Ask the Author: Shannon Cutts
Answered Questions (6)
Shannon Cutts
Hmmm.....well, I guess I don't, really. If I'm not feeling it, I'm not feeling it. I haven't ever found that "pushing through" really works for me personally. The block typically seems to indicate that a) I need to rest and replenish, b) I am trying to write when I need to be doing something else (aka I'm scared, procrastinating, etc), or c) my ego has kicked in and I "need" to write to give myself a boost. None of these - IMO - are good reason to write. When I'm ready to write again, I will know. But I know there are many different ways to approach this issue - this is just what works for me.
Shannon Cutts
Working in your jammies and being able to pick your own assistants (with feathers)? Honestly, I never did adjust to the 8-to-5 or the office setting - I'm a Type AAA introvert with strong self-management and self-motivation skills, so working at home with my pets where I can have the exact situation that best supports me in my work is just ideal. It took a long time to get myself situated to do this, but I always knew it would be worth the work - and it is! :-)
Shannon Cutts
Oh gosh - I'd say WRITE. Just write. You are a writer if you write - don't wait to allow yourself the joy of calling yourself a writer! And READ. Being good at the former is fed from a love of the latter (or at least it is for me). And read Rainer Maria Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet" (I have the Stephen Mitchell translation) - in this book you will find a writing mentor for life!
Shannon Cutts
My second book is finished and I'm working on preparing it for publication - exciting times! It should be out later this year and is titled "Love & Feathers: what a palm-sized parrot has taught me about life, love, and healthy self-esteem." In the meantime, I add new posts to the Love & Feathers blog daily (you can read them here on Goodreads!), write my Mentoring & Recovery blog for Psych Central, publish monthly via Good News for Recovery + Life, my free ezine, and of course there is my freelance work!
Shannon Cutts
My literary agent once shared that she believes no one writes a book because they want to. They write a book because they NEED to. I would say the same. I feel something within - something moves - it gets more impatient - if I don't act (by sitting down at my computer, fingers poised over the keyboard) it either continues to get grumpier or eventually gives up (to my ultimate loss). I try not to write when I'm not feeling that specific feeling - I guess you could call it inspiration - because if I don't feel it, I probably am in a "filling up" mode where I still need to replenish myself after my last creative output.
Shannon Cutts
Hint: he is small and feathery and very cute and he is sitting on my hat. ;-) Seriously - nature and animals and especially my pets have always been such huge mentoring influences in my life. So for my new book (due out later this year) I think the subtitle sums up what I want to share about this topic: "Love & Feathers: what a palm-sized parrot has taught me about life, love, and healthy self-esteem."
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