist. | | | | earmark of a "true" or "gifted" or even a |
| (2) Even if there are such maladies, offshoots of | | | | "capable" writer. Writing-is-producing-output, even |
| say, depression, they should be somewhat | | | | if the writer is his or her only audience. I have a |
| ameliorated with medication and/or through use | | | | hunch the most beautiful poetry was never |
| of self-help. | | | | shared. It was crumpled into a tiny ball and tossed |
| (3) In the case of writer's block, the symptom | | | | into the trash or the flames. |
| can be seen as the problem: one is simply not | | | | Now, let me observe one thing. I am a best-selling |
| writing. The cure is to write, however poorly, and | | | | author of 12 books, all with major publishers, |
| the more one writes, the better! Sooner or later | | | | resulting in hundreds of thousands of copies sold. |
| you'll produce something of exceptional quality, in | | | | I've penned perhaps 2,000+ articles. |
| spite of your tacit conviction that you cannot. | | | | Yet today, and I mean this morning, my proposal |
| Julia Cameron, author of THE ARTIST'S WAY, | | | | for a new book was rejected by one of my |
| offers a little prayer: "Dear (Power of the | | | | publishers. Last week it was savaged by yet |
| Universe), I'll take care of the quantity, and you | | | | another publisher who thought it utterly lacked |
| can take care of the quality." | | | | merit. |
| There is an analogue. The argument defending | | | | How will I respond? |
| free speech, says this: If you don't like someone's | | | | I can self-publish my own book, audio, or a video |
| discourse, the answer isn't to silence him. The | | | | program. It's as easy as creating an E-book or |
| answer lies in MORE discourse to dispute him and | | | | visiting my local photocopy shop. |
| to prevail in the marketplace of ideas. | | | | I can move on to my next project. |
| Likewise, if you are stuck, the answer is to | | | | But only I can stop myself--no outside forces can |
| produce more text, not less. Prime the pump. | | | | make me stop writing or even publishing, if that's |
| Sooner or later you'll end up with a gusher. | | | | my wish. |
| (4) Somewhere along the line, many who are | | | | Indeed, in a few minutes, this reply, slightly |
| blocked have been SHAMED by those that have | | | | modified, will appear online as an article. |
| offered hostile criticism. Instead of bouncing back | | | | Hope this helps. |