Writing

Being A Writer Is Not Easy, But Don’t Give Up

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Some of my friends told me they wanted to give up on their writing career. I know that they have been working very hard for more than 15 years. They wrote screenplays and published some novels. Yet, they don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

They feel like giving up.

It’s understandable. Burnouts, disappointments, and rejections can drive you to the point where you feel like letting go of your dreams. (See post: How to Recover From Burnout) Especially now when competition is tougher than ever.

Myself, 17 years ago, I gave up on my writing. And I tell you what, during that time, I felt as alive as a zombie in The Walking Dead. Dead inside.

Being a writer is tough. Chasing our dreams is hard but it’s also the only way to feel alive. So before you take a reckless decision, please let me give you 10 things you could try to have your mojo back.

1. Let The Bad Momentum Play itself Out

When it rains it pours. When I lost my home, my country and became homeless, I also got sick and soon after, my husband passed away. Indeed, when it rains, it pours. Yet, what saved me was my work and my writing. 

Putting all my rage and my despair on paper somehow kept me alive. I surrendered to the process of writing and somehow it made it feel slightly more bearable.

Surrender to your despair, to your sadness, to your fatigue. Don’t internalize it, it’s the worst thing you could do – it will soon become some kind of physical disease. So express it, write it and WAIT.

When you have a bad momentum, don’t fight against it. Instead surf the wave, let it take you where it wants. Don’t swim against the current, you’ll lose. Instead wait until it brings you to that peaceful beach.

2. Rest Is Success

I read a fantastic book that should be taught in every school: Why we sleep by Dr Matthew Walker. He explains how detrimental lack of sleep is to our body, mind and spirit such as:

  • Depression
  • Heart attack
  • Diabetes
  • It causes accidents
  • Obesity
  • Ageing etc…

Sleeping is far more important than you think. Do yourself a favor and have a minimum of 8-9 hours sleep. Go to bed early, have a nap. After a week, I promise you, you’ll feel stronger mentally and physically.

And more importantly, you’ll be more creative.

3. Find Out What Trigger This Feeling

Once rested, it’s time to reflect on what made you feel this way. Be honest with yourself. What triggered it?

A rejection?  A nasty comment online? An unexpected bill? A launch that didn’t work (again)?

Trace back what caused your misery and expose it to the light.

Now answer this question: Will it matter in five years time? If the answer is no, brush it off. 

4. Do Something Else

Maybe you’re sick of your writing, you don’t feel excited about it anymore. I tell you what: it’s time to try something new.

The idea is to give you a proper break. Trying something new will create new neuropathways and will excite your brain cells. You’ll feel a bit more upbeat. 

Soon enough, you’ll get an epiphany while doing paddling, martial art or painting. 

5. Go On A Social Media Detox

I ditched my Instagram. I also switched off ALL my notifications, and deleted most of the apps on my phone.

Do you know what happened?

My stress level went right down. Now, I’m only checking my phone when I’m ready for it and not when I’m told to do so.

So liberating!

6. Inject 5 Fun Things To Enjoy Everyday

Tell me the truth, is your life full of duties?

If so, it’s not surprising that you want to give up.

If you don’t plan some kind of reward in your day, your life will soon become like in The Shining: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy“.

Here is the secret though: you have to plan it. If you don’t, I promise you, you’ll do another duty because there is always something to do.

It can be anything you want but it has to be fun FOR YOU.  The idea is to plan each day, five things that makes you happy. You’ll get your motivation back sooner than you think.

7.Walk

Walking is the best sport you could ever do.

It increases your energy levels, improves your mood, your memory and sleep, maintains a healthy weight, reduces stress, strengthens your immune system and so on…

Start with 10 minutes a day and increase the duration after a while. 

It will make a huge difference to your health and creativity.

8.Take It One Step At A Time

Now let’s talk about your writing goals.

The key is this : One step at a time.

This is crucial. Take baby steps. 

When Stephen King was asked: ‘How do you write?’ He replied: ‘One word at a time‘. 

Simple. It’s okay to dream big but in terms of daily action, it’s best to have small, manageable, happy goals. 

If I tell you, write the best screenplay ever now! Your body and mind will shut down automatically.

Now if I tell you: write a scene, AND it doesn’t have to be good, you have the right to get it wrong but just write it. I’m pretty sure you can do that without a sweat. If you do that everyday, you have the first draft of your screenplay finished in two or three months.

Don’t make perfection a goal. Instead, make daily action a habit.

9.Take Imperfect Action

This one is my favorite mantra. This is the first thing my friend and co-writer Kary Oberbrunner taught me and it changed my life. Take imperfect action.

You don’t need to know all the answers, you don’t need to look perfect, you don’t need to be the best writer in the world.  You just need to show up and be yourself.

Do you want results? Do one action a day towards your goal. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it has to be regular.

The more actions you take, the more opportunities you get. It’s not witchcraft, it’s science.

10.Success Is An Accumulation Of Small Powerful Moments One After Another

When you look at people who succeeded, they didn’t get successful overnight.

It takes a long time to build a career.   

It doesn’t matter when you started writing. My point is these people kept practicing again and over again. They accumulated mini-wins one after another. So don’t look at the big picture. Aim for the mini wins. That’s what makes the difference.

One last word… Writing is an adventure. When we read a book or watch a film, we’re looking for answers to this question: How do you survive in this society?

Of course, we don’t say that out loud to ourselves but this is what we’re looking for.

We also write to understand ourselves and others. And we also write to give our understanding of life to others. It’s an important mission. It’s a calling. So don’t give up on it please, the world needs you.

Ps: I would like to dedicate this post to one of my faithful reader, Patricia, who kindly sent me a very nice email. I replied but my email bounced back. I wish you to get better soon.

Bonus

Here some mantras you could use to get your mojo back:

  • I am doing my best
  • My possibilities are endless
  • I have the power to create change
  • There are endless opportunities around me
  • Everything happens for a reason
  • I am exactly where I need to be
  • Small steps are also progress, great things take time 

How To Write Unfiltered Characters

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how to write unfiltered characters
Image by Rudy & Peter Skitterians at Pixabay

All types of characters are necessary to make a story interesting. The more diverse, the better. Today the light is on the Unfiltered Character.

The Unfiltered Character

Unfiltered characters are often direct and surprise us by their honesty.

When most people spend their lives pleasing others in order to avoid any form of confrontation, unfiltered characters do the complete opposite.

And that’s refreshing. Cathartic even.

In other words, they don’t care about what other people think and we love them for that. Furthermore, we would love to be like them.

What would it take to write one?

1- Make them ANGRY and REBELLIOUS.

One of the traits that an unfiltered character may have is anger.

They might be angry at society, at themselves or both.

Usually well educated, they observed the world through special lenses. They see what other people don’t see or choose to ignore.

Concretely, if you want to make your angry unfiltered characters react, create a box for them. Soon enough you’ll get a reaction, as they won’t fit in.

Sometimes, they’re not angry but they know themselves enough to know what they like and don’t like. For example, they know that hypocrisy is not their thing.

In addition to that, they hate time wasters. Small talks, meaningless conversations aren’t for them so if you want to annoy an unfiltered character in your story, create a chatty character that has nothing else to do than listen to his/her own voice. You’ll then create a nice conflict between them.

The downside of being an unfiltered character is they often feel lonely. However, they much prefer to be a loner than being with bad company.

Image by Trifo13 at Pixabay

For this type of character, Jess in Gilmore Girls played by the talented Milo Ventimiglia is a good example. Jess is a young man, full of anger, coming from a dysfunctional family.

He’s also the bad boy that good girls normally like. Bad boys are attractive because a sense of excitement comes with them. However what is interesting about Jess is the fact that he loves books, philosophy and is extremely intelligent. The unfiltered bad boy turns out to challenge everyone around him. And we love him for that of course.

I found this extract on YouTube that you could check;  an interaction with Jess and his uncle Luke (also an unfiltered character by the way).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7zsNFE0C2I

2- Make them TALENTED and BLUNT

Sometimes unfiltered characters aren’t angry. They don’t have time for it.

Instead, they need to focus on their mission and can’t afford any distraction. 

They know what they are good at, and dealing with people is not one of them. And oh! Don’t we like them too!

These kinds of characters can be funny to watch because they appear blunt or even mean.

 ‘I don’t do people’ is often their motto.

There is a reason for it. Often badly hurt, this type of unfiltered character prefers to concentrate on their mission in life rather than face their own emotions. In fact, they do everything to avoid interactions for that single purpose: self protection.

Can anyone relate?

For this type of character, I have in mind the character of Mina, the beautiful surgeon in The Resident, played by Shaunette Renée Wilson. 

Watch this extract to understand what I mean:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3jRF3HNWyM

3- Make them AUTHENTIC and CYNICAL.

The cynic can be either way funny or scary depending on the genre.

The cynic has often a dark vision of life. He/She asks questions that nobody wants to answer. He talks about a subject that nobody wants to think about, he tells a truth that no one wants to hear.

Truth is unsettling, isn’t it?

Characters like these make you feel uneasy because they make you think hard on the meaning of life . As they question life and relationships, they mirror our own insecurities.

Jamie in The Sinner, played brilliantly by Matt Bomer, came to my mind for this type of unfiltered character.

Please do not watch this extract if you are under age and if you are sensitive, this extract has strong language and violence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyOk7p30Iwo

4. Make them FUNNY and RUDE

On a lighter note, an unfiltered character can be incredibly funny, simply by contrasting  with the other ‘normal characters’.

While saying out loud what everybody thinks is a great ingredient for your story, being rude to other characters is great for comedies. If you need to add a bit of humor in your story, this is the kind of character that you definitely need.

Let’s take the example of Michel, the (amazing) grumpy concierge in Gilmore Girls played by Yanic Truesdale.

https://youtu.be/CNjJZokmqkE

Thank you for reading x

Why Writing Is A Therapy ?

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why writing is a therapy

Photo by StockSnap @ Pixabay

Two years ago, I wrote a post called ‘Healing with Journaling’. I was a bit naive to claim that we could heal from traumas. What I should have said instead is that writing is a therapy.

So, if writing doesn’t heal traumas, it makes them more apparent. Instead of sliding them under the carpet, we acknowledge our pain, which is the first step to feel better.

Writing is therapeutic.

1. It keeps your body and mind healthy

Our society is contaminated by anxiety.

A lot of people live in fear to be judged, abandoned or rejected. As a result, life can become unbearable.

The source of anxiety is different for everyone:

  • Unemployment
  • Grief
  • Overworking
  • Separation
  • Disease
  • Ageing
  • Any type of change…

If not analyzed and expressed, this anxiety will find a way to be released often in an unhealthy way:

  • Insomnia or disturbing dreams
  • Eating disorders
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Depression
  • Sexual troubles
  • Skin problems
  • Lack of concentration and enthusiasm
  • Fear of others
  • OCD
  • Being always in a rush
  • Speaking to fast or too loud or both…

Often overlooked, writing is a powerful way to get some emotional release. It’s been proven for reducing stress and physical pain, improves memory and immune system and it also reduces anxiety, which is my point.

By writing down our pain, we honor our authentic self. We can sit down with our sadness or have a conversation with our demons. What if your  back pain wants to tell you something? What if we ask our addiction what void it’s trying to fill?

‘You’ll be amazed at the rotten things your subconscious will blurt out. Write them down.’ Julia Cameron

When the emotions come out, our clarity creates room for the change we desperately need.

2. It shifts our mood and brings back enthusiasm in our lives

While fighting cancer for five years, my goddess friend was raising her young children, as well as building a successful business and writing bestselling books. She has my deepest respect.

When she suggested starting a gratitude journal, I was uncomfortable with the idea. She told me that her first times, she was writing things such as: ‘I’m grateful that this day is finally over’. Gradually, she became more open to the beautiful things in her life; it helped her to go through hard times and to fight cancer.

So I tried it myself and I haven’t stopped since.

Often a seeming calamity is an angel in disguise. (…) What if we adapted a welcoming attitude to life, letting go of a habitual defensive or controlling attitude? What would we attract then? Catherine Ann Jones

Gratitude helps to focus on what really matters. It also increases the level of satisfaction with life. It shifts negative moods into positive ones and gets rid of the dark cloud that lingers around our head.

So I invite you to try it too. Write about one thing you feel grateful for today. Try it for a week and see the difference.

It Makes Our lives More Creative

Writing is a way to express ourselves and it’s a therapy. It’s not the only one though.

Overcoming our anxieties demands a combination of therapies.

I personally have my own combination, which is my family, my friends, my daily yoga and writing. I’m not past the grief and pain I’m going through but I know that the Universe sends me this combination to continue breathing.

Life itself is pure creativity and we are part of it. Not being creative is against our very nature. Who cares if it doesn’t come out perfectly? The aim is not to suffer while writing as pictured often in the media (the writer who cannot write a line). The writer’s block is nothing less than the fear of being wrong and being judged by others.

‘To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.’ Joseph Chilton Pearce

Creative writing allows us to connect with our inner self, to fill our potential, to explore our own mystery. Knowing ourselves is a powerful tool which has been discussed since the antiquity as if it was the key that opens many doors…

‘Be really whole and all things will come to you’. Lao Tzu

Take good care of yourself my friend x

If you like this subject, I’d suggest to read ‘Writing as a Way of Healing’ by Louise Desalvo

How to Kick-Start Your First Draft

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Writing a first draft
Photo by Jan Vasek @ Pixabay

‘I have an idea for a film, a book, a play’…

‘Great! When do you start writing your first draft?’

Silence… 

Usually followed by:

‘Ah, it’s a complex story, I need to do more research’

or

‘Yes when I quit (fill the blank) smoking, drinking, my job, my wife….

or

‘You don’t get it! This project is bigger than me!’

Oh yes, I get it.

It has a name: Procrastination which is a good friend of Fear.

Days, weeks, months, even years could go by, without writing a line on your big idea. It’s not nice.

In addition, you feel guilty about it. It’s not nice either.

So what shall we do about it?

1. Brainstorm Ideas

Firstly we brainstorm ideas. This is my favorite phase of creation.

I bubble some ideas, some characters, plots, locations. I also do some research, I read books on the topic. I watch films on the subject, I write notes in my journal. Even more efficient, I tear pictures from magazines to make a collage of my next project. It’s a messy job but it’s soooo good.

This the time when you’re allowed to be CRAZY, to have FUN, to HAVE A BLAST with your brain and your creativity.

‘To live a creative life, we must lose our fear to be wrong.’ Joseph Chilton Pearce

Don’t take months to do this phase though. One month is enough.

I can hear you from here saying: ‘But what if you haven’t finished my research?’

No worries. Move on to the next stage AND continue researching.

Don’t give all your time to research because then it becomes procrastination.

2. Organize Your Ideas and Notes

Secondly, you organize your ideas.

That’s when you discover how bonkers you are and how creative more importantly.

What you need to do is to go through all your notes and decide what to keep and what to trash. Please trust the process,  it’s all good. 

It’s also a good idea to organize the ideas that you want to keep so it’s easier to find them while you’re writing.

Give yourself a week or two to do so.

3. Structure Your Notes

Thirdly, you find the spine of your ideas. From there, as an architect, you’re going to build a solid foundation. It’s the structure. In other words, you articulate clearly what you want to say and how you want to say it. It’s storytelling.

You need to tell the story in a way that keeps everyone engaged that’s what the structure is for. It’s heavy work.

I  invite you to divide your work into small pieces. First, build up your main structure, then your scene by scene. For each one, evaluate how long it will take you to write it.

I give myself a week or two to do so.

4. Write

As I’m a lazy writer, I have small achievable targets. If they are too big, I get overwhelmed.

Some people like setting targets in terms of word count (500 words to 2000 words a day). Personally, I set my targets in terms of time I have available to write. I don’t bother with how many words I put on the page, as long as I write something.

How do I kick-start each writing session? I tell myself: ‘Let’s write for five minutes’.

Five minutes is not scary, right? So I go for it.

Consequently, I never write for five minutes. It’s always between 30 minutes and two hours. However, if I had said to myself ‘let’s write for half an hour’, I would have scared myself too much and find excuses not to write.

So put some music on, create a space for your creativity and just write.

Studies have shown that writing reduces stress faster than walking. So take it as a relaxing time for yourself.

A deadline of 2-4 months to write your first draft seems reasonable.

Please don’t expect to be brilliant on your first draft. It won’t be.

Hemingway said: ‘The first draft of anything is shit.’

That’s a good reason not to worry about it. You can relax your shoulders and enjoy the process. Have a blast! 

‘The need to produce a great work of art makes it hard to produce any art at all.’ Julia Cameron

I find it reassuring actually. It allows you to be bad writer and to make mistakes. It’s easier to write a bad prose than good one. Aim for excellence at the re-writes. And that’s another story…

Good luck!

Step by Step Easy Business Plan for Artists & Writers

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Photo by Jess Bailey @ Pixabay

Why would you spend time on a business plan?  Probably because it’s the first step to take your artistic career seriously.

‘A goal without a plan is just a wish’ Antoine de St Exupéry

If you’re driving, unsure of the roads to take, you have great probabilities to get lost. But if you have planned your journey, chances are, you will reach your destination.

Of course, sitting down trying to forecast projects and numbers can be quite daunting. This is why I have prepared a business template for Artists and Writers super easy for you.

Step 1: Only Do Projects that Give You a High

If you know you’re going to be working on halfhearted projects, you’ll end up discouraged and will not finish them.

In other words, your projects should excite you. They should be in alignment with your purpose. They should make you FEEL GOOD. 

‘’Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything’’ Napoleon Hill

Step 2: Don’t Overload Your Business Plan

It’s tempting to cram many projects in one year but it can also be a great factor for giving up everything.

Only three to four big projects a year seem more manageable. Do only one project at a time, so you can stay fully focused on it and thus you become more efficient.

Moreover, the other reason for not overloading your business plan is to have enough room for FUN.

‘Always leave enough time in your life to do something that makes you happy, satisfied, even joyous.  That has more of an effect on economic well-being than any other single factor.’ Paul Hawken.

It will also fuel your creativity in amazing ways.

Step 3: Visualize the Outcome But Don’t Focus On It

 ‘Intention is one with cause and effect. Intention determines outcome. And if you’re stuck and not moving forward, you have to check the thought and action that created the circumstance’. Oprah Winfrey.

While it is crucial to visualize your end goal and feel the good vibrations of the finish product, don’t focus exclusively on the outcome. The outcome is not up to you. Of course, it’s nice to imagine being a bestselling author but you won’t be able to control the buying of your books. Your audience will decide if they’re going to buy or not.

Your job is to make an amazing product. Visualize a happy outcome but focus on your day to day task, to make this project wonderful and irresistible.

Step 4: Take Action and Show Up Everyday

You must hear it, read it, and see it all the time: Take action.

Easier said than done, right?

When we’re ready to rock and roll often Procrastination kicks in. Not nice. Suddenly we don’t feel like working on our projects, and we end up doing something else, such as watching TV for instance, feeling bad about ourselves.

Here is my one million dollar trick: Take action for FIVE minutes a day. Too much? OK then, try ONE minute a day.

Each time I don’t feel like writing, I tell my brain: ‘OK, let’s do this for one minute.’ 

Next thing I know, I worked on that thing for an hour.

This is as simple as that.

Step 5: Be Kind to Yourself

Even if your inner voice is shouting: ‘You’re not good enough’ make a point to do it anyway. Override that nasty voice with some feel good music and get on with whatever you’ve got to do.

Make sure you take care of your whole being too: soul (meditate), mind (read) and body (exercise).  It’s all connected and intertwined.  

Allow yourself to have some time off too, to recharge your batteries. I’ve seen it many times, I’ve been there myself. Burnout is real. It’s horrible.

Being nice to yourself also means to be ruthless with distractions. Since I turned off all my notifications, I feel much calmer. Okay I admit it, sometimes I’m missing some messages on the spot but my pulse stays stable. I look at my messages or my emails when I’m ready to do so, not while I’m working.

Also don’t beat yourself up when you fail.

‘Every adversity, even failure, every heartache, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit’ napoleon Hill

Failure is part of success. If you look at the people who succeeded, they all had a big disappointment. They didn’t let failure define them. They cried and carried on.

Life happens. Sometimes a life event might disturb your plan. Take one thing at a time.  Take a break from everything. All you need to do is re-adjust your plan for the future, that’s all.  Trust in the process of creation and its perfect timing.

Intense belief + Firm intention + Intense dedication: Manifesting your desires.

Wishing you my best wishes for your creative plans.

It’s Time To Shine Your Light

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Photo by Colin Behrens @ Pixabay

I have never liked January and its New Year resolutions time.  I don’t see the point. Each year is what you DAILY make it… for 365 days.

Many times, I saw people making plans and giving them up after a few weeks…

‘Man makes plans… and God laughs’ wrote the Author and Screenwriter Michael Chabon.

Why do we expect so much from ourselves?

Is it to justify our presence on Earth?

Answers are often found in Nature

I often find answers in Nature.

I love observing Nature around me, trees especially. In shamanism, they are called ‘The Plant people and the Standing People’.

Trees grow tall and strong knowing their purpose. They don’t ask themselves ‘What should I do with my life?’

They just are. They exist and make the world better (by providing oxygen for instance).

Us, the human kind, we have a brain and a heart. With these gifts, we should know what to do. Yet, we probably are the only species on Earth wondering what our purpose is.

Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay

Life is Chaos

Life is chaos.

I know what I’m talking about. Within two years, I lost my home, my beloved country, some close friends, my dignity, and my husband.  None of these events were planned or thought. None of these things were part of my ‘plan’. They just happened to me.

Yes, life is chaos and any form of co-creation (coming from the heart) is a way to express or explain this chaos.  

When you lose it all, you see everything clearly.

First you see who are ‘your allies’, to quote my dear friend and mentor Lucy V. Hay (Bang2Write).  The allies are the ones who pick you up when you fall but also help you to fight back. ‘You can’t do without them’, she says. She is right. As always.

My other Friend and mentor, Kary Oberbrunner, wrote it in his life-changing book Unhackable that there are three types of people:

The Consumer, the critic, the creator.

The consumer consumes, probably to feed their emptiness with stuff.

The critic critics. Spotting the mistakes in others reassures them.

And Creators create. To me, this type is never reassured. They try, they test, and stumble often but they know their purpose. When creators let go of expectations, they become unrestricted and inspiring.

Simplicity

When you hit rock bottom, your needs become simple: food, shelter and love.

If you have those three things in your life, it’s a blessing. Millions of people on Earth do not have that.

When you fall, you realised that friends and family are what count in life.

On your death bed, the number of zeros on your bank account or your job title will do nothing for you. People make the difference.

People you love are the ones who are going to make your life meaningful.

Pilot Light Writing

That’s why I have changed the name of my website. It used to be called Inside the Writers Bubble but I felt quite lonely inside my bubble.

My friend and Shaman Catherine Maguire (https://www.inlightenment.it/) said to me,’ your gift is to light other people’s light, you’re a pilot light’. From there, another dear friend – the author Sally Bibb and my brother-in-law – Daniel helped me to put the pieces together.

And that’s how Pilot Light Writing is born.

We can’t do it on our own.

I am not interested in consuming or criticising.

I’m interested in bringing love into everything I do, so I can help other people who love what they do, to shine too.

We can’t get rid of the darkness or the shadow in this world. We can only bring light inside it.

So be shiny my friend. x

This post is dedicated in loving memory of my late husband, who will be missed forever.

Candle Image by Andreas Lischka from Pixabay