Comments on: Here’s a non-resolution that could change your writing life

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 01:31:00 +0000

In reply to Karen. Thanks for posting, Karen. That's very creative to require yourself to take a beautiful photo of the awful weather! I bet it makes you feel much better about it. Thanks for sharing the great idea!

By: Karen

Karen — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 22:20:00 +0000

I found you via Elizabeth H. Cottrell of Heartspoken. I love the IF/THEN thing. I’ve started to use it. If I open my computer, I’ll do something productive before I start social networking (this has worked for three days, and I even balanced my checkbook). If I complain about the cold weather (easy to do, I live in ND), then I’ll take a beautiful picture of that awful weather. I’ve done that twice – once, I shared with Elizabeth, once I did it just for myself. I haven’t started the IF/THEN for my writing, per se, but I plan on incorporating it into my sloppy “sometimes” daily writing routine.

By: zangelspace

zangelspace — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 07:44:00 +0000

In reply to Daphne Gray-Grant. I also think so.

By: Roberto Carlos

Roberto Carlos — Sat, 09 Jan 2016 02:06:00 +0000

Muito bom, dicas valiosas. Irei utilizar! Obrigado.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 21:21:00 +0000

In reply to Carol Hargrove. Great if/then statement!

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 21:20:00 +0000

In reply to Cheryl Hilderbrand. I loved The Road Less Travelled (must have been 20 years since I read it. Time for a re-read, perhaps.) But I was unaware of Rhode's A Hole in the World. Thanks for the recommendation. (I can't italicize in Discus, either. I'll ask my webmaster if there's a special trick.)

By: Carol Hargrove

Carol Hargrove — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 20:07:00 +0000

I, too, have used this technique on my children and grandchildren, but never even thought of using it for me!!! Thanks, If I haven’t started before supper, then I will sit down and make a “if/then” list to begin in the morning.

By: Cheryl Hilderbrand

Cheryl Hilderbrand — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 18:33:00 +0000

Was going to note that I used this technique on my kids, but others posted before me. But I can also say that my mother used it on me: “If you finish your homework before dinner,we will watch “I Love Lucy” together. Also, this whole idea of delaying gratification is part and parcel of maturity. I think the old standb,y M. Scott Peck’s, The Road Less Traveled explains it best. Also, Richard Rhodes’s How to Write is a favorite craft book of mine, but my favorite is his memoir, A Hole in the World. (Am I missing a trick? I can’t italicize these names of books.)

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 22:17:00 +0000

In reply to Charles Broming. Seemed high to me, too, but I've been told by several people that the rate is typical, in Vancouver at least.

By: Charles Broming

Charles Broming — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 22:04:00 +0000

In reply to Daphne Gray-Grant. That seems a little high (even in $CA). Ellis practiced in NYC, so that was probably his rate in the '60s...:). Re psychiatry: Experimental evidence accumulates that deliberative choice is rare (most talk therapy is useless, especially psychoanalysis) and, since the invention of neuro-imaging technologies (CAT, PET, MRI), evidence that exercising willpower to retain information in current memory requires a lot of energy has accumulated, too. Techniques like if/then exhortation and pomodoro-style reinforcement can make good habits and new knowledge permanent, actually affecting our brains by creating new brain cells as well as connections between them and new connections among old cells (specifically, synapses and neurons).