Read Jenna’s Most Popular Articles on Called to Write
Building a Regular Writing Practice
Morning Writing Challenge Wrap-Up
We’ve reached the end of the Morning Writing Challenge! This week has not been an easy one to do this in, what with everything going on with the election and all, but we did it anyway. You have all my respect and admiration for sticking with your writing through...
Morning Writing Challenge Tips 9 & 10
Welcome back to the Morning Writing Challenge Tips series. Regardless of whether or not you’ve participated in the challenge, these tips are useful for building and sustaining a lasting writing practice. Morning Writing Challenge Tips #9 & #10 Today...
Morning Writing Challenge Tips 7 & 8
Welcome back to the Morning Writing Challenge Tips series. If you haven’t joined the challenge, it’s (really!) not too late to join us. You can still find benefit in participating for the next two days. Find all the details here. Either way, these...
Recovering From Creative Burnout
7 Steps to Recovering From Creative Burnout
Over the last few weeks I’ve been writing about creative depletion and the cycle of creative burnout, and creating a cycle of creative renewal. Today it’s time to talk about recovering from creative burnout. As I said to one of my Called to Write members...
Creating a cycle of creative renewal
In my last post, I wrote about the cycle of creative burnout and how our creative inspiration becomes depleted when we push ourselves too hard and for too long. I’m well acquainted with burnout; it’s a cultural norm in the field of urban design, my last...
When you have nothing left
In my Called to Write community we periodically talk about creative burnout. In our Western culture we work hard, driven by puritanical work ethics, cultural programming, keeping up with the Joneses, guilt, etc. It’s no wonder we’re exhausted. We push and...
Handling Digital Distractions
The results of my online detox experiment and how it has affected my writing
I wrote recently getting a handle on online distractions that keep you from writing, and prior to that, about cutting back on the online distractions that were cluttering my head. I’ve been highly interested in this topic because I could feel my life-energy...
Getting a handle on the online distractions that keep you from writing
Yesterday I had the pleasure of listening to Jessica Michaelson speak about dealing with our “click and scroll” compulsions in the context of how they keep us from living the lives we want to lead. Jessica is a brilliant coach and psychologist that...
Minding my own business (managing the distractions so I can focus on my life, my kids, and my writing)
In this über-distractified world we live in, minding our own business is becoming increasingly important. I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the way I start my day in this regard. Whose day is it, anyway? If I get up and instantly tune in to what other people are...
The Inner Game of Writing
Do you have accomplishment amnesia?
Accomplishment amnesia is a common ailment that strikes many of us, particularly those of us that are highly conscientious, responsible, talented, and highly sensitive. It seems to run in parallel with these traits. What is accomplishment amnesia? Accomplishment...
Handling Impostor Syndrome: For the Days When You Feel Like a Fraud
“Impostor syndrome” — the feeling that you are a fake or a fraud — usually goes along with a fear that people will find out you are not actually good at what you say can do. Or perhaps that you can’t do it at all. Most of my clients and...
Why it requires courage to write
This is part of a series on “How to Find the Courage to Share the Stories You Are Longing To Tell.” Today’s post starts the series with thoughts on “Why It Requires Courage to Write.” Why it requires courage to write I’ve dreamed of writing for years, since I was a...
Handling Writer’s Block
Why We’re Rereading Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art”
Here at Called to Write, we’re rereading Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art. I’ve read it at least five times already. And referred to it many times in between. This month, as part of starting off the new year, I invited my Called to Write members...
On Finishing (and Perfectionism!): A Review of Jon Acuff’s Finish
I’ve just finished reading Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done* by Jon Acuff. It’s a delightfully irreverent book packed with useful insights — sometimes counterintuitive — about how and why we stop ourselves from finishing (hint:...
Getting Out of Writing Overwhelm and Into Action
Let’s talk about writing. And overwhelm. First, a story. When I was a kid, my parents used to take us on high Sierra backpacking trips. They were hard. We’re talking about high-altitude, have to hit 10,000 feet before you get to the lake kind of hard....
Writer Success Stories
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