Writing can totally mess with your mind. If you don’t show anyone what you write, are you really a writer? And who doesn’t want people to appreciate our prose? But then that means putting yourself out there, which is quite unnerving for some people. Raising my hand on that one! Literary Agent wrote a great post on how to deal with your psyche.
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3 Ways to Change Your Thinking Today
The writing and publishing life can be hard on the equilibrium. It’s full of ups and downs, hopes deferred, dreams dashed, dreams realized, ego strokes and debilitating criticism.
We wonder if we’ll ever reach our goals. We swing between high-on-life optimism and crushing pessimism. We decry that this path shouldn’t be so difficult. We rail against systems. We wonder how to write a good book. We despair of ever reaching our readers.
But there is another way to think about it. Many of you have probably read Good to Great by Jim Collins, a classic book for business and leadership. In it, he explains what he calls the Stockdale Paradox, a way of thinking that can get anyone through the most harrowing of circumstances.
You can click here for a short audio clip of Jim Collins discussing the Stockdale Paradox, or Google the phrase to learn more about Admiral Jim Stockdale, a United States military officer held captive and tortured for eight years during the Vietnam War, for whom Collins named this Paradox. Admiral Stockdale had a unique way of looking at his brutal situation that allowed him to survive, and go on to thrive later in life.
As a writer, here’s how you can apply the Stockdale Paradox to immediately change your thinking:
Read the full post at
My first blog post was in August of 2008. Along the way, I’ve tweaked the content and changed from Blogger to WordPress. I’ve also played with the number of posts I run a week. Aside from that, the blog is pretty much the same as it was nine years ago.
by Carolyn Howard-Johnson 
You and I want nothing more than to write every day, all the time.
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I caught the crud that is going around or perhaps multiple cruds. It feels like multiple cruds. One of the problems with having Addison’s that my immune systems sometimes plays hide and seek with me. Since I have been diagnosed and treated properly, I actually get much less sick than I used to, but when I do get sick it hits me hard.
Where I am, we are safe. There are fires around us and my allergies are in charge right now, but I am not complaining. There are people who lost everything.
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I am so far behind on my words! This is usually the time I start getting bogged down in my story and am trying to add details and depth. But I haven’t even had a chance to do that yet. My apologies to anyone who noticed I forgot to post yesterday.
Let’s talk about the opening line of your book. The first thing to know about “first lines” is that they are not going to make or break you. Sure, it’s a lot of fun coming up with great ones. But as long as the first line makes someone want to read the second line, and that line makes you want to read the third… you’re on the right track.
I am actually caught up on my daily numbers and am trying to push ahead as I have two very important birthdays this month and I am responsible for Thanksgiving plus other family obligations. Of course, don’t forget work!