Write for Life / Week 4 (Resist Your Resistance)

Reflection and discussion of Week 4 of Julia Cameron's Write for Life

"We map our own psyche, and our map is unique and individual. Our work may echo another writer, but, like an echo, it will carry its own voice." (Julia Cameron, Write for Life)

We are now through Week 4 now of this 6-chapter, 6-week book, Write for Life by Julia Cameron. I hope some of you are still reading along and finding some of this material helpful, thought-provoking, resonant, or actionable in your own creative life.

Thank you to those of you who have responded in the previous weekly threads about your experience with the week. I think the conversations that are happening are important, and seeing how everyone responds to different elements of the book makes the reading a richer experience.

“Writing daily, we stay current with ourselves. There is no error in our path. As we write our wishes, dreams, and hopes, we embrace ourselves. We honor our impulses to our aspirations with kindliness. Our gentle attention yields increased productivity as our creativity is channeled along fruitful lines.” (p 114)

Chapter 4: Resist Your Resistance

This week's chapter, "Resist Your Resistance," tackles a number of things that may make it hard for you to start writing, cause you to stall or stop, or simply throw up various roadblocks.

Some of these roadblocks relate to things talked about before, but Chapter 4 pulls myriad ways writers sometimes get in their own way into one place. Some of these include:

• Mood

• U-turns (more like being stalled…. I didn’t think the metaphor worked)

• Anger (she says it is energy)

• Fear

• Risk

• Deadlines

• Competition

You might have found that some of these sections had particular resonance for you. I think all writers (and creative types) likely deal with some of these issues at some point. I think all humans deal with these issues.

Many of these are also two-sided. If you are just starting, you may fear you are not good enough, have nothing to say, or will be laughed at. You may question your right to speak as an authority or to share your perspective. On the flip-side, even if you are writing from a position of confidence, you may have internal doubt. You may fear you won't live up to whatever came before or fear you have nothing new to say.

"Often when we write, we discourage ourselves at the very start by telling ourselves that others have written before, and better." (p 124)

These roadblocks can also come from external sources, people we directly interact with as well as people we are aware of and our, potentially unfounded, fears about what others may say or think.

For many of these issues, Cameron advocates just writing through it. Write regardless of the mood. Turn anger into energy. Write through the fear. Be disciplined. Be steady. Be methodical. Keep writing.

“Writing is an act of self-cherishing. As we check in daily with ourselves, we give voice to our many hidden dreams and agendas. As we ask ourselves, ‘How do I really feel?’ We answer with increased authenticity.” (p 113)

My Thoughts on Chapter Four

Several of these sections speak to me in terms of the core “topic”—the headline. I don't have a problem with stalled writing or intrinsic doubt about writing, but some of these "topics" probably play into why I never have taken steps I probably should have in my own work, with my art, with my podcast, and so on. (I guess this means that I only have myself to blame.) I know that I am sometimes self-effacing even when, deep down, I don’t doubt my work, skill, or ability. I know that I’ve held myself back, and even now, I hesitate to put some of those reasons here in words. (There has been a whole lot of writing and deleting going on!)

Ultimately, I have found myself thinking about these things as I’ve read.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the inner critic (after an earlier chapter) and then went on to write about some things that I saw threads of in this chapter. I know that even though I am (obviously) working on a book, there are some roadblocks.

There are all kinds of fear.

I know very well the fears and inner whispers that can hold a writer, an artist, a creative person back. I know the inner whispers that can make it hard to share, self-promote, and market. I know very well the fears that come from the (probably imagined) worry about what certain people will say or think. (I don't think it is always a "general" fear of what others will say. I think sometimes there are specific people, maybe specifically successful people, that we worry about in our heads.)

“Our daily pages tutor us in self-knowledge.” (p 114)

Affirmations

The section on affirmations was of particular interest to me. This is something I’ve been interested in ever since I listened to a Tim Ferris podcast with Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert. At the time, affirmations were not something I had ever used or tried. (A few years before that, I would have said the same thing about a gratitude mindset, and a special "Spark" podcast series tracking and reflecting on gratitude for 30 days was really transformative for me. I now continue that process every November.)

Today, I often include gratitude(s) in my illustrated journal. I also often include affirmations in the Illustrate Your Week prompts. I include them in the prompts and on my pages, and I always stumble, just a bit, in deciding what to write. (I think I often have fear about others seeing them.)

I am drawn to them in some way, but I think I am still trying to get comfortable with them and how they work for me. I write them, and I sometimes feel silly. But I keep coming closer and closer, circling them because of their positivity, their voice that can see the good, a voice that can give us the pep talk we need to hear, the encouragement, the reminder that we matter.

The examples of affirmations in this chapter felt different to me than how I think about them, and I've been thinking about that over the last day or so. Maybe they aren't all that different, and the topics are just ones I find ill-chosen as examples and/or I wish the affirmation in response to the example was different. But, I realize there probably is a spectrum here. Ultimately, the discussion of affirmations falls in line with other discussions in this book about synchronicity and how writing what you want and asking your questions on paper will yield answers and solutions—the universe working in your favor.

“Affirmations are positive statements of positive beliefs. They work like levers to pry loose our lingering negatives. Affirmations often sound like wishful thinking. ….  Affirmations are not wishful thinking. Rather, they are a bridge we ourselves construct to a sunnier future.” (p 131-132)

Your Week

I have enjoyed your comments on the previous chapters. I know that different parts of the book are working for each of you. How did this week go?

The tasks at the end of Chapter 4 focus on U-turns, anger, toxic friends,  crazy makers, and deadlines. I have made an effort to consider tasks from the previous chapters, but this set didn’t really work for me. These aren’t the elements I struggle with. I do encourage you to look at and ponder (or do) the tasks, especially if any of these have resonance for you. The final task is about affirmations, and I hope that you consider that one if you didn’t already do it.

While the affirmations task centers on three fears, I think I might have added two different tasks for the week, one on fears and one on competition:

1. Fear. Make a list of all the fears that come up in relation to your project (any phase of it). Many of these are probably things your inner critic is saying, but write those things down. Have any strategies been shared that can help you address or neutralize these? Have you read anything that has given you new insight into these fears?

2. Competition. What is your relationship with competition in general? Is it the same in your creative or writing life? Does competition help move you forward? Or does it hold you back? How does it make you feel? Some people thrive on competition; others have the opposite response. I encourage you to write a bit about how you feel about competition in creativity (which might include your art projects, your illustrated journaling, your graphic novel or cartooning, your video projects, even how you share in a social space) and/or writing. I think perspective might be different at different points in one’s journey, but understanding where we are in relation to competition can help us better understand why we do some of the things we do. And maybe better understanding can help us reassess and realign. Is the competition we imagine really there? I think fears related to competition are also fears related to success and to scarcity, the idea that there is only room for a few.

• Have you experienced moments of synchronicity as a result of your four weeks with this book?

• How did you do this week with the core practices: Morning Pages, Artist Date, walks, and daily quota? (It’s fine if you are only focusing on Morning Pages.)

• Did you see yourself in any of the sections in this chapter?

• Did you find strategies you think might be helpful for you or new insight into why you do some of the things you do with your creative work?

• How are you feeling about your writing, your habit, or the book now that you are midway through? Have your feelings changed since you started?

Into Week 5 we go!

“Make no mistake: pages are a tough-love friend. They challenge us to change our size, to become larger, more daring. Tutored by them, we alter our perceptions. We see that we are far more creative than we previously thought." Julia Cameron, Write for Life