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Now that you've spent some time
attempting to implement
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a writing practice,
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
to beginning to implement
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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
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they're going to revamp their body
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
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your needs as a writer, 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
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so you can't be reasonable and practical
in your expectations for yourself.
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Start slow 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, 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 and he really wanted
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to write a novel 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 when we were working together
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on that novel, finally,
that his biggest achievement over
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that decade 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 your self in your own needs,
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not what a YouTuber or even Stephen
King 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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can be enough to stop a writer dead
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.
There are so many distractions.
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The least you can do
is give yourself a fighting shot.