LESSON I LEARNED TODAY: DON'T BE A WRITING BULLY

You know how a dog can't be bullied into taking a walk? Well, a writer can't be bullied into writing.

In addition to writing this blog, I also create an email newsletter. Truth be told, I've been a little delinquent in writing it on a steady basis. For the past few days, I've been trying to think of what I want to focus on in my next newsletter. Mostly, what initially came to me are all the things I "should" be writing about. The harder I resisted the "shoulds," the faster they chased after me.

Yikes!

I heard a voice in my head say: "Wait until you are in the upper level of the 2nd Ave. Whole Foods today. You will get your idea there." Still, I forced myself to sit down at my computer and do internet research on the topics that were screaming "SHOULD!" in my cabeza.

I went out and visited my cousin for lunch, took the subway to the 2nd Ave. Whole Foods, and sat down at a small table on the upper level.

Guess what? A great idea came to me for my newsletter, something I was actually excited about, a topic I felt connected to.

Note to self: do not bully yourself into writing. Let the idea evolve and follow your intuition about when and where to put the ideas down on paper.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE CREATIVE TIMES NEWSLETTER? Drop me an email at ETraubman@aol.com