Lisa Collazo, LCSW - Professional Writer's Coach
Dedicated To Helping Writers Channel Fear Into Creative Energy

Write What You Know Newsletter - October 1, 2007

WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW - October 1, 2007

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This newsletter teaches writers how to find the courage to put onto paper what they really want to say.

Writing With Self-Acceptance

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."
- Vincent van Gogh


Many writers experience self-loathing when they struggle with writer’s block--beating themselves up for not being perfectly tuned into their creativity at a given moment, staring at the blank screens of their laptop or a clean page from their notebooks, feeling stuck, angry or confused as to why the ideas aren’t flowing.


When writers get lost in fear and expectation, it’s often because they are obsessed with the outcome and are having difficulty allowing the process to unfold naturally at a slower pace. Many writers harshly judge and berate themselves for not getting on with the business of writing. Experience teaches us that our obsession with the end result only fuels the fire, leading to even more blocked experiences and thereby creating a debilitating, self-destructive cycle of writing outcomes.


On the flip side, when writers write with self-acceptance, they are acknowledging their flaws and not looking at the past or to the future for validation. They realize that being creative is a process of being focused on the here and now. They learn to welcome the blocks as opportunities to learn more about the material they are writing about via research, reflection and tapping into their personal growth experiences. They recognize that although their writing is a part of who they are, it is an entity outside of themselves and, they are not defined by it.

Copyright 2007, Lisa Collazo LCSW
All Rights Reserved

Question of the Month

“How do you practice writing with self-acceptance?”

Post your response on my website and share your ideas with other writers.

Responses to Last Month's Question

“What person, place or thing helped you reclaim your authentic writer self?”

8 people have responded since this issue was published:

“I always had a desire to write, and do story telling. Then I read a lot, and I love romance novels. But I as I think back on it I believe it started for me when I would read a lot of Danielle Steel's novel. I would sometimes find myself writing a few of my own romance stories. Wishing that I can tell my own stories. But then, like everything else, I put the thought right out of my head. But I continued to read, and the more I read the more I wanted to write my own story, and want people to enjoy
my stories as well. Now that I am older, I am wiser and pursuing my writing.”
“Me. That would definitely be me. The world is full of people, most well-intentioned, who are willing to offer advice on what is best for others. It's hard to ignore their advice because it is usually so sound and reasoned! But at the end of the day, we each make our own choices. I decided finally that it was time to go down the paths where I feel inwardly drawn. I had some help in the form of a career crisis - there are no open jobs in my field in the place where I'm living. Although I have done so at times kicking and screaming, I have chosen to see this time as an opportunity to look inward and take the uncertain path of creative work. If it weren't scary and unpredictable, I would have trodden a creative path years ago! For 15 years I've wanted to write a novel, and this is my opportunity. And you know, now that I have chosen this path, supportive people have appeared, including a writing partner. Moreover, I realize that there were always a handful of encouraging friends and relatives. It's all a matter of the voices, inside of us and around us, that we choose to hear.”
“I have known I wanted to write for a very long time. Unfortunately I have let the trials of life keep me from pursuing what I know I want to do. My heart is just not into the "practical" life and in turn, my success in that life remains limited. By practical, I mean living life according to what I see most of my family members and friends have done.
The impetus that made me decideto follow my heart was the death of my younger brother. The event increased my awareness of what I want from this life. In short I decided to live life, make it happen instead of letting life happen to me. That isn't to say that I don't have any doubts, I have plenty and am constantly trying to ward off the negative thoughts. However, for the past 6 months I have been working on a first draft of a Novel and am amazed at my progress. It is a raw first attempt but I am creating something. I already feel success from the discipline to keep going and the process of finding my voice.”
“It's odd, I don't think I've ever had to "reclaim" my authentic writer self so much as I've had to claim it in the first place. Like a mouse in the underbrush, afraid to come out, afraid of rejection...I spent years wanting to write. I was afraid of my own personal power and my own personal strength, not understanding what I was or who I was and definitely not understanding what my own capabilities were and are.

There are two people who have been instrumental in helping me claim my writerself. The first person to believe in me is my husband of 14 years, Steve. He saw in me what no other did. Like that proverbial horse, he led me to the water and waited for me to drink. He could not make me.

It was Lisa Collazo, by virtue of her expertise and the conversations that I was privileged to have with her, that helped me give myself permission to see the way to drink. Lisa taught me that it is really all right to be free to write with passion and it was my husband that showed me that I do possess it.

Both taught me to be unafraid of those things in me and to lay claim to the words..."I am a writer." The journey was not easy and it was not short and the exploration continues daily.
-AF Michael”

http://www.bibliobuffet.com
My column is called "Seasoned Lightly"
“Judy Reeves and Janet Hagberg. Janet unlocked the train and Judy got me onto the right track. Check out their books on their websites. I studied and used their books and my pen learned to fly. An absolute must for any and every writer's library and I am so honored to have mine (HowMaster: The Writer's Guide to Beautiful Word Crafting) right there alongside theirs on my public library's bookshelf.”
“What person, place or thing helped you reclaim your authentic writer self?”

The two most influential writers who have helped me reclaim my authentic writer self would be " Karen Marie Moning" & "Monica McCarty"”
“I love to read. So I would read ,and find that I had all these stories that I wanted to share. So I have to say it was me all long that wanted to write.

I wrote a few essays, and poems. Two of my poems were published. I have asked for feed back on the novel I am writing, and have gotten different responses. For now I listen, but I go ahead and continue to write. You will get a lot of criticism about your writing. But in the long run, it is you who has the last say. So I try and stay positive and focus, and leave the negativity at the door.”
“Well, my son for one. He is so imaginative and makes up the best stories, it reminds me of myself as a child and how I came to understand I was a writer in the making. Another two are Stephen King and Charles De Lint, my fave fiction authors, for writing books that inspire me to find my own voice, and hopefully one day have the same influence on readers. Events that are challenging always open my eyes to my need to be authentic, such as the divorce I am going through, and even things like the 9-11 attacks, or the Northridge earthquake, which I lived in L.A. during, events that shake you up and wake you up.”

http://www.mariedjones.com

Submit your response to this question.

Thank you to everyone who submitted responses on my website. Take the time to contact one another. We are all here to be inspired and to learn!

For more inspirational quotes, visit my website:

http://www.writewhatyouknow.com

You can post your own!

About the Author

Lisa Collazo is a licensed clinical social worker and personal and professional writer's coach. She helps writers discover their authentic voice and challenges them to begin taking risks with their writing. Ms. Collazo's services for writers include individual telephone coaching, email courses and group teleclasses.

She can be reached by email at:

Lisa@writewhatyouknow.com
http://www.writewhatyouknow.com

Dedicated to helping writers channel fear into creative energy

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