todddoubleu

"The thing about writing is if you really try, if you do it every day, and you put in your time, you get better… Choose the time that’s good for you. For me, it’s early morning because I wake up, and I’m fresh, and I sit in my place. I look out the window, and I have coffee, and no one’s gotten up yet or called me or hurt my feelings."

"Only from silence, contemplation, reading, looking, observing, can you drill for the inner resources that result in springs of creativity. Success is better categorized by resilience than energy. And resilience doesn’t require constant motion. Very often it requires hibernation, an ability to back off and say, “I can’t handle this so I’m going to think for awhile”."

"

What’s something that gets in the way of your creativity and how do you move through it?

Fear inhibits creativity, especially the fear of being judged. But personal conviction is the great vanquisher of fear. When I feel afraid of potential criticism, or wounded when it comes, I ask myself: Do you really believe in what you said or wrote – in the thing that’s bringing criticism? And if I do believe it, I can withstand anything. Not that criticism doesn’t sting – sometimes I feel punched in the stomach momentarily. But the moment does pass.

"

"Don’t feel guilty if you spend the first 90 minutes of your day drinking coffee and reading blogs ‐‐ it’s your job. Your ratio of reading to writing should be high."