Around the Writer's Block : Using Brain Science to Solve Writer's Resistance

by Bane, Rosanne

• ISBN13: 9781585428717
• ISBN10: 158542871X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-08-01
• Publisher: Tarcher

Summary

Discover the tricks that your brain uses to keep you from writing-and how to beat them. Do you: Want to write, but find it impossible to get started? Keep your schedules so full that you don't have any time to write? Wait until the last minute to write, even though you know you could do a better job if you gave yourself more time? Suddenly remember ten other things that you need to do whenever you sit down to write? Sabotage your own best efforts with lost files, missed deadlines, or excessive self-criticism? The good news is that you're not lazy, undisciplined, or lacking in willpower, talent or ambition. You just need to learn what's going on inside your brain, and harness the power of brain science to beat resistance and develop a productive writing habit. In Around the Writer's Block, Rosanne Bane-- a creativity coach and writing teacher for more than 20 years-- uses the most recent breakthroughs in brain science to help us understand, in simple, clear language, where writing resistance comes from: a fight-or-flight response hard-wired into our brain, which can make us desperate to flee the sources of our anxieties by any means possible. Bane's three-part plan, which has improved the productivity of thousands of writers, helps you develop new reliable writing habits, rewire the brain's responses to the anxiety of writing, and turn writing from a source of stress and anxiety into one of joy and personal growth.

Author Biography

Rosanne Bane lives in Minneapolis with her partner and their two dogs, Blue and Kelda.

Table of Contents

Overview	p. 1
Introduction	p. 3
What Do They Got That I Ain't Got?	p. 3
Resistance Is Normal	p. 5
Resistance Can Be Resolved	p. 7
The Power of a Writing Habit	p. 10
Why is it so hard to write?	p. 14
Why Do We Do That?	p. 14
If I Only Had a Brain	p. 15
Brain Basics	p. 16
Who's Driving the Bus?	p. 19
Limbic System Takeovers	p. 20
Meet Aimee	p. 23
Who's Your Dr. Claparède?	p. 25
Writing is its Own Reward-or Threat	p. 27
Recognizing Resistance	p. 29
Hope Is Not Lost	p. 31
Plastic Brain to the Rescue!	p. 32
Three Habits	p. 37
Habit One: Process	p. 39
Success Story	p. 39
Process Time	p. 40
Follow Their Lead-or Create Your Own Dance	p. 44
Surrender Expectations	p. 46
When and How	p. 52
Habit Two: Product Time	p. 58
Success Story	p. 58
When is it Process Time; When is it Product Time?	p. 59
Why "Product Time" Instead of "Writing Time"	p. 60
Showing Up Is Key	p. 64
How to Evaluate Product Time	p. 66
Stages of the Creative Process	p. 69
The Second Key: Fifteen Magic Minutes	p. 79
First Things First	p. 81
Ten Reasons to Keep the Commitment Small	p. 82
Past Initial Inertia	p. 83
Surrender Illusions of Grandeur and Expectations of Perfection	p. 86
Habit Three: Self-Care	p. 91
Success Story: You Can't Truly Care for Others If You're Not Caring for Yourself	p. 91
Self-care	p. 92
Success Story: Self-care, Not Self-indulgence	p. 93
Success Story: Perchance to Achieve a Dream	p. 96
Success Story: On the Move	p. 100
Writers at Work-Attention Required	p. 106
Preserve Time to Focus	p. 111
Success Story: Quietly, Mindfully Refilling the Well	p. 119
Success Story: The Play's the Thing	p. 124
Play is Serious Business	p. 126
Play is Creative	p. 129
Putting the Habits into Practice	p. 133
Rituals and Routines	p. 135
Success Stories	p. 135
Why Are Writers So Superstitious?	p. 136
Experience Creates Connections	p. 140
Stop in the Middle of	p. 144
Record and Reward	p. 148
Success Story	p. 148
Writer's Log: Stardate 2012	p. 150
Benefits of Tracking	p. 154
It Pays to Pay Yourself	p. 158
What Rewards Do to Creativity	p. 160
What Rewards Do for Routine Tasks	p. 163
Puppies and Teeter-totters: Shaping Behavior	p. 171
Shape-shifting	p. 173
Why is it so hard to write, revisited	p. 177
Anti-success Story	p. 177
The Saboteur May or May Not Be Your Inner Critic	p. 178
Psychological Origins of the Saboteur	p. 179
Success Story	p. 183
Know Your Enemy	p. 185
Five Faces, Four Characteristics, One Goal	p. 189
Don't Give in and Don't Give Up	p. 192
Success Story	p. 193
An Obsession of a Different Color	p. 198
Get Clear	p. 203
Four Steps to Resolving Resistance	p. 206
Learning Story	p. 206
What Went Wrong	p. 210
Step One: Recognize the Resistance	p. 211
Resistance by Any Other Name	p. 211
That's Life; This is Resistance	p. 216
Why the Why Doesn't Matter	p. 220
Step Two: Relax into Resistance	p. 223
Relaxing in the Now	p. 227
Step Three: Respect the Wisdom of the Resistance	p. 234
The Leap of No Faith	p. 235
The Non-leap of Faith	p. 237
Step Four: Redirect the Energy of the Resistance	p. 240
Smarter Than the Average Whale?	p. 242
Spontaneous Redirection	p. 244
Why it Matters	p. 246
Your Success Story	p. 246
Habit Begets Mastery	p. 249
Teaching Story: Feed the Right Wolf	p. 252
You Owe it to Them; You Owe it to Yourself	p. 256
Pay It Forward	p. 257
Success Story: Love Matters	p. 258
Public and Personal Success	p. 259
When Audience Matters Too Much	p. 262
Choose Your First Audience Well	p. 263
Can Your Partner Be Your Writing Buddy?	p. 265
Starting Over	p. 267
Success Story: Hope in the Face of Disappointment	p. 270
Keep It Small; Keep It Light; keep it Up	p. 271
Please Tell Me Your Story	p. 273
Appendix	p. 274
Acknowledgments	p. 284
Notes	p. 289
Index	p. 297
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