I Wasn't in the Mood

Boredom is a rare thing for me. I do my best to keep myself occupied by something because the feeling of "stir crazy" never sits well.

Tonight, I was bored.

I felt a headache coming on and decided that even though it was late, I'd make a little bit of coffee to hopefully knock a possible migraine right back to wherever they come from.

I texted a friend who was busy reading. I realized I hadn't read in a few days. I didn't think I had anything good on the shelf even though it's full of ones I've never even read the back covers of. I remembered a book the friend lent me about a month ago. I knew it was about writing. I knew it was supposed to be some type of self-help, motivational thing and I wasn't in the mood for that.

Somehow I found my way to the bookshelf anway and saw the book sitting there.

"A kick in the ass," one critic wrote.

Two hours later, my life is changed.



Resistance Doesn't Have to Live On



The Book (totally deserves to be capitalized from here on out) is Steven Pressfield's The War of Art.

You may have heard of him if you've read The Legend of Bagger Vance.

I haven't. Now I want to. This guy is that good.

The Book is divided into three sections and they all share one common theme: Resistance.

This blog is full of articles about all of our little resistances.

Not to offend anyone (and I know I'm guilty of it) but how many times have we posted on here about how we "need to be writing"?

We need to "just do it!"?

How many tips can we give each other about "how to overcome writer's block"?

We're not overcoming anything by just talking about it.

The Book opens with Mr. Pressfield telling us how "he rolls".

He wakes up and WRITES.

He works.

It's a job.

There is no calling out on your 9-5 most of the time is there?

If we're writers, we're writers.

It's what we do.

There's a part of the Book that talks about what we do if we were the last person on Earth.

If you answer writing...guess what? Yeah, you're a writer.

Now you can proceed.



The Enemy



The War of Art declares resistance the enemy.

Steven Pressfield even goes as far as to say that resistance is the Devil himself.

That it's self destructive and that self destructiveness spreads to the entire planet.

Resistance is fear.

"The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it."

He doesn't sugarcoat.

This guy tells you like it is.

And he tells you how he feels about it.

Whether you like it or not.

You find yourself wanting to throw the book down.

Then you realiize that's resistance.

And you don't want that garbage anymore.



The Battle



The second part of the Book discusses ways to "combat resistance."

This is where he tells us how "the pros" do it.

He makes it seem so simple, really.

"It's not the writing part that's hard. What's hard is sitting down to write."

It's a short section but it explains a bit of his background and how he got to where he is.

It's a strategy guide.

It's also telling us that we can do it.

Many have.

And many will.



Don't Get Freaked Out



The last section of the Book may be a bit controversial for some.

Keep an open mind about it.

Pressfield has no problem with sharing his religious and spiritual beliefs and I truly feel he considers writing to be his purpose in life and he treats it as if it's a spiritual journey.

A few chapters might fly over the heads of some because there are some metaphysical and "new age" principles in it.

To me, this is Pressfield's Philosophy 101. It's going to work for some and not for others.

But it helps you to move beyond that five-headed dragon now that youv'e defeated it.

And if you respond to the Book as quickly as I have, you may find yourself immediately setting a gameplan to make some changes or to suddenly write after not being able to really put anything down for like *cough cough* a year.



So Do Yourself a Favor....



Read it.

I feel it can be applied to all aspects of life and not just our creative endeavors.

For me, it helped to remind me of what I missed most about really working at writing.

It made me realize all the resistances I was giving in to.

I have an older writer friend who's pretty darn amazing.

I told him once that I had an idea for a novel.

"Don't spend one minute on it if you can't throw it in a fire and watch it burn into the Heavens," he said.

I didn't quite understand what he said. I only thought I did.

Now, after reading The War of Art, I do.

And my hope is that you will too.

Tomorrow's going to be a new day for me.

It couldn't have come at a better time, either.

As always, good luck comrades and I hope you get a chance to check out this amazing book!

When Work Gets Cancelled

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WWW.THEFAMOUSASHLEYGRANT.COM

A little bummed because a project I was supposed to work on this afternoon that would have paid me 1/3 of a standard week's pay got pushed back. On top of that I am waiting on 3 checks from 3 different clients and watching the dollars in my account keep going down. My husband Jeremy continues to try to comfort me by saying that when I begin to get regular work I won't feel the pinch of waiting on the money as much...but getting to the regular work part is becoming more difficult than the feeling of waiting on a check.
When work slows down for you, what do you do for extra money?

It's a sign!!!

On my way to a coffee shop today I saw this sign and had to take a picture of it. To me it is a sign that the writers of Tampa need to unite and make this blog all it was meant to be. We should post job openings, freelance gigs, contests, ideas, story assistance and so much more on this blog. As I see things that is exactly what I plan on doing from here on out. Hope you and some of your writer friends will jump on the bandwagon and do it too!

Did I Really Only Make $50?!?

This was originally posted at ww.TheFamousAshleyGrant.com

So, it just hit me that so far this week I have only made $50!!! Grrr! Grant it I have been sick and have not felt at all like writing, working or asking people for work, but still! This sucks! I basically just got a rude awakening about what happens when you work for yourself! The days you don't work, you don't make money!!!





There are no sick days, no paid vacations, nothing! Sure, there are lots of perks to working for myself, but it was hard to look at my books and see such a dismal amount of money to be made 3 days into the work week. Even more saddening is knowing that I won't make any money again until Saturday because me being ill has kept me from setting up appointments and all that jazz.





This post is not my way of trying to get people to feel bad for me, so let's clear that up right this second. Instead it is my way of showing you that although my job is the coolest ever, it does have its downsides. I'm not a millionaire [yet ;)] and I do have to work every single day that I hope to make money. That is until I come up with some amazing book that makes me royalties while I sleep, right? Hey! It could happen so don't hate.

Photo credit: http://www.momsneedtoknow.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/50.jpg

A Minor Epiphany

WhatUP fellow writers!

Yes, it's 5am, and yes, I'm not only awake but online and blogging at this ungodly hour, jumping intermittently from an online traffic school and my usual social networking sites all the while listening to my newly acquired "Glee" soundtracks (my most recent pop cultural obsession... lol).

In the vein of my previous Table post, I still find myself wondering why it can't be easier to simply stop contemplating what we should be doing and, you know, get to it already! Why are writers doomed to this eternal inner struggle? Is it this uncommon, more introspective neurotic mindset the source of a writer's power, the simultaneous gift and curse that every creative-minded individual must bear in order to share his or her observations with the world at large? Is that why so many ingenious artists seem to live some of the most tumultuous lives?

If that sounds like a paragraph full of questions, that's probably because I'm in a bit of an inquisitive mood at the moment. Maybe that explains the fact that I'm wide awake and sharing my innermost thoughts with you, fellow writers and, of course, let's not forget my cyberstalking brigade of fans (Don't worry, guys, your "Robert Rocks!" t-shirts will be in the mail shortly! :p).

In any case, I can definitively say that the "quarter-life crisis" is behind me at this point, and since I'm about to officially enter my late twenties in a couple weeks, I'd say I'm right on schedule. On schedule for what, you may ask...

Whereas a couple of years ago, I might have felt somewhat lost as to where I wanted to take this life of mine, I feel that more than ever, I'm closer to finding my place. I have finally landed a decent-paying job doing something that I (for the most part) enjoy, and it feels good to be one of those rare writers that gets paid to write, even if my professional writing doesn't reflect my creative ambitions.

The continuing issue, at least as far as my life as a writer is concerned (in the interest of keeping this post at least ostensibly on topic), is how to fit writing into my ever-hectic schedule. To those of you who frequent this blog (you know, all three of my devoted Table enthusiasts... lol), this might sound like "same ol', same ol'" from me, and you'd be partially correct. I do seem to spend a disproportionate amount of time bitching about my lack of writing progress than I do actually writing, and that dovetails nicely into my next point.

As writers, we spend so much time planning and plotting and outlining our projects that, oftentimes (at least from my perspective), we build it up so much in our heads, essentially psyching ourselves out in the process. In fact, the only reason I was able to finish the first draft of my novel in less than a million years is due to the fact that I simply wrote and wrote with only the vaguest idea where it was heading (much like the writers of LOST... Ba-zing!!). As a result, the revision process that looms intimidatingly in front of me seems even more daunting than ever before.

So, in an attempt to bring this rambling, near-nonsensical post full-circle, let me address the queries I posed at the outset of this post: Do all writers (and creative-minded individuals, for that matter) plagued by the need to overanalyze, dissect and decipher nearly every thought that crosses their collective path, trying in vein to answer the unanswerable and pinpoint what it all means?

I believe so. The difference between those millions of aspiring writers and the lucky bastards who actually get published and make a career out it is their ability to get out of their own heads and shake off any lingering self-doubt or distractions that might impede the realization of their creative vision.

The question that every writer must ask himself or herself is if they are passionate enough about their writing, about getting their work out there, to make it a constant focus... to brave the fickle storm that is life, keeping their compass firmly locked on their objective despite whatever weather they must face to reach their destination (this navigational metaphor working for any of you? haha).

While I have undoubtedly wavered from my path more than a few times, I remain steadfast in eventually getting where I need to be. It's just been taking me a bit longer to set sail is all. But it's all good... as long as I keep one hand steering me in the general direction of my goal. :)

As always, happy writing, and please feel free to comment away! I can always use the ego boost... ;)

-Rob