Drawing From The Well - AJG BOOKS

“The thing about going through hell is that you also have to fry eggs and pay bills and change into pajamas, so hell is usually set against the ordinary living room of your life. Here is ready-made perspective. Write it all down. —Abigail Thomas | Happy Monday Creatives! It’s day twenty eight which means the finish line is right ahead of us! In today’s podcast I talk a little about my NaNoWriMo journey and about how I got behind but, not only got caught up with my word count, but exceeded it. I offer advice on what helped me in hopes it’ll carry you along this journey toward successful completion.

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightening bug and the lightening.” — Mark Twain | Happy Wednesday Creatives! It’s day twenty three which means we’re less than seven days away to completing our journey! In today’s podcast we’re reminded that even the roughest of rough drafts have the ability to be a mirror to us, revealing to us the areas of improvement that needs to be worked on—which is the entire point!

“The Japanese idea of kaizen is helpful—making one small change every day to reach a goal, one small correction every day or hour or minute to reach your destination.” — Barbara Abercrombie | Happy Tuesday Creatives! It’s day twenty two which means we’re less than eight days away to completing our journey! In today’s podcast we’re reminded that staying on track may require small changes, or greater flexibility, in order to reach our goals.

“Making art is chancy—it doesn’t mix well with predictability. Uncertainty is the essential, inevitable and all-pervasive companion to your desire to make art. And tolerance for uncertainty is the prerequisite to succeeding.” — David Bayles and Ted Orland | Happy Monday Creatives! It’s day twenty one which means we’re less than ten days away to completing our journey! In today’s podcast we’re reminded that though this rough draft process is messy and uncertain, we’re still creating art and we ought to have pride in doing so.

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” — Henry David Thoreau | Happy Friday Creatives! It’s day eighteen which means we’re definitely at a point of no return as we move forward with strength and victory! In today’s podcast we remind ourselves that the purpose of the rough draft is to give our story the opportunity to introduce itself to us first and that its fine if we don’t know what we’re doing in the rough draft process.

“What are you willing to give up to write? But what is the cost if you don’t write?” — Barbara Abercrombie | Happy Thursday Creatives! It’s day seventeen which means we’re definitely at a point of no return as we move forward with strength and victory! In today’s podcast we remind ourselves of the greater motivations behind the sacrificing being made to complete our NaNoWriMo goal in hopes to fuel this journey.

“We have to ask ourselves over and over, quick, a word for the way that branch moves in the wind, the way someone you love picks up a cup of coffee, the sound of a freeway. Quick. Don’t be lazy—look for the exact move, the precise color, the specific sound that no one has ever put into words before.” — Barbara Abercrombie | Happy Hump Day Creatives! It’s day sixteen which means we’re officially passed the halfway point! In today’s podcast we continue to look at great advice from past participants of NaNoWriMo to help us reach that momentous goal of a 50,000 word rough draft.

“But I soon discovered that just typing away was the key…And out of the nonsense came a thoughtful sentence, and then another, and another. I had to sift through a lot of garbage to find a few treasures. But I found them. — Pamela Delupio | Happy Tuesday Creatives! It’s day fifteen which means we’re halfway done! Congratulations NaNo-er! In today’s podcast we continue to look at great advice from past participants of NaNoWriMo to help us reach that momentous goal of a 50,000 word rough draft.

“If NanoWriMo taught me anything, it was to not be afraid to try.” — Kait Heacock | Happy Monday Creatives! We’re fourteen days into NaNoWriMo! In today’s podcast we discuss some of the fears and challenges that attempt to beset us on reaching our goal of writing 50,000 words in 30 days in hopes to build community and learn from one another on how to overcome them.

“At the end of a writing stint, stop before the ideas run out. Write a sentence or two about what happens next. Next time your fingers meet the keyboard, you already know where the story is headed.” — Scott O’Dell | Happy Friday Creatives! We’re eleven days into NaNoWriMo! In today’s podcast I share some very practical advice that might make this journey a lot easier for you to reach that goal of 50,000 words.