Steven Barnes

Yes, Daniel. You should experiment, and use ANYTHING that works better for you than my suggestions! IF you stop getting the desired result, default back to Heartbeat Meditation, and try something else. It is imperative that you find your own way.

Good. That means you’ve been able to identify with something deeper than the damage. How did you find that deeper place?

Sure! Eventually we will have threads about poetry. I can tell you that writers like Ray Bradbury advised writing a poem a day for PROSE writers! I would “nibble aroudn the edges” of a major emotional issue (say, post-election blues) to allow your unconscious room and time to process. Do this in a journal, so you can look back over the years…[Read more]

The way not to get “stuck” is to simply focus on the work. In every session, or every story, concentrate on 1-3 aspects of your writing. No more than that. Telling the truth. Poetic expression. Characterization. Really, the fewer the better. But if you will do this, and keep moving through the “Machine” you will find your work improving…[Read more]

O.K.–good. You will want to write and re-write and refine your Sankalpa as you go, refining and clarifying.

“I´ve finally made it!!: A new, super-flat, Super Sex with fabulous women, FUN, at least 5 clients a week, Assertiveness, Social Strength and Power, and always lots of Cash available, and finally an own motorized vehicle”
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“Super Sex…[Read more]

You now have enough information to answer your own questions. I can still help you, but I want to watch you “plug” your questions into the answers I’ve already given you.

1) Your discomfort with her sexual history is about you, not her. It’s like picking up a rock and bashing it against your head, and blaming the rock for being hard. The rock…[Read more]

Good words! And studying all those anthologies will make it clear how healthy the market really is!

This is an exercise that will pay off mightily if you are willing to go through the fear and doubt. You might want to ask your friends what THEY see your strengths as being. The belief that you have gifts to offer the world is tied in with our core self-concept, and if you have a hard time finding them, it suggests an arena that will be VERY…[Read more]

Because there are still many markets for short stories. More than I can count. Magazines, anthologies, and on-line forms. Yep, they get thousands of submissions. And the marketplace is flooded with self-published books, and book publishers get thousands of submissions as well. Others make other suggestions, but this path has worked for a…[Read more]

Great! Really let yourself feel those gratitudes. Our emotions are the result of our focus. Now…combine that “emotional flood” with movement and visions of the future in your daily “Morning Ritual” and you have discovered how to control your emotions every day!

Again, no one is telling you to stay. I’m saying that if a woman is 5’10” and you are 5’9″ and you want a woman shorter with you, the extra inch isn’t her problem. It is yours.

Daniel, if you want a woman with less experience than you, fine. But the fact that this one has more is NOT her problem–the problem is your reaction. And your emotions are 100% yours. I’ve dated women with more experience than me, and I’ve dated virgins. In no case was their experience their problem–that’s all in your head. Want a different…[Read more]

I was unable to share most of my stories with my own mother, and that was painful. But…you have to be true to your own heart.

There is no “the best”. But if you concentrate on anthologies of the “Best of the Year” variety, or collections of “Best all time short stories” and so forth. You can find them in literary, horror, SF, Western, mystery, or whatever, but libraries and bookstores are full of them. Read and find your own role models!

I’d enjoy hearing your sankalpa. Mine is “1% daily improvement of my Morning Ritual.” It used to be “1% daily improvement in amplitude and congruence of body, mind, and spirit” but that is harder for an eight-year old to understand, and that’s how old my Inner Child is. Don’t worry about your relationship with this lady. Your focus should be…[Read more]

1-4 stories a month is the window. A story a week would get you to the next level (and beyond!) within two years. Amazing momentum, so long as you are fulfilling the other steps. Watch what you do, and what happens. If your GOAL/OUTCOME is to be a professional writer, the “Machine” is your ROAD to that. Your “Action plan”. If this is…[Read more]

“I can write better than this” is one of the most common reactions mentioned by writers. It is a powerful affirmation of possibility!

Here’s a recommendation: please stop writing books until you’ve published about ten short stories. You will progress FAR faster in your craft it you take this approach. And trust me: we’ve heard about any reason…[Read more]

You don’t need a lot of lovers to be a good lover. But you do have to learn, and grow. And genuinely love yourself, and relish women. If you help her feel delicious, you’ve hit the mark.

All of your problems in this relationship are in your own heart. So are any advantages and positives. You have to love yourself enough to trust that you can heal and grow. Let’s look at your goals:
1) Financially: I would love to at least be able to pay everyday expenses from my clients alone
2) Emotional: I would be able to be in that…[Read more]

Understood. I would suggest that you write at least one sentence per day. When we know we’re making progress, even a tiny amount, it is easier to keep your mood high.

Second, I STRONGLY suggest that you focus on your MORNING RITUAL. Your ability to see solutions, or enroll people in your life (hiring you!) is based upon your energy level. If…[Read more]