Blog Posts
Sorry, Kurt Vonnegut, You’re “Not Compelling Enough”
By Hillary Rettig |
Everyone gets rejected. Even Kurt Vonnegut, Madonna, Andy Warhol, and others who went on to be luminaries in their field. If you get rejected, don't take it to heart. Learn from the experience and move on. Mostly, rejection is simply proof that you haven't given up--which is a great thing.
Ann Patchett on Surviving Creativity’s Core Disappointment
By Hillary Rettig |
Ann Patchett has many useful things to say about writing in her new essay collection, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, and in particular about the core creative challenge of surviving the fatal moment when, having finally summoned the courage to bring your vision to life, it immediately disappoints: ...
What is the biggest barrier standing between you and greater productivity?
By Hillary Rettig |
In my case, it used to be perfectionism that shut down the creative process before it started. I spent nearly five years writing and rewriting the same novel chapter because I was terrified of having others see it and judge it. Then - as I got less perfectionist - my ...
10 Ways to Seduce a Writer
By Hillary Rettig |
No, not that way, silly! They're all fine suggestions, but they missed the best one of all: Buy his/her book!
On The Importance of Going OFF the Internet
By Hillary Rettig |
Going off the Internet seems a radical act, but for most people it's essential for creativity. The Internet is inherently and continuously interruptive, and that's not a good mix with creative work, or productivity in general. I recently rewatched The Hours, and found the many scenes of Virginia Woolf (portrayed by ...
What Muhammad Ali Can Teach You About Getting More Work Done
By Hillary Rettig |
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” That famous quote from Muhammad Ali really does captures the spirit and essence of productive, joyful work. Let's break it down: 1) “Float like a butterfly.” You move lightly and freely around and through your work until you see an aspect of ...
John Scalzi on Why You Should Never Let Your Reviewers Get You Down
By Hillary Rettig |
The Inimitable One offers a list of one-star reviews of books that later went on to win science fiction's celebrated Hugo award. John Scalzi. Reading his reviews? My favorite is this review of Scalzi's own novel Red Shirts, which actually uses the word "onanistic": This is an onanistic shallow and ...
New Yorker Cartoonist Shows What to do When You’re Stuck on a Piece
By Hillary Rettig |
Please check out this wonderful piece by New Yorker cartoonist Drew Dernavich, in which he discusses his creative process for a cartoon. This is the rejected version of the cartoon! Click over to Dernavich's article to see the final version that The New Yorker used. (Reprinted with kind permission ...
