Tag Archives: creativity

The Object in the Way

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Every couple of months I look for a new motivation book. I learn what those I’m following on social media are reading or listening to or I look for something from one of my favorite inspirational authors.

This past week, while looking through my social media, I found that Ryan Holiday had a book out that I hadn’t listened to.

I’ve listened to Ego is the Enemy two or three times but the title for this one grabbed me.

The Obstacle is the Way made me look at my writing differently, my relationship with my wife and kids differently and I had to reevaluate where my focus laid.

My obstacle has been writing a coherent story and publishing it, neither of those has happened.

I discovered the obstacle was the way I was writing the stories not the stories themselves.

It was a breakthrough and I’m still wrapping my head around it.

It isn’t the writing it’s the way I’ve been constructing or not constructing the story.

I’ve always seen myself as a pantser but after finding my obstacle I worked for 5 days on an outline.

I started the story Monday and yesterday I put out more words than I ever have while using an outline.

I know where the story goes and how to get there.

I’ve changed the obstacle and made it work for me.

Now, I’ve read a lot of books on writing but never paid much attention to them until now.

The book I used to get the outline is called The Anatomy of Story by John Truby.

This book was gifted to me from my cousin who is a published author, I should have listened to her.

I’m stubborn and want to do things myself but I now know the way.

I feel more positive about the direction of my writing because of Ryan’s book and I understand how to craft the story better.

The smallest obstacle can cause the biggest headaches, I’ve written five long-form stories, 4 novels, and 1 novella, but none of them have felt as solid as the one I’ve barely started, I thank a few things, growing up as a writer, discovering that I needed an outline and learning that the obstacle in the way was mostly my ego telling me I didn’t need an outline.

 

Keep reaching, keep moving forward.

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We reach a point where we have to look around and wonder what we’re doing wrong.

We have to write down what we’re doing, narrow it down, and stare at them, analyzing them until what’s missing slaps us in the face.

For the last two year, my wife and I have been living in our hometown, we moved our kids here to get me away from a work environment I hated, get our kids into a better academic environment, and allow our kids to live in a place they could go outside in the summertime.

There have been hardships along the way.

I couldn’t find work for the first few months.

Now that we’re approaching the two-year anniversary or our move, I’ve been looking for work that’s closer to home.

In our previous life, I was a bartender in Las Vegas. In our hometown, it appears no one wants my experience.

In our hometown, it appears no one wants my experience. I’ve been busy feeling sorry for myself over it. It was then I realized, I am living a life that many of my friends in Vegas would envy.

I spend most of the summer with our kids, follow my dream of being published every day, and I’m able to enjoy the little things with my family.

I’m not sure why I haven’t found a bartending gig in my hometown. I do know that my current situation is something most people would give up things for.

I also became aware that I’m not working as hard as I should be in regards to my writing and maybe that’s part of the reason I haven’t found closer employment.

When you make a big life change, you’ll look back at it a few years afterward and forget why you did it.

Remember why you took a chance, why you work on something you’ve wanted all your life and the reasons for each will keep you going.

Don’t let the little things get you down, keep moving forward.

Brian

 

The Marionnette in the Writer’s Toolbox.

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We often wonder what it would be like to be published.

We steal glances at the recently published books at our local bookstore, stare at the copies of paperbacks at the grocery store, all the while we ignore the little voice in our head asking, “Why the fuck aren’t you published yet?”

This voice stands up like a broken marionette, one string is torn as though it was never attached, but we keeping hearing the damn voice, calling to use in our dreams.

“Write asshole, why aren’t you writing, you’re sleeping and you should be writing, why aren’t you writing?”

The marionette is a clever disguise for our lack of faith in our writing or that we often, without understanding it, try to destabilize ourselves by worrying about the most recently published writer we’re friends with on social media.

Then we pick up their book and think, I’m better than this.

We continue our slog, staring at the paperbacks when we’re buying beer or another box of Cap’n Crunch.

We write, ignoring that damn marionette and keep going for one reason, we love to write. We love it like we love our kids, spouse, mom, and dog.

Stop staring publisher’s weekly, their emails will just drive you mad.

 

What I learned after a year of writing full-time.

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You have to know what you want in life in order to attain it.

At 14-years-old I wanted to be a writer but was rebuffed by my father. “You can’t make money doing that.” He said.

Well, I may not be making money, yet, but I’m closer than I was a year ago stuck in a dead-end job that left me hating my life at the end of the day.

In the past year, I’ve written four short stories and one novel and I’m trying to get a novel on Amazon by the end of October.

Here is what I’ve learned in the last year of writing full-time:

  • You must create a schedule for yourself and stick to it.
  • You have to write every day, even if that writing is a blog post, you must write.
  • You must have a damn outline. This is the biggest for me. It gives me a path to the finish line. Before I was only writing and not finishing, if I have an endpoint, I get there.
  • You must go it alone sometimes. There are times you must lock yourself away to get writing done. People you love will have to understand that. If they don’t, they’re not worthy of your attention.
  • It will be harder than you think. You must push through those moments when the words suck and you hate the story. You must find yourself in the words and never leave until they’re done.
  • You must have a creative outlet other than writing. It doesn’t matter if it’s photography, painting or anything else, but you must have another place to create or you can get fried.

I could put more than this and it might be too many but in the end the most important is that you get words on the page.

If you’re not getting words on the page, you’re not a write, period.

Peace,

Brian

To Wallow or not to wallow

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Every once in a while, we get the chance to do something in our lives that matters and we’re excited about and talk about, then the damn rug is pulled out from under us and we’re sitting in the dirt wondering what the fuck happened.

We have a couple of options at this point:

  1. We can wallow in our own piss and misery.
  2. We can find something else to motivate us and get our ass up and work.

Number one is the easiest, number 2 is where we really learn about who we are, what we want and how hard we’re willing to work for what we want.

The dirt is comfortable and it keeps us closer to the easy life, but it doesn’t do anything to improve who we are.

Getting our ass off the floor and working on our life, that’s the best path, maybe not the easiest, but it is the best.

Dig in, climbs the walls, breach the battlements and steal the damn throne, that’s what we’re made for.