I spent part of the weekend rereading Jack Hart’s A Writer’s Coach: The Complete Guide to Writing Strategies that Work, preparing for my July 23rd teleseminar interview with him, paying particular attention to his discussion of writer’s block–or, in his words, keyboard anxiety.
In the following passages, Jack discusses keyboard anxiety’s symptoms and causes:
Day in and day out, we witness the finished work of accomplished writers. In our mind’s eye, we stroll down street after street of beautiful homes, ignorance f the piece-by-piece construction that created them, one two-by-four at a time. “Look at that gorgeous building,” we think. “The craftsmanship. The detail work. The sheer size of the thing! I could never build something like that.”
But, he describes the lessons he’s learned watching four new homes being built on the lot next door. “The work was noisy, messy, and distracting, but instructive too.” Day after day, he watched each construction trade make its contribution, one work and one hour at a time.
He continues, “not one bit of work went into those houses that you and I couldn’t do ourselves, given enough time and some research into the technical details. The secret is in the process, not the finished buildings.”
The trap we often build for ourselves
He concludes:
The pain of writing stems from comparing your blank screen with the finished pages you see all around you. But beautiful writing is built one step at a time, just like a house. Take the steps slowly, break them down into pieces small enough to handle easily, and the agony will disappear.
Attend a free Jack Hart teleseminar interview
Published & Profitable friends and members are invited to attend a free teleseminar interview with Jack Hart, author of A Writer’s Coach, writing coach for the Portland Oregonian newspaper, and popular speaker at writing events.
We’ll be discussing barriers to writing, and how to overcome them. My interview with Jack Hart will take place on Thursday, July 23rd at 11:00 AM.
To attend, call 218-486-1616 and enter PIN: 513391#.
See links to previous posts about Jack Hart’s A Writer’s Coach: The Complete Guide to Writing Strategies that Work here and here.
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