Category: Inspiration and Philosophy

Truth or Consequences: It’s Not Just a Town in New Mexico Any More

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[image: New Mexico window]Traffic is down here at Someday Box. We aren’t surprised, Best Beloved and I. The reposts from Finding Why and Business Heretics. Excerpts. Links to hither and yon.

Being the needy angsty type, my first impulse is to ask how I can make you love me more. The Dylan poster on my wall says it doesn’t matter who loves you as long as you love you.

Most of you show up on Friday, after the newsletter goes out. The in-between posts get less love, maybe because they’re not fresh. Maybe because the titles aren’t compelling. Maybe because they’re about someone else instead of me, and you’re all slavering and lusting for more me, less them.

Maybe I should have my head examined.

Truth is, there are consequences to change.

… more … “Truth or Consequences: It’s Not Just a Town in New Mexico Any More”

Write with Your Heart, Edit with Your Head

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[image: fountain]Writing has to flow, like water. Writers thirst.

Imagine, though, if you were dying of thirst (you are, you’re a writer) and the person holding the hose kept shutting it off so they could adjust something. Spurt of water; shut it off, adjust. Spurt of water, shut it off, adjust.

You’d strangle ‘em, screaming “Just give me the water!”

That’s what your heart is doing when you write slowly, methodically, with your head. Because you don’t write with your head, you write with your heart. You edit with your head.

No one but you will see your unedited words, so don’t worry about whether they’re perfect.

Because if you worry that they’re perfect, nobody but you will ever see your words, period.

How Long Does It Take to Write 1,000 Words?

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[image: time . . . creeps . . . slowly . . . along]This week, for me, the answer is either 28 minutes, or 5 hours.

Earlier in the week I challenged myself to write 1,000 words as fast as I could type on each of my two mysteries. No pauses, no editing, don’t even think too much. Just type like mad.

I averaged 40wpm on each of them. Less than 30 minutes each to add another 1,000 words. While I only commit to 15 minutes of writing each day, I have a target of 1,000 words per novel.

One hour to do all the writing I needed to do for the day. Not bad.

Yesterday didn’t go so well.

… more … “How Long Does It Take to Write 1,000 Words?”

Art is Love: The More You Give Away the More You Have

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[image: bucket at the well]Since I’ve started a daily routine of writing come what may, I’ve noticed something.

The more ideas I spit out, the more I have.

In the past week, I’ve written 1,000 words a day on the sequel to Through the Fog. Another story forced its way into my head, and I’ve managed 1,000 words a day on that one as well.

The past few Februaries I haven’t participated in February Album Writing Month. But this year I’ve had so man song ideas I can’t bottle them up. Four written and recorded with another well on the way. Since I spend the 3rd week of every 3rd month writing 3 songs with my buddy Terry, I’ll be doing that whether I push for 14 songs at FAWM or not.

The well doesn’t run dry, it refills itself. The more art I create, the more wells up to be created.

A Special Arrogance for Writers

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[image: image http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1436210 by Billy Alexander http://www.sxc.hu/profile/ba1969″ width=”222″ height=”280″ class=”alignright size-full wp-image-3358]Thinking your fan base is “everyone” is the wrong kind of arrogance.

Knowing that some people won’t get you, but that your fans will be even more delighted to be insiders because of it . . . I guess that’s not arrogance, is it?

The Farm, the Wilderness, and the Beautiful City

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[image: The Farm, The Wilderness, And The Beautiful City]This post originally appeared on my philosophy blog.

Smart by anyone’s standards and strong by most, the young lad thought he’d find a better use for his talents than the family farm. As is often the case, he set out for the city.

Not just any city would do. He’d heard of a beautiful city whose smile would fill his soul, whose touch would inspire his dreams, whose breath would take his own away. Trusting that this ethereal place was the proper milieu for his own good judgment and drive, he set out.

Knowing the journey would be long and hard, he prepared well. He packed efficiently, found the best maps, and ate a hearty breakfast of whole grains and strong tea before stepping across his parents’ threshold.

… more … “The Farm, the Wilderness, and the Beautiful City”

You Are What You Measure

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

Reading Callie’s thoughts at Steven Pressfield’s blog a while back raised some marketing questions in my head.

[image: photo http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1261292 by Miguel Saavedra http://www.sxc.hu/profile/saavem” width=”222″ height=”259″ class=”alignright size-full wp-image-3343]Which are you more interested in:

  • number of books sold or number of new fans?
  • number of words written or percentage of days you write something rather than nothing?
  • page views for your blog, or posts you’re proud of?

It’s good business to keep track of statistics.

It’s human nature to pay more attention to what’s easy to count instead of what’s hard to count.

It’s not always obvious that what matters to your business (you know, selling books as your own publisher?) is hard to count.

… more … “You Are What You Measure”

The Village Id – Excerpt from an Unpublished Work

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

Below is an excerpt from one of my unpublished works, The Village Id — my homage to P. G. Wodehouse.

Every village has a character. I don’t mean the village idiot. I mean a personality, a feel that’s obvious to visitors, yet invisible to residents.

Come to think of it, every village has a character in the other sense. Not necessarily an idiot. That would hardly be polite, and rarely truthful.

No, a character: the odd man out, the one whose character isn’t totally aligned with the village’s.

In Iddington village that would be me: I’m the only sane person there.

[image: The Village]

… more … “The Village Id – Excerpt from an Unpublished Work”

2 Ways Accountability Increases Awareness of Your Thinking Process

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

It’s easy to fool ourselves. Two specific ways we improve our thinking process when we feel accountable to someone else for our results:[image: railroad_tracks]

First, we’re more aware of the cues and clues we’re using to make decisions. The interplay between our conscious and unconscious is complex. As a result, the facts we think we’re using to reach conclusions aren’t necessarily the facts we’re really using. Accountability nudges us toward awareness of the cues and clues we’re actually using.

Second, we’re less likely to overestimate our accuracy. Studies show that we’re very likely to overestimate how accurate we are in our estimates and judgments. When we feel we’ll have to explain or defend our decisions, our improved thinking process reduces this tendency. It doesn’t make us more accurate, but it makes us more aware of how accurate (or inaccurate) our estimates are.