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Swing Into Action

Swing Into Action

I'm lazy. I haven't always been lazy, but I am now. Engulfed in responsibilities, swallowed by stress, smothered by self-doubt, I allowed laziness to park herself on my front doorstep. Then, she darted inside while my hands clutched bags filled with groceries. Worse, instead of forcing her out, I invited her into my kitchen for a glass of iced tea(green). Now, she won't leave.

Af first, I embraced diversion...clicking on spider solitaire when I should have been opening up Word2007. "Aw, go ahead, Lazy said, raising up her tea glass. Beat my high score." Or, during a Matthew McConaughey marathon, stuffing our faces with microwaved popcorn…It was all great fun.

Now, I’m ready to write, but can’t seem to make myself. My motivation trips over the 'from thought to keyboard' part; I'm blaming Lazy for this gradual turn into my write? why write phase.

Lazy’s in the other room, playing Outlaw Tennis on XBOX. How do I tell her she's overstayed her welcome? I want her gone, need her gone.

So, how do you do it? swipe motivation back from underneath Lazy's nose? You “just do it”, just “swing into action”.

Getting off the writing track through lack of motivation feels debilitating. We all find ourselves here at one time or another. My favorite way to combat laziness is through books. Writing books. This means a visit to the bookstore. If time allows, I make a big production of it. Invite a friend to join me. But, a solo shopping trip is just as rewarding. Two hours is perfect…gives you plenty of time to thumb through titles…see if the book “speaks” to you.

With How-to books, inspirational books or ones filled with writing exercises, it’s merely a matter of deciding which route to take. Inspirational stories do the trick for mild lack of motivation issues; however, stronger pulls from Lazy require a tougher method of attack. How- to books (or articles) give me new approaches on ways to tackle difficulties. Nothing like a solution to kick- start your motivation. And when full-blown lack of motivation prohibits your creativity, exercise books provide a perfect answer.

The next time lack of motivation gets in the way of your Action/Adventure, swing into action; mark your calendar and get busy finding ways to snatch your motivation back.

As soon as I post this, I'm so planning a trip; It's on at the bookstore, baby.


Until next time,

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The Atlantis Discovery  (18+) Framed for a grisly crime, Jericho must find Atlantis, save the girl and clear his name. #1075789 by DP

STATIC

The Haven  (13+) "Any port in a storm" doesn't include that filthy cove called Pirate's Haven. #1550557 by Ben Langhinrichs

Acme :

Robin, those warm-up techniques are great *goes off to find unwary nouns to sketch*

nomlet :

This was a very orinigal newsletter topic (to me). The warm-up analogy is an interesting one.

StephBee - House Targaryen :

Great excerises, Robin. Thanks for sharing.

Coolhand :

Robin, those were some really interesting exercises: The Word hound, Noun Sketching ect. Good stuff!

JACE - House Targaryen :

Hi Robin, now that was a fun NL to read, especially in light of your current handle (... needs more time in the day)

Seriously, those are wonderful ideas; I'll try them. I'm self-employed and sometimes I only have snippets of time to spend writing. Indeed, it makes writing very difficult to get a flow or rhythm going. But I can usually get my thoughts down for later revision. Maybe I can devote five minutes to your pursuit. Thanks for the ideas.

Jace

NickiD89 :
Robin~

Thank you so much for the awesome writing exercises designed to get the muse warmed up and ready for a writing session. I've copied these ideas into my writing journal and can't wait to try them out. It is so true that it takes me about fifteen minutes to get into "the zone" when I'm writing -- now those minutes will be more productive thanks to your great tips!

All my best,
Nicki

alfred booth, wanbli ska :

Excellent ideas here, Robin. They go hand in hand with the idea of Just Do It - in order to get words on the page, any words, one must write. Afterwards come the connections and the editing that turns those first words into stories or poetry. Thanks for sharing!