Steven Barnes

The first step is loving yourself enough that none of your self-image comes from other people. None of your sense of worth comes from other people. That means that your “needy wounded abandoned child” must be smothered with hugs and kisses, as well as disciplined when he throws tantrums. There’s your work. The “Ancient Child” meditation is…[Read more]

Then your first goal is to find a goal, dude! Attentional judo. Say, (for instance): “one year from today I will have my first lifetime goal.” Then, for the next 12 months you dive deep into the question of who you are, which will lead you to what you really want.

Knowing that you don’t know is actually waking up!

Steve

Thank you! We will be setting up a way for students to share their work more easily, and I’m sure yours will be appreciated.

So many good submissions! Whoever is chosen, what I want is for you guys to read each others’ work, and use the Lifewriting methodology to peer into the structure and meaning. As you help each other, you help yourselves. Thank you!

Wow!

“How dare you reject your work – that’s the editor’s job!”
“Don’t torture yourself, Gomez. That’s my job”–Morticia Addams.

Very nice. This is a fine parable (if a little too on-the-nose) of real power and authority. I would say that it is an internal journey of understanding rather than an external journey of action. But as action and understanding are connected intimately, what it really does is provide perspective on the cycles of life and existence, along with…[Read more]

The Hero’s Journey is the simplest structure I know of that is really useful for both storytelling and life. But it is only a map, not the territory. In reality, we are experiencing infinite overlapping stories all at the same time. Teasing these out into a structure we can communicate to other human beings can be VERY challenging. Even to…[Read more]

Ellen–
this was close to perfect. PERFECT. Your list of obstacles hits almost every major button. By sharing it, you are helping to create a universal understanding of the inner world–others will read your words and say “oh my God! I thought I was the only one!”
Your idea to do a sun salutation is terrific as well. Ground yourself, and take…[Read more]

Not at this time. The story should be short enough that we can all read it, so say no more than 3-5 thousand words. The shorter the better, so long as it is complete.

Good luck!

Steve

How is the writing going, Ellen? And if you hit a break-down, what were the techniques your mind used to side-track you? Keeping track of these robs them of their power.

I found my passion simply by noticing what kinds of books and movies I enjoyed absorbing. My “style” simply by writing until my writing sounds like the way I speak. Another fast way to develop style is to deliberately imitate the style of authors you admire. If you imitate enough different writers, the flavor that emerges is your own.

Hi, Daniel–

how are you dealing with your emotions?

That’s a hot paragraph!!

I am grateful to have a group of writers to support and be supported by!

Thank you for the link, Ellen. I think its a great idea. Why not do a “spoiler” label, and then analyze the story for us, using the “Hero’s Journey”
1) Hero confronted with challenge (what is at stake? What do they want?)
2) Rejects challenge (what fear stops them?)
3) Accepts challenge (what motivates them to move through resistance?)
4) Road…[Read more]

Our dear RJ:

You are EXACTLY the kind of writer we were looking for!
1) Everything feels fake. THIS is the feeling that stops you. You are just forcing it into the open. This is all your resistance, impostor syndrome, negative voices. Know that you now have the opportunity to actually observe it. All you have to do is commit to your…[Read more]

Hey, George! Glad to have you. Glad to have you! So The idea is to take your writing to the next level: finishing work, submitting work, climbing to your highest level of capacity, and enjoying the process all the way. How can we support you? Look at the pattern, begin at #1, and report back on where you hit a weak link:
1) Write 1-4 stories…[Read more]

Concise. Stevie likes that!

If possible, we will choose more than one of these stories. The selection will be made after this Saturday’s show.