WEBVTT

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Now that you've spent some time

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attempting to implement
a writing practice,

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let's check in about your experience.

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I want to say first that this isn't
about succeeding or failing.

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We are information gathering,

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so whether you met your goal or not,
you learn something about your needs

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as a writer.

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Let's go over a couple of common responses

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to beginning to implement
a writing practice.

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Some people have a tendency
to overpromise.

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You know the kind of person
I'm talking about,

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the kind who decides
they're going to revamp their body

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and they go on a low carb diet.

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But at the same time, somehow
they're also intermittent fasting

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and only eating gluten.

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And now, they're in a bootcamp class
that meets every morning at 4 a.m.,

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and they've set the goal of running
six miles a day.

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You know that person is going to burn out
within a couple of weeks or minutes.

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The writing practice survey emphasizes
getting to know your needs as a writer,

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but you also need
to take into consideration

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the constraints of your life.

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Maybe you need to write
early in the morning,

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but you got to take your kid to school,
so you can't.

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Be reasonable and practical
in your expectations for yourself.

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Start slow,

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making a commitment to yourself
that you can keep.

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Another common response
can be beating yourself up

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when you fail to meet your goals.

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You want to make yourself accountable,

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however,

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the emotional energy
you spend being angry at yourself

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is exhausting
and will not feed your writing process.

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I had a client 
who started out as a screenwriter

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and he really wanted to write a novel

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based on a script
that he'd failed to sell.

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That novel sat in his mind for a decade.

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And I remember him saying to me once

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when we were working together
on that novel, finally,

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that his biggest achievement 
over that decade

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was not hating himself for not writing.

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That really stuck with me.

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Now let's discuss "shoulds."

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Years ago, I had a student say,

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"I just feel like I should write at night
because all good writers write at night."

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And I was like,
"Kirk, when do you write best?"

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And he said, 
"I write best in the morning."

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And I was like,
"Okay, so that's when you need to write."

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It sounds silly,

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but it's really easy to get wrapped up
in external notions of achievement.

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You always want to bring the focus
back to yourself in your own needs,

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not what a YouTuber
or even Stephen King

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says about the creative process.

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In this module, you'll find tips
for cultivating a writing practice.

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But I'll just take one final moment
to emphasize one.

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Turn off your phone.

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Just a visual reminder
that there is an outside world

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that can be enough to stop a writer dead.

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If I see my phone sitting on the table,

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my brain is instantly out of my project.

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When I'm writing,
I either turn off my phone

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or at least put it in the other room.

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There are so many distractions,

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the least you can do
is give yourself a fighting shot.