David C. Hughes, Writer

“For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your JOY will be complete." –Deuteronomy 16:15

Archive for the category “Writing Workshops”

07 Nov 2014
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Motivation and the Writing Life (Part 4 of 8)

FEAR IS THE MIND KILLER

So what holds you back? What are you afraid of? People are creatures of habit, slaves of fear. If we allow it, fear can and will rule over us, keeping us from breaking out of our comfort zones. If we venture too far into the realization of our dreams, fear will jump into our paths, growl at us, and bare its sharp teeth. And what do we do? We turn tail and crawl back into our self-imposed prisons of comfort. We’re satisfied to live out our lives within those confining walls because we hold ourselves bound by the fear of rejection, the fear of failure, the fear of lack, even the fear of success and the responsibility it brings with it.

I don’t remember exactly when I first read it, but the following quote by Marianne Williamson, spiritual author and lecturer, struck a chord in me that has resonated ever since. “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”[i]

Two decades ago I lost my voice after developing a disease known as “spasmodic dysphonia,” a condition that lasted six grueling years (for those of you who listen to NPR, this is the same disease Diane Rehm suffers from). At that time I’d always wanted to learn how to speak better in public so I could teach, so despite my weak, tremulous voice (or maybe because of my determination to overcome this debilitating ailment), I joined Toastmasters International. I then began to conduct interviews for articles because the non-fiction material I was writing at the time had begun to sell. Then a junior college teacher asked me to teach a class on staying motivated as a writer. Despite sounding like a three-pack-a-day smoker, I stood in front of that room full of adults and delivered my talk. I refused to play small.

Each time I faced my fears—the fear of rejection by family and friends, the fear of talking and sounding like an incoherent idiot, the fear of public speaking, the fear of interviewing people—I grew. And over time I soundly trashed each one of those fears. Goethe once said, “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.” Overcoming those long-suffered fears was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, despite the years of pain and suffering. I learned that fears can indeed be overcome, that they can be defeated. Facing those fears head on and moving forward despite them taught me I can do anything I set my mind to, with God’s help and blessing. It’s the same with the fears I’ve had—and still have—about writing.

Even if no one else believes in your writing, believe in it yourself, because when it comes right down to it, that’s all that matters anyway. Joan Lowery Nixon said, “You must believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself and in your ability to succeed, then you can’t expect others to believe in you.”[ii] Why would they?

Frank Herbert wrote about fear in his novel Dune. “Fear is the mind-killer,” he said. And the life killer. And the dream killer.

Marty Goldbeck, a psychologist and former police officer, spoke about fear at the October 1995 Beaumont Golden Triangle Writers Guild conference in Beaumont, Texas. “The thing that weighs us down is our own self,” he said. “What are the limitations that keep us from writing?” Goldbeck also said there are two things determining whether or not we can achieve our dreams. The first is attitude. “If I choose to have a creative, good attitude, my life is limitless,” said Goldbeck. And the second is choice. It’s your choice, every moment of every day, to do the things you want to do. Like the old king said in the introduction to this discussion, the decision is up to you.

 

[i] Williamson, Marianne. A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles”. New York. Harper Collins, 1992. 190.

[ii] http://chichikir.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/there-is-no-one-right-way-to-write/

 

 (Next up: Persistence and Determination Alone are Omnipotent)

Copyright ©2014 by David C. Hughes

Posted in Writing Workshops and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
05 Nov 2014
4 Comments

Motivation and the Writing Life (Part 3 of 8)

DEALING WITH WRITER’S GUILT

Do you feel guilty about writing? Do you experience the twinge of discomfort when you sit down at your computer to write instead of applying yourself to endeavors more worthy of society’s approval, like working at a “real” job? I believe this is a common ailment suffered by not only writers but by others who hear a different drummer. When I was a kid I wrote funny stories, shot funny Super 8 movies, and drew funny cartoons. I was blessed with a junior high teacher named Mr. Smith who used my story about a hero named Super Flub to springboard a class assignment to develop a comic strip. In high school another teacher supported me in more ways than one: He let me make a movie for credit, he encouraged me to write a humorous newspaper and he plagiarized in part a script I’d written called “A Play on Words,” which he called his own. No matter how you look at it, theft is wrong, but in a strange sort of way his actions affirmed me—my stuff was good enough for a teacher to steal (by the way, my fellow classmates booed him when they realized he’d copied some of my work when he read his version to the class).

Soon after graduating from high school I began writing a novel about my experiences in Boy Scout summer camp, and I wrote several short horror stories that I thought were pretty clever. But I’ll never forget the time my mom walked into my “office,” which was actually her bedroom with my desk in it, and told me I was wasting my time. I was devastated.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” she asked. That one event instilled in me a sense of guilt about my writing that lasted for decades. And over the past thirty years, I’ve found that most non-writers wonder when writers are going to get actual jobs. Even though I’m comfortable (now) in what I do for a living, that question can still incite me to write sarcastic blog posts, which isn’t a bad thing.

So how do we writers fight the guilt about making a living with our imaginations and ruminations? How do we convince ourselves that what we’re doing is not only worthy, it could be world-changing? First, affirm that this writing itch is more than just a whimsy—it’s something you have to do. It’s a gift. It’s a calling. It may even be God’s will.

Second, don’t let the detractors have their way with you. Believe in yourself even when no one else does. No one in this world will have more passion, drive and commitment to your avocation as you do, so quit whining, man up (even if you’re a girl), and write anyway. Live “despite.” If you touch one other person’s life in a positive way with your writing, then it has all been worth it. You have changed the world for the better.

Third, have fun with it. My daughter, Hannah, is a competitive gymnast. At seven years old she’s been doing gymnastics for five-and-a-half years. She’s an accomplished Level 3 athlete, placing in practically every event she’s competed in since reaching that level. Before each meet we pray over her, we encourage her and we tell her above all to have fun. So she does. She’s the team goofball, the class clown, the one who sits on the mat and grooms herself like a cat while waiting to mount the beam, the one who imitates a squeaky toy (to a T) when someone squeezes her rock-hard tummy. She takes having fun to heart, and she’s good at it.

Our society has placed on us a double standard. On one hand, if we’re having fun, it must be a waste of time. Or worse, it’s not any good for us. On the other hand, society says, “Just do it,” that having fun is everything. But understand this: it’s okay to enjoy writing. In fact, the more you enjoy it, the more your passion will shine through, and the more your passion shines through, the more others will engage with you. Writing can at once be a blessing and a curse. But it’s what we do. So if you’re gonna do it, you might as well do it well. After all, what do you have to lose but the guilt of doing it?

(Next up: Fear is the Mind Killer)

Copyright ©2014 by David C. Hughes

Posted in Writing Workshops and tagged , , , , ,

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