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Scripting your creative adventure.

Feel the Fear. But Do the Work You Need to Do Anyway.

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Do the work that's important. Not busy work! // ARMOURELLE.COM

I am afraid.

I am afraid to write.

I am afraid to write what I should write, so I write other works instead.

I am afraid to do my real work.

I am afraid that if I write my real work, you won’t like it.

I am afraid that if I write my real work, it will end up hidden in a folder on my hard drive, untouched. Or if I get the guts to print it, the manuscript will get layered under a stack of notebooks filled with words that don’t matter as much as the ones I let get buried.

Since I am afraid, I keep myself busy with other things: Writing proposals. Writing ‘fun’ articles. Writing product descriptions. Writing press releases. Writing email pitches. Writing everything else besides what I should write.

I’m doing everyone else’s work but not my own.

So does this make me a fraud?

If I am all about choosing your own adventure and I refuse to choose my own, am I a false prophet?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Over the last month, I kept getting this message: DO THE WORK. I heard it in conversation. In a panel discussion. In a Periscope broadcast. In a Twitter chat.

I argued with myself and with God that I didn’t know what “my work” is or should be. “What is THE WORK!?” I asked (of course as I said this, I tilted my head to the sky for maximum display of agony).

Friday, I had a conversation about “the work” with my new friend. She explained so clearly what our work is. She even ended her definition with, “and that is the work we have to do.”

Then I saw a post on Instagram that, again, clearly defined “the work.” Another message. I listened to a podcast that just so happened to define “the work” while describing other tasks.

I know a few things–not a lot–but what I DO know is that I received the message. I need to get started before I miss the window of opportunity. I shouldn’t say window, because I’m not sure if it’s a window or a doggie door. Either way, I need to do the work so I can shimmy through it when I notice it’s cracked open.

Maybe the window crack is now, and it’s just a sliver of an opening, but enough to get my fingers underneath the sill.

Maybe not.

Again, I know a few things–not a lot–but what I DO know is that I need to get to WORK.

How to Write a Bio About Yourself in Four Super Easy Steps

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Write-a-bio-about-yourself

You’ve got something coming up and you need to submit a bio. One click. Done + sent. Easy, right? Until you realize don’t have one. Or, the one you do have is so outdated it belongs in your high school yearbook. You have to write a bio about yourself and you want to ooze coolness, seem approachable and read as professional. But instead of writing all of that, you’re  staring at the only two words on the screen: your first name and your last name.

#LindaListen. #Honey. Let’s write this thing together.

Writing a bio about yourself without it reading like an obituary (‘cause that’s what you really wanted, right?) feels uncomfortable because it’s like boasting when you’re taught to be humble. There is nothing wrong with highlighting the good stuff about your life and business. With a little know how and the steps below, you can write a bio about yourself that makes you swoon. [Read more…]

My New Rules for Writing: A Somewhat Manifesto

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"Write like a motherfucker." One of my new rules for writing.

Photo Credit: The Rumpus (Buy a mug.)

So, I’m taking this blog in a new direction. Less stupid, filler stuff and more meaningful content. In an effort to keep this blog chock full o’ the good stuff, here are the new rules for writing:

1. Don’t be safe. Being safe isn’t being brave.

2. If it embarrasses you, write it. Write it because someone else can relate.

3. Edit until the manuscript bleeds. Use the sword. Stab it. Kill it. Burn the corpse. Then, allow the phoenix to rise from the ashes.

4. Don’t hide. Bare it on the page.

5. Feed yourself. Fill the well often, so you can empty it by filling others.

6. Go to the edge of the page–whatever that means at the moment you’re writing. Don’t over think it. Just do it. Your intuition will tell you how.

7. If all else fails, write. “Not like a girl. Not like a boy. Write like a motherfucker.“

 

These new rules for writing are gonna be fun.

 

 

 

Photo credit: TheRumpus.net

 

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