Blogs
08.25.24
The Writing Gym
A few months ago, a couple of friends and I, all writers, decided to experiment with treating writing like a muscle that needs to be exercised regularly to stay in shape and perform. The rules of engagement were simple: use a single word prompt to get the juices flowing and write a story. Then share the stories with each other. The turn-around time was quick - just a few days. A week at most. The critiques, if any, were very high level. No arguments about a word or phrase. Nothing that would diminish one's enthusiasm. We were a pretty competitive trio, so we kept up with the engagement while it worked for each person. For me, it ended my writer's block and got me going in a good direction. I am nearing completion of a collection of stories called The Three-Olive Lunch. I look forward to sharing these stories soon.
02.08.2023
Letting Go
Whether there's an art to letting go or not, there certainly is a catharsis. We all need that kind of release at some point or other in both our personal and professional lives. It may be so difficult to change because it is so difficult to let go of something: an idea, a person, a belief system, a way of doing (or not doing) things, and even a feeling of hope (or hopelessness). Once we buy into something and make it our own, we do not want to release it because we are comfortable with it, or we do not want to admit error, or that we have a new perspective. Instead of seeing letting go of something as a maturation, we see it as flip-flopping. It's time to change that.
​
Humans have a natural disinclination to give up something, even when it is for something better. So we hold onto our grudges and fears and rusty opinions long after we can even recall their origins. Their permanence may derive from them having formed a habit-creating combo of cue, routine, and reward looping endlessly, as Charles Duhigg points out in The Power of Habit. They become so internalized that we cannot even imagine changing them. To break the habit -- to let it go -- Duhigg says that you have to believe that change is possible. In other words, you must believe that the leopard can change its spots.
