Writing from the Inside Out Transforming Your Psychological Blocks to Release the Writer Within

by Palumbo, Dennis; Gelbart, Larry

• ISBN13: 9780471382669
• ISBN10: 0471382663
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-10-16
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

"Dennis Palumbo has great insight into a writer s psyche.... Every writer should have a shrink or this book. The book is cheaper." Gary Shandling, actor, comic, and writer "wise, compassionate, and funny..." Aram Saroyan, poet and novelist "Dennis Palumbo provides a sense of community in the isolation of writing, of knowing that we are not alone on this uncharted and privileged journey. He shows us that our shared struggles, fears, and triumphs are the very soul of the art and craft of writing." Bruce Joel Rubin, screenwriter, GhostandDeepImpact Writer s block. Procrastination. Loneliness. Doubt. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Just plain...fear. What does it mean if you struggle with these feelings on a daily basis?It means you re a writer.Written with a unique empathy and deep insight by someone who is both a fellow writer and a noted psychotherapist, Writing from the Inside Out sheds light on the inner life of the writer and shows you positive new ways of thinking about your art and yourself. Palumbo touches on subjects ranging from writer s envy to rejection, from the loneliness of solitude to the joy of craft. Most of all, he leads you to the most empowering revelation of all that you are enough. Everything you need to navigate the often tumultuous terrain of the writer s path and create your best work is right there inside you.

Author Biography

DENNIS PALUMBO, MA, MFT, is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice, specializing in creative issues. He cowrote the screenplay for the award-winning My Favorite Year and other films, numerous TV episodes and pilots, and the novel City Wars. Palumbo writes the highly popular "The Writer’s Life" column in Written By, the magazine of the Writer’s Guild of America, and his work helping writers has been profiled in Premiere magazine, the LA Times, and on CNN.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Acknoledgments	xiii
Introduction	1	(14)
Part One THE WRITING LIFE
Writer's Block	15	(4)
Your ``Baby''	19	(4)
Inspiration	23	(3)
The Buddy System	26	(3)
It's Alive!	29	(3)
Your ``Precious Darlings''	32	(3)
Writing Begets Writing	35	(10)
Part Two YOU ARE ENOUGH
Simple, but Not Easy	45	(4)
What Really Happened	49	(4)
``For I Have Done Good Work''	53	(4)
On the Couch	57	(4)
``You're No John Updike!''	61	(8)
Part Three GRIST FOR THE MILL
Envy	69	(3)
Faith and Doubt	72	(3)
Fear	75	(4)
The Judge	79	(3)
Double-Barreled Blues	82	(4)
Myths, Fairy Tales, and Woody Allen	86	(5)
The Long View	91	(10)
Part Four THE REAL WORLD
The Pitch	101	(4)
Rejection	105	(3)
That Sinking Feeling	108	(4)
Reinventing Yourself	112	(3)
Deadline Dread	115	(4)
Three Hard Truths	119	(8)
Part Five PAGE FRIGHT
Gumption Traps	127	(3)
Procrastination	130	(4)
Patience	134	(4)
Perspective	138	(3)
In Praise of Goofing Off	141	(4)
Writing about Dogs	145	(3)
Going the Distance	148	(11)
Part Six THE REAL WORLD, PART II
Agents	159	(4)
Home of the Heart	163	(4)
The Unknown	167	(4)
Lately, I Don't Like the Things I Love	171	(4)
Ageism	175	(10)
Part Seven HANGING ON
Commitment	185	(4)
News Flash: Writing Is Hard!	189	(4)
Burnout: A Modest Proposal	193	(4)
A Writer's Library	197	(4)
A Stillness That Characterizes Prayer	201	(10)
Part Eight DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT
Phone Call from Paradise	211	(5)
The Idea Man	216	(4)
I've Come a Long Way on Paper	220	(3)
Loneliness	223	(3)
Larry: A True Story	226	(13)
Conclusion	239