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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » The Writing Life » Page 58

The Writing Life

When You Don’t Feel Like Writing

By Steve Laubeon November 3, 2014
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Multi-colored paperclips

“I don’t feel like writing today.”

Ever said that to yourself? I’m saying it today. But if I followed through on the impulse this page would be blank.

Why You Won’t Write Today

1) Physical
Illness can strike without warning. And some suffer from chronic conditions. I have clients who pray for a “good” day so they can put a few words on the page.

If you find a consistent malaise, consult your doctor. I know of a writer who had severe writer’s block for five years. Turns out it was an imbalance in her prescription medications. Once she made the adjustment she was fine!

2) Procrastination
Putting off until tomorrow what you should have done last month…

The art of procrastination is a refined ability honed over years of practice. At least 10,000 hours if you follow the Malcolm Gladwell principle. Have you rearranged your paperclips by size and color today? Have you watched the new cat videos on YouTube yet? Have you updated your Facebook status or read the latest blog from The Steve Laube Agency?

Just a minute…I need to answer this newly received email. I’ll be right back…

3) Lack of Inspiration
It is hard to be creative when the well is dry. Inspiration can be elusive at best and absent at worst. Learning how to write anyway is a learned disciple.

Why You Will Write Today

1) Deadlines
The perfect cure for those who need motivation. They say “dead” is in the word “deadline” for a reason. (See the story of the origin of the word “deadline”)

If I didn’t have the obligation to post every Monday my blogs would become increasingly sporadic.

A publisher will assign a due date for your work for a reason. Too many writers treat a deadline like a suggestion. A number of things should not or do not happen inside a publishing house until the manuscript is in hand. Without it coming on time all sorts of work flow plans come unraveled.

But maybe your deadline is self-imposed and it would be so easy to just let is slide. Who is going to know? “Beware of that snare” (he said while speaking to himself).

2) You are Rested
If you are truly burnt out it may be time to rest. To let the ground lay fallow so that it can become a place to grow again. Too often we push ourselves too hard to achieve and forget the necessity of rest. Today, you are rested and have the strength to carry on.

3) Dedication
Writing is hard work. And if you are in the midst of a long project the end is a long way off. But the dedicated writer gets something done…even when it doesn’t feel right. That is the mark of dedication. The one who wilts when the going gets difficult will rarely see the final piece finished.

Your Turn

Do you have things that keep you from writing?
What do you do when it doesn’t feel right?
Do deadlines work for you or against you?

Leave a Comment
Category: Career, Craft, The Writing LifeTag: Career, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

The Most Important Word Every Writer Should Know

By Steve Laubeon October 13, 2014
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Failure. It is a word every writer learns to appreciate with time. In the beginning it is frustrating and angry-making. Along the way it becomes “meh” to the point of quitting completely. Eventually there comes the realization that it is normal and part of the business. Michael Jordan, basketball icon, said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost …

Read moreThe Most Important Word Every Writer Should Know
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Failure, The Writing Life

Ever Had One of Those Days?

By Steve Laubeon August 11, 2014
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You are going along with your tidy t0-do list decorated with empty check-boxes waiting to be marked. And then, WHAM! You get hijacked like the rhino in today’s picture and carried off to some unknown destination. Hours go by and you are tossed to-and-fro by this new crisis and that new task. Before you know it, the day is done and your eyes find that tidy to-do list. Still pristine as the …

Read moreEver Had One of Those Days?
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Interruptions, The Writing Life, Time Management

When Did You Know You Wanted to Be a Writer?

By Karen Ballon August 6, 2014
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Yesterday was my birthday. 57 years of life. It struck me yet again how quickly the days goes by. I swear it was just yesterday that I was a kid, canoeing on Diamond Lake, walking my dog to the used book store to buy my Thor comics (which I collected until my senior year in high school, and which, when I sold my collection, financed my first year of college), gathering with my pseudo-cousins after …

Read moreWhen Did You Know You Wanted to Be a Writer?
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Career, The Writing Life

The World Rages

By Dan Balowon July 29, 2014
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One hundred years ago this week, the Great War began. It was the war that was supposed to end all wars. The world decided it was about time to get all their anger out at once and then go back to living in peace.  Following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria on June 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary and Serbia decided they had had enough of civility and started fighting.  A world war …

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Category: The Writing LifeTag: Faith, The Writing Life, Theology

Orphan Trains & Wild Stallions

By Guest Bloggeron July 28, 2014
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by Allen Arnold I recently read about the unexpected publishing success of Orphan Train.  It’s a novel set in present-day Maine and Depression-era Minnesota. This fifth book from Christina Baker Kline has turned out to be a sleeper hit of the year, with more than one million copies sold. I’m intrigued by the book’s premise. But it’s the subhead of the article that caught my attention.  “Unlikely …

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Category: Art, Guest Post, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Art, Craft, The Writing Life

My Secret Writer’s Tool

By Karen Ballon June 18, 2014
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Guest post by Jennifer Sienes Jennifer Sienes, one of Karen’s clients, is a talented fiction writer who according to editors has a gift for bringing out the emotional power of the scene. She was recently named as a finalist in the 2014 Genesis contest with her novel Redemption. You can find out more and read her blog at www.jennifersienes.com   I’ve been reading the Steve Laube Agency …

Read moreMy Secret Writer’s Tool
Category: Career, Guest Post, The Writing LifeTag: Spouses, The Writing Life, Writing tools

Look Up!

By Steve Laubeon May 21, 2014
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by Karen Ball A friend shared the video at the end of this blog with me in response to what I wrote here last week. I love the message, not just for me personally, but for anyone who seeks to touch people through their writing. Because really, how effective can we be in what we’re doing as writers if we don’t see and spend time with the people around us? We write about our “core audience” in our …

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Category: Get Published, Karen, The Writing LifeTag: Audience, The Writing Life

What Do You Do When Your Technology Fails?

By Steve Laubeon May 12, 2014
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by Steve Laube You may have noticed that our website has been having some trouble these past few weeks. The entire site was down three times, once for 48 hours. And then at other times it was running very slow. We think we’ve traced the problem to the fact that the site is now five years old. (My first blog post was June 24, 2009.) Apparently the infrastructure of the site is starting to …

Read moreWhat Do You Do When Your Technology Fails?
Category: Book Business, Career, Communication, Steve, Technology, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Career, Technology, The Writing Life

The Writer’s Pod

By Karen Ballon April 30, 2014
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When I was at the Mount Hermon Writers’ Conference a week or so ago, I went to one of my all-time favorite places: The Santa Cruz Wharf. It’s one of the best places to see the sea lions, which are draped all over the pilings of the wharf, as well as swimming and playing in the water around it. A few years ago, I saw something I’d never seen before. A group of sea lions all floating together. Come …

Read moreThe Writer’s Pod
Category: Career, Communication, Conferences, Creativity, Karen, Platform, The Writing LifeTag: Community, Conferences, The Writing Life
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