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Писать профессионально. Как побороть прокрастинацию, перфекционизм и творческие кризисы
Не обвиняйте лень и отсутствие дисциплины в том, что никак не можете начать писать. В этом виноваты прокрастинация и перфекционизм, корень которых — в страхе. Прочитав эту книгу, вы сможете писать дисциплинированно, ответственно и с большей энергией.
Автор и преподаватель Хиллари Реттиг глубоко и детально исследует основные причины низкой продуктивности писателей: нехватку времени, откладывание на потом, стремление к совершенству, предубеждения, смешанные чувства, внешние требования и давление со стороны издателей, неэффективную организацию рабочего процесса — и рассказывает, как с ними бороться:
• выявить и преодолеть перфекционизм;
• грамотно управлять своими ресурсами;
• управлять своим временем;
• оптимизировать процесс письма;
• осознать и признать свою идентичность и принадлежность к писателям;
• развивать устойчивость к критике и отказам;
• и построить независимую, свободную карьеру.
Неважно, что вы пишете — художественную литературу или нон-фикшн, сценарии, тексты для своей работы, обучения или бизнеса, — эти правила помогут вам повысить продуктивность, снизить стресс и начать наслаждаться процессом создания текстов.
Специальный раздел в книге включает главы о том, как:
• создавать тексты для интернета и выдерживать его не всегда дружелюбную среду;
• справляться с многочисленными сложными и подчас невежественными комментариями и вопросами со стороны читателей;
• издаваться, если вы недавно окончили учебное заведение или пишете научные и научно-популярные тексты.
Для кого эта книга?
Для всех, кто пишет тексты — от рассказов и романов до нон-фикшн книг и научных работ. И для всех, кто испытывает страх белого листа и хочет писать продуктивнее, не откладывая дело на потом.
Автор и преподаватель Хиллари Реттиг глубоко и детально исследует основные причины низкой продуктивности писателей: нехватку времени, откладывание на потом, стремление к совершенству, предубеждения, смешанные чувства, внешние требования и давление со стороны издателей, неэффективную организацию рабочего процесса — и рассказывает, как с ними бороться:
• выявить и преодолеть перфекционизм;
• грамотно управлять своими ресурсами;
• управлять своим временем;
• оптимизировать процесс письма;
• осознать и признать свою идентичность и принадлежность к писателям;
• развивать устойчивость к критике и отказам;
• и построить независимую, свободную карьеру.
Неважно, что вы пишете — художественную литературу или нон-фикшн, сценарии, тексты для своей работы, обучения или бизнеса, — эти правила помогут вам повысить продуктивность, снизить стресс и начать наслаждаться процессом создания текстов.
Специальный раздел в книге включает главы о том, как:
• создавать тексты для интернета и выдерживать его не всегда дружелюбную среду;
• справляться с многочисленными сложными и подчас невежественными комментариями и вопросами со стороны читателей;
• издаваться, если вы недавно окончили учебное заведение или пишете научные и научно-популярные тексты.
Для кого эта книга?
Для всех, кто пишет тексты — от рассказов и романов до нон-фикшн книг и научных работ. И для всех, кто испытывает страх белого листа и хочет писать продуктивнее, не откладывая дело на потом.
272 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2011
233 people are currently reading
1341 people want to read
About the author
Hillary Rettig
8 books26 followersAll of my work is devoted to helping people locate and remedy the disempowering forces in their work and life, so that they can reclaim their joyful productivity.
Procrastination, blocks, and other forms of underproductivity aren't due to laziness or lack of discipline, but disempowerment. Disempowerment means you’re not missing anything you need to be productive: you’re just separated from, or have lost access to, that which you have–i.e., your strengths, skills, talents and energy. (Laziness, etc., are symptoms, not causes, so please don’t focus on them.)
My most recent books are Productivity is Power I: 5 Liberating Practices for College Students (Infinite Art, 2022) and Productivity is Power II: For Creative, Business, and Other Professionals (Infinite Art, 2023).
Other books include the bestselling The 7 Secrets of the Prolific, The Journey is the Reward, and The Lifelong Activist.
I have taught productivity and time-management classes at top writing, business, educational, arts, and community organizations throughout the United States.
My articles have appeared in Psychology Today, Huffington Post, Fortune, Future Buzz, Time Management Ninja, Tomorrow’s Professor, Authors Helping Authors, The Thesis Whisperer, and numerous other publications.
On a personal note, I was born in the Bronx, NY, and have also lived in Ithaca (NY), Boston (MA), and Kalamazoo (MI). My partner and I recently moved to Warren, RI, and are enjoying living near the ocean. I'm a vegan, living kidney donor, former foster mother to four South Sudanese refugee teenagers (now all adult and living independently), and lover of life, dogs, travel, and social justice in all its forms.
Please visit my Website for more information about me and my work, plus lots of free downloads.
Procrastination, blocks, and other forms of underproductivity aren't due to laziness or lack of discipline, but disempowerment. Disempowerment means you’re not missing anything you need to be productive: you’re just separated from, or have lost access to, that which you have–i.e., your strengths, skills, talents and energy. (Laziness, etc., are symptoms, not causes, so please don’t focus on them.)
My most recent books are Productivity is Power I: 5 Liberating Practices for College Students (Infinite Art, 2022) and Productivity is Power II: For Creative, Business, and Other Professionals (Infinite Art, 2023).
Other books include the bestselling The 7 Secrets of the Prolific, The Journey is the Reward, and The Lifelong Activist.
I have taught productivity and time-management classes at top writing, business, educational, arts, and community organizations throughout the United States.
My articles have appeared in Psychology Today, Huffington Post, Fortune, Future Buzz, Time Management Ninja, Tomorrow’s Professor, Authors Helping Authors, The Thesis Whisperer, and numerous other publications.
On a personal note, I was born in the Bronx, NY, and have also lived in Ithaca (NY), Boston (MA), and Kalamazoo (MI). My partner and I recently moved to Warren, RI, and are enjoying living near the ocean. I'm a vegan, living kidney donor, former foster mother to four South Sudanese refugee teenagers (now all adult and living independently), and lover of life, dogs, travel, and social justice in all its forms.
Please visit my Website for more information about me and my work, plus lots of free downloads.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
February 10, 2025
I am embarrassingly addicted to artistic self-help books…but this one is very good. In the last 1.5 years I’ve suddenly been able to write a LOT (as in: consistently, with relatively low anxiety, and at a much higher quality bar than I’ve been able to do in the past) but the reasons for this have felt so obscure and mysterious. Rettig’s book helped me reverse-engineer the attitudes and practices and habits that got me there. She also offers a lot of tips that are especially helpful now, when I’m in a bit of a lull and trying to get those habits going again.
The key insight from the book is that writers who often feel blocked are trapped in a compulsively perfectionistic mindset. Rettig suggests that writers cultivate an attitude of compassionate objectivity, which allows people to feel comfortable making mediocre work to start—and this is, counterintuitively, what makes people capable of better work than their perfectionist selves could create.
The key insight from the book is that writers who often feel blocked are trapped in a compulsively perfectionistic mindset. Rettig suggests that writers cultivate an attitude of compassionate objectivity, which allows people to feel comfortable making mediocre work to start—and this is, counterintuitively, what makes people capable of better work than their perfectionist selves could create.
November 14, 2015
A book telling us how to overcome procrastination and perfectionism, eh?
It sounds like just the sort of thing that I need. So I bought it and started reading, eager to learn where I have been going wrong all these years.
And that's when the problems started. This book is incredibly wordy. The title should have given me a clue: "The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, and Writer's Block". Snappy it isn't.
The book carries on in the same vein. We get endless lists and definitions. We get underlined sections, sections in bold, comments in brackets. At least twice the author felt the need to say (get it?) when she had used a word that might scrape in as a pun, such as the word "authority" includes the word "author" (get it?). She tells us what she is about to say, tells us, then tells us what she has said.
But you can forgive an author for being wordy if they are giving good information. This is a text book after all and not fiction. That's when you get to the second problem. The author is incredibly opinionated. There is a theme repeated throughout the book of a right way to do something and lots of wrong ways. We are constantly being told that prolific writers do it one way and everyone else who doesn't is wrong.
Apparently, we must have two computers. One connected to the internet for research and one with no internet connection. And we have to have an ergonomic keyboard and ...
Get it? This is one hell of a preachy book.
If you like the sort of advice that she is offering then you might get something out it. There are some nuggets in here, although it is hard work finding them. But the solutions on offer won't work for everyone because we are only shown one set of solutions. And to get to the solutions we have to wade through a lot of repetition and dogmatism.
Does this book work? I don't know, I really don't. First you have to get to the end without throwing it at the wall for the dense writing and "the only right way is..." sentiments. Then you would have to be lucky enough that her suggested approach chimes with you. It might work for you, it might not.
As I waded through the book, one overwhelming thought struck me. Kudos and respect to Hillary Rettig for writing it. She has put a lot of effort into a topic that she clearly feels passionately about. But in her effort to cram everything in she has written a book which is difficult to read. Just like the title, the book is overlong, over complicated and subjective.
What the book really needed was a damn good edit. For someone to come along with an understanding of what readers want to read - shorter sentences, fewer unnecessary definitions, fewer brackets and exclamation marks.
In other words, what this book needs is a little bit of that perfectionism that she spends so long rubbishing, and a little less rushing to get it finished.
And that is indeed ironic. A book that criticises perfectionism would have been improved by some.
It sounds like just the sort of thing that I need. So I bought it and started reading, eager to learn where I have been going wrong all these years.
And that's when the problems started. This book is incredibly wordy. The title should have given me a clue: "The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, and Writer's Block". Snappy it isn't.
The book carries on in the same vein. We get endless lists and definitions. We get underlined sections, sections in bold, comments in brackets. At least twice the author felt the need to say (get it?) when she had used a word that might scrape in as a pun, such as the word "authority" includes the word "author" (get it?). She tells us what she is about to say, tells us, then tells us what she has said.
But you can forgive an author for being wordy if they are giving good information. This is a text book after all and not fiction. That's when you get to the second problem. The author is incredibly opinionated. There is a theme repeated throughout the book of a right way to do something and lots of wrong ways. We are constantly being told that prolific writers do it one way and everyone else who doesn't is wrong.
Apparently, we must have two computers. One connected to the internet for research and one with no internet connection. And we have to have an ergonomic keyboard and ...
Get it? This is one hell of a preachy book.
If you like the sort of advice that she is offering then you might get something out it. There are some nuggets in here, although it is hard work finding them. But the solutions on offer won't work for everyone because we are only shown one set of solutions. And to get to the solutions we have to wade through a lot of repetition and dogmatism.
Does this book work? I don't know, I really don't. First you have to get to the end without throwing it at the wall for the dense writing and "the only right way is..." sentiments. Then you would have to be lucky enough that her suggested approach chimes with you. It might work for you, it might not.
As I waded through the book, one overwhelming thought struck me. Kudos and respect to Hillary Rettig for writing it. She has put a lot of effort into a topic that she clearly feels passionately about. But in her effort to cram everything in she has written a book which is difficult to read. Just like the title, the book is overlong, over complicated and subjective.
What the book really needed was a damn good edit. For someone to come along with an understanding of what readers want to read - shorter sentences, fewer unnecessary definitions, fewer brackets and exclamation marks.
In other words, what this book needs is a little bit of that perfectionism that she spends so long rubbishing, and a little less rushing to get it finished.
And that is indeed ironic. A book that criticises perfectionism would have been improved by some.
April 18, 2014
Well this really surprised me. Yet another read that I picked up entirely at random, and I read this more as food for thoughts to look at barriers to writing and what people could do to overcome them. Rettig does a fine job of examining multiple angles for what keeps people from writing, from procrastinating on projects and solutions to deal effectively with that, perfectionistic tendencies and ways that writers (in multiple venues, not just fiction writing) tend to punish themselves, time management, taking criticism and using it constructively, while also dealing with it (this is important because so many writers I've seen really don't take this seriously enough!)among other aspects. I think this will be one that I return to in future venues because much of the advice is practical, and the solutions are well-explained and applicable. The illustrations in the collection are nice and complimentary to the text. Overall, nice guide on the subject matter.
Overall score: 4/5 stars.
Overall score: 4/5 stars.
April 24, 2016
Okay. It started off okay. Some of the things she brings up about perfectionism and why I should try to avoid it struck a chord. But then it just goes downhill from there. The section on time management in particular just pissed me off. The thing is she's presenting things in black and white dichotomies. Like comparing a stereotyped "Bad Time Manager" with a "Good Time Manager." The Bad Time Manager works 40 hours for a job not related to writing. What a sap, right? The Good Time Manager works part-time and it's all worth it. Okay, well pardon me for getting attached to health care and being able to support myself. Not everyone is blessed with family that will support them financially. And the 5th or 6th time she pimped her own e-book about... I don't even fucking care, I threw the book down.
Here, I'll sum up the only thing I took away from this book. "Don't be so hard on yourself."
Here, I'll sum up the only thing I took away from this book. "Don't be so hard on yourself."
September 20, 2022
The first two chapters are remarkably useful for anyone who is stuck — not just on writing, but really on any kind of project.
January 6, 2018
WHO IT'S FOR: Artists, especially writers, who would like to overcome procrastination and produce more
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT: First off, Rettig decriminalizes procrastination and prohibits self-shaming: "The use of shame and coercion as motivational tools, even on yourself, is not just immoral, but futile. They yield not growth and evolution, but, at best, short-term compliance. They also sabotage the creative process." Instead, she identifies perfectionism as the real culprit and Compassionate Objectivity as its antidote. She offers six more solutions, as well as how to implement them, such as:
• Develop the Habit of Abundant Rewards and No Punishments: rewards yourself A LOT for getting stuff done
• Build Your Capacity for Fearless Writing via Timed Writing Exercises: I've found setting a timer to be miraculously effective. Get it get stuff done.
I'm also a huge fan of her Three Productivity Behaviors: "(1) showing up exactly on time, (2) doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing, and (3) doing it uninterruptedly (except for small breaks) for long periods of time."
I particularly appreciate Rettig's unequivocal advice to self-publish your books and bypass the sclerotic traditional publishing industry entirely. She completely validates the suffering of authors at the hands of prima donna agents and capricious publishers who aren't really invested in your career. Taking control is the best decision you can make, and more profitable to boot.
In its 182 pages, this book contains zero padding and more actionable wisdom than books three times the length, all coming from a well of deep compassion and understanding. I'll be referring to this one for a long time to come.
-- Ali Binazir, M.D., M.Phil., Happiness Engineer and author of The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible, the highest-rated dating book on Amazon for 4 years, and Should I Go to Medical School?: An Irreverent Guide to the Pros and Cons of a Career in Medicine
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT: First off, Rettig decriminalizes procrastination and prohibits self-shaming: "The use of shame and coercion as motivational tools, even on yourself, is not just immoral, but futile. They yield not growth and evolution, but, at best, short-term compliance. They also sabotage the creative process." Instead, she identifies perfectionism as the real culprit and Compassionate Objectivity as its antidote. She offers six more solutions, as well as how to implement them, such as:
• Develop the Habit of Abundant Rewards and No Punishments: rewards yourself A LOT for getting stuff done
• Build Your Capacity for Fearless Writing via Timed Writing Exercises: I've found setting a timer to be miraculously effective. Get it get stuff done.
I'm also a huge fan of her Three Productivity Behaviors: "(1) showing up exactly on time, (2) doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing, and (3) doing it uninterruptedly (except for small breaks) for long periods of time."
I particularly appreciate Rettig's unequivocal advice to self-publish your books and bypass the sclerotic traditional publishing industry entirely. She completely validates the suffering of authors at the hands of prima donna agents and capricious publishers who aren't really invested in your career. Taking control is the best decision you can make, and more profitable to boot.
In its 182 pages, this book contains zero padding and more actionable wisdom than books three times the length, all coming from a well of deep compassion and understanding. I'll be referring to this one for a long time to come.
-- Ali Binazir, M.D., M.Phil., Happiness Engineer and author of The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible, the highest-rated dating book on Amazon for 4 years, and Should I Go to Medical School?: An Irreverent Guide to the Pros and Cons of a Career in Medicine
April 14, 2013
Hillary Rettig's writing book covers quite a lot of territory, in depth. The first two chapters, on procrastination and perfectionism, I flew through as they presented new ideas to me.
I got bogged down in chapters three (Coping with Resource Constraints) and four (Liberating Yourself From Time Constraints) because the book covered topics that I already have a handle on. Those two chapters I slogged through, sorry to say. I have been writing for many years and the information presented was stuff I'd already worked out on my own.
It picked up again with chapters five through eight, which covered writing processes, bias, internal oppression, rejection, and self-publishing.
Chapter eight, the one on self-publishing, left me with a positive opinion of the book because I agree 100% that self-publishing is the best career path for 90% of the writers out there these days. It is so sad that many authors will never see their works of art published just because they are waiting for big name publishers to welcome them into the fold.
This book is full of practical advice for writers, and should be particularly helpful to new writers who are striving to create for themselves a writing-centered life.
I got bogged down in chapters three (Coping with Resource Constraints) and four (Liberating Yourself From Time Constraints) because the book covered topics that I already have a handle on. Those two chapters I slogged through, sorry to say. I have been writing for many years and the information presented was stuff I'd already worked out on my own.
It picked up again with chapters five through eight, which covered writing processes, bias, internal oppression, rejection, and self-publishing.
Chapter eight, the one on self-publishing, left me with a positive opinion of the book because I agree 100% that self-publishing is the best career path for 90% of the writers out there these days. It is so sad that many authors will never see their works of art published just because they are waiting for big name publishers to welcome them into the fold.
This book is full of practical advice for writers, and should be particularly helpful to new writers who are striving to create for themselves a writing-centered life.
December 31, 2021
This fairly short book is a self help guide to help in overcoming the tendency to make unrealistic demands of oneself and to have grandiose notions about the life of a writer, which the author characterises as perfectionism and sees as the root cause of procrastination and under-productivity among writers.
She ends the main section by recommending self publishing and has some scathing things to say about traditional publishers. An appendix is aimed at graduate students of creative writing degrees, and having read that also, I'm glad that location and cost put me off embarking on one of those years ago.
The book has a few illustrations of a comic type nature which are charming.
One slight niggle is that where the author offers examples of helpful resources/groups to join, these are exclusively for USA based writers.
Where the book really falls down, in the Kindle version which I have, are the formatting issues. Firstly, a more minor point that, in two places, a list is referred to and discussed but the list itself is omitted. Secondly, there are a couple of tables which are in image form and required a magnifier to read. But the main issue is that there are a lot of quotations, but these are not differentiated, for example by being shown in italics, so when one finishes and the author's text resumes, there is a clunky transition for the reader, who has to adjust, along the lines of "Oh, this must be back to the text". Due to these problems, I am rating it as 3 stars.
She ends the main section by recommending self publishing and has some scathing things to say about traditional publishers. An appendix is aimed at graduate students of creative writing degrees, and having read that also, I'm glad that location and cost put me off embarking on one of those years ago.
The book has a few illustrations of a comic type nature which are charming.
One slight niggle is that where the author offers examples of helpful resources/groups to join, these are exclusively for USA based writers.
Where the book really falls down, in the Kindle version which I have, are the formatting issues. Firstly, a more minor point that, in two places, a list is referred to and discussed but the list itself is omitted. Secondly, there are a couple of tables which are in image form and required a magnifier to read. But the main issue is that there are a lot of quotations, but these are not differentiated, for example by being shown in italics, so when one finishes and the author's text resumes, there is a clunky transition for the reader, who has to adjust, along the lines of "Oh, this must be back to the text". Due to these problems, I am rating it as 3 stars.
May 23, 2013
I found this book to be a quick read and it would likely appeal to anyone needing a push to start writing. I heard about it from another writer and when I saw it had nearly-perfect reviews on Amazon, decided it was worth the $3.95 for the Kindle edition, even though I really don't have trouble writing a lot. (What I have trouble with is finishing the stuff I start, but that's another story....)
This book reminded me of Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way," in that it blends pop psychology, inspirational-workshop-leader talk and a few bits of sound advice. I gave it one star for several reasons: the writing style is better suited to the inspirational speaker circuit than to a book (lots of catch phrases that are repeated over and over, for example) and, most importantly, the editing and format were so atrocious that key portions of the book were missing.
The author tries to make a comparison between training for a long running race and training for a long writing session, and refers to two "lists" of characteristics that she's apparently generated from workshop brainstorming sessions. Neither of these lists appeared in my Kindle version. Later, other lists, presented in a graphical format, DID appear, so I assume this was some sort of formatting issue.
Considering that the entire last section of the book is all about self-publishing and states in no uncertain terms that NO writer should ever work with a publisher, but should self-publish everything, this sloppiness in editing and formatting is inexcusable. It completely negates everything the author has said about the reasons to self-publish (and there are many). Her own example of a self-published work (the e-book version, at least) is so poor that I plan to ask Amazon for my money back since I didn't receive a complete version of the book.
Save your money - don't buy this book until the author learns to take her own advice and hire professional help to edit and format her book.
This book reminded me of Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way," in that it blends pop psychology, inspirational-workshop-leader talk and a few bits of sound advice. I gave it one star for several reasons: the writing style is better suited to the inspirational speaker circuit than to a book (lots of catch phrases that are repeated over and over, for example) and, most importantly, the editing and format were so atrocious that key portions of the book were missing.
The author tries to make a comparison between training for a long running race and training for a long writing session, and refers to two "lists" of characteristics that she's apparently generated from workshop brainstorming sessions. Neither of these lists appeared in my Kindle version. Later, other lists, presented in a graphical format, DID appear, so I assume this was some sort of formatting issue.
Considering that the entire last section of the book is all about self-publishing and states in no uncertain terms that NO writer should ever work with a publisher, but should self-publish everything, this sloppiness in editing and formatting is inexcusable. It completely negates everything the author has said about the reasons to self-publish (and there are many). Her own example of a self-published work (the e-book version, at least) is so poor that I plan to ask Amazon for my money back since I didn't receive a complete version of the book.
Save your money - don't buy this book until the author learns to take her own advice and hire professional help to edit and format her book.
March 4, 2018
The 7 Secrets of the Prolific is an excellent book for writers who have writer's block or have troubles with procrastination. The author does an excellent job of exploring what stops people from writing and helping them figure out what actions to take. Even for someone who is prolific, this book will have some valuable insights. I found it helpful for recognizing some behaviors that have stopped me from being as productive with my writing as I'd like. She also does a good job of exploring the realities of being a published author and how to think of your writing as a business. If you want to be more productive with your writing check this book out.
July 18, 2018
The book is excellent!!!! For me especially as I started a PhD recently and had, as Hillary called it a spaghetti mess to sort through. My spaghetti mess is the fear of writing and surprisingly for me, who is quite unorganized, my strive for perfectionism that is standing between me and starting to write. Furthermore, what I really really appreciated, was that she actually gets to the how of doing things, which a lot of books I read talked about but failed to get to!!!
November 15, 2019
Книга Хилари Реттиг «Писать профессионально. Как побороть прокрастинацию, перфекционизм и творческие кризисы» не столько про писательское мастерство, сколько своеобразная энциклопедия по трем обозначенным темам - прокрастинации, перфекционизму и творческим кризисам. Энциклопедия не столько научная, сколько прикладная. Типа "вот вам 11 видов прокрастинации и вот 15 способов её преодолеть". Мега-полезно для всех людей творческих (и не очень))) профессий, кто сталкивается с тремя обозначенными проблемами.
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Ежедневно я пишу (по работе и для души) не менее 5-6 тыс.знаков. Когда мне кажется, что это много, я вспоминаю слова одного современного писателя: "Главный секрет писательского успеха прост - железная задница" ))) Я не стремлюсь к "писательскому успеху", но идеи на пару книжек в моей голове бродят. А вот "железной задницы" (т.е. настойчивости и последовательности) в их реализации вечно не хватает. Книга Реттинг - отличная пилюля от всяких отговорок, и действительно содержит множество подсказок о том, как думать и действовать серьёзно ( =профессионально).
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"Плюсы": 1) Половина книги - "психотерапия" о том, как преодолеть страхи, неуверенность, непонимание окружающих и т.п. внутренние заморочки. Другая половина - конкретные рекомендации о том, как планировать и организовать свою работу в качестве текстописателя; 2) В рекомендациях ничего революционного нет, но они изложены системно, понятно и убедительно; 3) Много примеров из жизни/работы писателей; 4) Интересно про "писательский маркетинг" и самопродвижение.
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"Минусы": 1) Написано довольно занудно, много повторов; 2) Противоречия. Например, то вам нужен ПК с выходом в Интернет (для поиска информации), то вам не нужен доступ в сеть (чтобы не отвлекало). То вам не нужны деньги "на старте", чтобы начать творить или, наоборот, очень нужны, чтобы создать для себя идеальные писательские условия; 3) Всё исключительно про самиздат, нет никаких советов про работу с издательствами, лит.агентами, редакторами и т.п.
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Вывод: отличный прикладной справочник по преодолению внутренних барьеров и улучшению самоорганизации в любой творческой деятельности
Оценка: 5/5 (полезняшка!)
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Ежедневно я пишу (по работе и для души) не менее 5-6 тыс.знаков. Когда мне кажется, что это много, я вспоминаю слова одного современного писателя: "Главный секрет писательского успеха прост - железная задница" ))) Я не стремлюсь к "писательскому успеху", но идеи на пару книжек в моей голове бродят. А вот "железной задницы" (т.е. настойчивости и последовательности) в их реализации вечно не хватает. Книга Реттинг - отличная пилюля от всяких отговорок, и действительно содержит множество подсказок о том, как думать и действовать серьёзно ( =профессионально).
〰〰〰
"Плюсы": 1) Половина книги - "психотерапия" о том, как преодолеть страхи, неуверенность, непонимание окружающих и т.п. внутренние заморочки. Другая половина - конкретные рекомендации о том, как планировать и организовать свою работу в качестве текстописателя; 2) В рекомендациях ничего революционного нет, но они изложены системно, понятно и убедительно; 3) Много примеров из жизни/работы писателей; 4) Интересно про "писательский маркетинг" и самопродвижение.
〰〰〰
"Минусы": 1) Написано довольно занудно, много повторов; 2) Противоречия. Например, то вам нужен ПК с выходом в Интернет (для поиска информации), то вам не нужен доступ в сеть (чтобы не отвлекало). То вам не нужны деньги "на старте", чтобы начать творить или, наоборот, очень нужны, чтобы создать для себя идеальные писательские условия; 3) Всё исключительно про самиздат, нет никаких советов про работу с издательствами, лит.агентами, редакторами и т.п.
〰〰〰
Вывод: отличный прикладной справочник по преодолению внутренних барьеров и улучшению самоорганизации в любой творческой деятельности
Оценка: 5/5 (полезняшка!)
May 11, 2012
An excellent guide to overcoming procrastination and blocks to accomplishing any important project. Although the book is aimed at writers, and contains plenty of writing-specific advice, I would recommend it to anyone who struggles with initiating or completing projects, and especially to solopreneurs. Hillary has done a beautiful job of capturing all the reasons why writers and other creative, visionary people get stalled in the process of bringing their ideas to life, and provided many truly helpful strategies for getting past those obstacles.
At times, I felt as if she was inside my head, listening to my own internal dialogue. She accurately nailed all the reasons I find myself not being as productive as I would like, and gave me new ideas for overcoming these saboteurs. I recognized many of my clients in her examples as well. I am already recommending this book to my coaching clients, and will give it an honored place on my resource list.
At times, I felt as if she was inside my head, listening to my own internal dialogue. She accurately nailed all the reasons I find myself not being as productive as I would like, and gave me new ideas for overcoming these saboteurs. I recognized many of my clients in her examples as well. I am already recommending this book to my coaching clients, and will give it an honored place on my resource list.
January 3, 2016
An odd one this. I don't like to write negative reviews, but this was a difficult book to get through. In fact, I didn't read it all as I got fed up of the author referring to the LGBT community as 'queers' which was not only insulting, but an odd find in a book about writing. Let me be clear, that the author was not insulting the LGBT community. Not at all. But the use of the word 'queer' was one I found offensive and so I found it difficult to keep reading.
There were some good nuggets of information and ideas presented within and I think some people will find a lot about this book to make their writing process better.
There were some good nuggets of information and ideas presented within and I think some people will find a lot about this book to make their writing process better.
August 31, 2012
This book had some interesting insights about why people procrastinate and what the common causes of writer's block are. The author is really opinionated about self-publishing and includes a couple of plugs for one of her other books, which I could have done without, but overall it's a decent read.
February 25, 2016
Some solid advice for writers. Lots of good tips. Not super original, but really motivating and encouraging. It wasn't a great format though. Lots of single spaced text closely spaced together. It would have made for a better reading experience to break up the text with more paragraphs.
* I received this as a free copy through the GoodReads First Reads giveaway program.
* I received this as a free copy through the GoodReads First Reads giveaway program.
January 20, 2012
I don’t think I’ll do every single thing that this book recommends, but I sticky-noted many, many pages and have already been seeing the benefits from Hillary’s advice. (Just reading the book helped to chip away at some of my writing-related angst.)
June 27, 2015
I received a copy of this through Goodreads Firstreads in exchange for an honest review. Anyone who has a book rumbling around in them would find this book informative and helpful. Even if all of the chapters don't apply to you, it is a great resource to have.
March 17, 2013
some pretty good tips, worth outling
September 23, 2013
The first two chapters of the book are the reason to read it. I'd give that part 4 stars. The rest of the book dragged the rating down.
December 18, 2021
Using the author's own advice, this book should have been an email.
June 28, 2017
Название -- "Писать профессионально" -- могло бы намекнуть, что книга не совсем о том, чего мне надо. Но почему-то не намекнуло.
Основной объем текста посвящён тому, как действовать и вести себя пишущему человеку, чтобы стать более продуктивным и, да, профессиональным: тайм-менеджменту, работе с наставником, посещению писательских семинаров, переживанию неизбежных отказов (в публикации, наставничестве) и критики (профессиональный, дружеской, от случайных людей в интернете), тому, как опубликовать написанное, целеполаганию и планам. Одним словом, тем вещам, которые полезны людям, уже отчётливо понимающим, что они хотят и могут писать (а не делать что-то другое) и осознающим свои писательские амбиции.
Я ничего такого не понимаю и не осознаю, поэтому для меня в книге в основном были полезны первые несколько разделов, которые можно про��уммировать ёмкой фразой "просто отъебись от себя". Это и про избавление от внутреннего критика, и про борьбу с перфекционизмом, который не даёт работать спокойно, только заставляет дергаться и бесконечно подпрыгивать, пытаясь дотянуться до заведомо недостижимой планки качества. Мысль не новая, её на разные лады пересказывают во многизх книгах не только о писательстве, но и о творчестве вообще. Не новая, но при этом удивительно тяжёлая для восприятия и требующая бесконечного повторения -- мало понимать, что надо оставить себя в покое и работать, важно видеть, читать, слышать подтверждения этому. Регулярно. Книге Хиллари Реттиг я благодарна за очередное подтверждение.
Остальное меня скореее оттолкнуло и испугало, чем вдохновило или обнадёжило. Книга учит относиться к писательству как к миссии: с понятной целью и планом по её достижению. У меня пока слишком мало уверенности в своих силах и смелости для того чтобы поставить хоть какую-то цель сложнее, чем дописать короткий рассказ. Хиллари Реттиг такие цели не устраивают. Она хочет от меня плана: на месяц, на два года, на пять: что я собираюсь делать и чего желаю достичь. В этом месте очень стыдно признаться, что пока, прямо сейчас, я не хочу достичь особенно ничего. Просто нравится писать, просто приятно спрятаться иногда в листок бумаги и пожить в нём чужими жизнями, пока своя пробегает сторонкой.
В этом заключается главный страх, касающийся любого творчетсва и писательства в частности: а что, если мне так нелья? Разве позволено делать что-то только потому, что оно приносит радость сейчас -- сиюминутное удовлетворение, которое неизвестно ещё окажется ли на поверку удачной инвестицией времени или его беспощадной тратой. Разве можно, догадываясь что ты, в общем-то, посредственность, взять и засесть за бумагу без всякой миссии и надеяться, что онажды из этого что-то получится?
Этого страха для Хиллари Реттиг не существует (или она предпочитает его игнорировать, или просто написала книгу для тех, кто уже давно его поборол и готов бежать навстречу своей цели по кратчайшему пути).
Книга Энн Ламотт, которую я начала читать сразу после, кажется как раз об этом страхе, и вступает в приятный контраст с деловым тоном Реттиг, которым наставлять уместнее не начинающих писателей, а продолжающих эффективных менеджеров.
Кстати об этом тоне: он категоричен, и этой категоричностью подчас вызывает отторжение. Автор неоднократно повторяет: для того, чтобы быть продуктивным писателем, важно строго следовать рекомендациям из этой книги. (Это почти дословная цитата.) От таких заявлений отчётливо веет лайф-коучингом, тренингами личностного роста и прочими мероприятиями, на которых учат, как правильно жить, и объясняют, что других правильных способов нет.
Возможно в более определённом и благополучном будущем, когда я перестану терзаться мыслями о том, что моя писанина отнимает время (у меня, у близких, у работодателя, у самого господа бога) и начну иметь в этом занятии отчётливые цели, я захочу вернуться к книге, чтобы узнать, как теперь с этими целями жить. Но пока явно рано. Не доросла ещё.
Основной объем текста посвящён тому, как действовать и вести себя пишущему человеку, чтобы стать более продуктивным и, да, профессиональным: тайм-менеджменту, работе с наставником, посещению писательских семинаров, переживанию неизбежных отказов (в публикации, наставничестве) и критики (профессиональный, дружеской, от случайных людей в интернете), тому, как опубликовать написанное, целеполаганию и планам. Одним словом, тем вещам, которые полезны людям, уже отчётливо понимающим, что они хотят и могут писать (а не делать что-то другое) и осознающим свои писательские амбиции.
Я ничего такого не понимаю и не осознаю, поэтому для меня в книге в основном были полезны первые несколько разделов, которые можно про��уммировать ёмкой фразой "просто отъебись от себя". Это и про избавление от внутреннего критика, и про борьбу с перфекционизмом, который не даёт работать спокойно, только заставляет дергаться и бесконечно подпрыгивать, пытаясь дотянуться до заведомо недостижимой планки качества. Мысль не новая, её на разные лады пересказывают во многизх книгах не только о писательстве, но и о творчестве вообще. Не новая, но при этом удивительно тяжёлая для восприятия и требующая бесконечного повторения -- мало понимать, что надо оставить себя в покое и работать, важно видеть, читать, слышать подтверждения этому. Регулярно. Книге Хиллари Реттиг я благодарна за очередное подтверждение.
Остальное меня скореее оттолкнуло и испугало, чем вдохновило или обнадёжило. Книга учит относиться к писательству как к миссии: с понятной целью и планом по её достижению. У меня пока слишком мало уверенности в своих силах и смелости для того чтобы поставить хоть какую-то цель сложнее, чем дописать короткий рассказ. Хиллари Реттиг такие цели не устраивают. Она хочет от меня плана: на месяц, на два года, на пять: что я собираюсь делать и чего желаю достичь. В этом месте очень стыдно признаться, что пока, прямо сейчас, я не хочу достичь особенно ничего. Просто нравится писать, просто приятно спрятаться иногда в листок бумаги и пожить в нём чужими жизнями, пока своя пробегает сторонкой.
В этом заключается главный страх, касающийся любого творчетсва и писательства в частности: а что, если мне так нелья? Разве позволено делать что-то только потому, что оно приносит радость сейчас -- сиюминутное удовлетворение, которое неизвестно ещё окажется ли на поверку удачной инвестицией времени или его беспощадной тратой. Разве можно, догадываясь что ты, в общем-то, посредственность, взять и засесть за бумагу без всякой миссии и надеяться, что онажды из этого что-то получится?
Этого страха для Хиллари Реттиг не существует (или она предпочитает его игнорировать, или просто написала книгу для тех, кто уже давно его поборол и готов бежать навстречу своей цели по кратчайшему пути).
Книга Энн Ламотт, которую я начала читать сразу после, кажется как раз об этом страхе, и вступает в приятный контраст с деловым тоном Реттиг, которым наставлять уместнее не начинающих писателей, а продолжающих эффективных менеджеров.
Кстати об этом тоне: он категоричен, и этой категоричностью подчас вызывает отторжение. Автор неоднократно повторяет: для того, чтобы быть продуктивным писателем, важно строго следовать рекомендациям из этой книги. (Это почти дословная цитата.) От таких заявлений отчётливо веет лайф-коучингом, тренингами личностного роста и прочими мероприятиями, на которых учат, как правильно жить, и объясняют, что других правильных способов нет.
Возможно в более определённом и благополучном будущем, когда я перестану терзаться мыслями о том, что моя писанина отнимает время (у меня, у близких, у работодателя, у самого господа бога) и начну иметь в этом занятии отчётливые цели, я захочу вернуться к книге, чтобы узнать, как теперь с этими целями жить. Но пока явно рано. Не доросла ещё.
February 9, 2019
Most of this book is uplifting, encouraging, and full of useful practical tips. The “7 secrets” which the author claims will enable us to start writing prolifically are:
* overcoming perfectionism
* accessing abundant resources
* developing good time management
* optimizing the writing process
* identifying as a writer
* coping with rejection
* having a proactive career strategy
(I’ve paraphrased these from the list in the book, partly because the chapter headings didn’t exactly match the list, and partly to represent the content that I found most useful from each section.)
A lot of these suggestions reinforced things I already believed, but it was helpful to have them gathered in one place and clearly spelled out, and there were also quite a few points that were covered in more depth or from a different angle than I’d seen before. For me, some of the most useful material covered topics such as:
* the “grandiosity” often associated with perfectionism, & the need to take time to master your craft
* the importance of belonging to a supportive writing community and how to go about finding or creating one
* focusing on the key “productivity behaviours” of showing up exactly on time, doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing, & keeping on going without interruptions
* approaching writing with an attitude of “compassionate objectivity”, and using a free-writing process to produce many drafts quickly
* the value of “coming out” as a writer
* reframing rejection as something to aim for on the path to success
* giving explicit consideration to whether you really want to pursue writing as a hobby or a career, and the implications of each choice for how you should be spending your time
I was less enthusiastic about some of the material in the last two sections. Some passages (on the frequency of “traumatic rejections”, “the decline of writing as a profession”, and the “fundamentally disempowering system” of traditional publishing) felt pessimistic to the point of demoralising. I occasionally felt myself deciding – on the basis of zero evidence, I must admit – that I didn’t need to entirely believe statements such as “writers do have to endure levels of rejection that most people can’t tolerate”, “for all intents and purposes, freelancing for magazines and newspapers no longer exists as a career”, and “self-publishing is the only way to go”. I still can’t decide whether my reaction to these ideas is a valid criticism or a sign that I’m still suffering from that perfectionist grandiosity…
* overcoming perfectionism
* accessing abundant resources
* developing good time management
* optimizing the writing process
* identifying as a writer
* coping with rejection
* having a proactive career strategy
(I’ve paraphrased these from the list in the book, partly because the chapter headings didn’t exactly match the list, and partly to represent the content that I found most useful from each section.)
A lot of these suggestions reinforced things I already believed, but it was helpful to have them gathered in one place and clearly spelled out, and there were also quite a few points that were covered in more depth or from a different angle than I’d seen before. For me, some of the most useful material covered topics such as:
* the “grandiosity” often associated with perfectionism, & the need to take time to master your craft
* the importance of belonging to a supportive writing community and how to go about finding or creating one
* focusing on the key “productivity behaviours” of showing up exactly on time, doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing, & keeping on going without interruptions
* approaching writing with an attitude of “compassionate objectivity”, and using a free-writing process to produce many drafts quickly
* the value of “coming out” as a writer
* reframing rejection as something to aim for on the path to success
* giving explicit consideration to whether you really want to pursue writing as a hobby or a career, and the implications of each choice for how you should be spending your time
I was less enthusiastic about some of the material in the last two sections. Some passages (on the frequency of “traumatic rejections”, “the decline of writing as a profession”, and the “fundamentally disempowering system” of traditional publishing) felt pessimistic to the point of demoralising. I occasionally felt myself deciding – on the basis of zero evidence, I must admit – that I didn’t need to entirely believe statements such as “writers do have to endure levels of rejection that most people can’t tolerate”, “for all intents and purposes, freelancing for magazines and newspapers no longer exists as a career”, and “self-publishing is the only way to go”. I still can’t decide whether my reaction to these ideas is a valid criticism or a sign that I’m still suffering from that perfectionist grandiosity…
November 2, 2020
I skimmed through a big chunk of it because some chapters didn't interest me as much. I don't think this was the book for me specifically, maybe because I'm one of those "hobby writers" that the author seem to not like that much (LOL). But my main problem is that, while the first few chapters did help me get to the core of some of my issues with writing, they didn't really offer many solutions, not for "hobby writers" like me who have 0 need to Actually Be Productive, if not for self validation and simple desire to write.
I do understand that overcoming procrastination isn't something that can happen simply by reading a book, but that's not what I was looking when I picked this up (after a friend suggested it to me). It's just, I guess, the fact that this seem very much directed to published or want-to-be-published authors, and does little to help the ones who are just here for the ride.
Still, some chapters were useful and I don't think this was a waste of time—it did help me think some things through.
I do understand that overcoming procrastination isn't something that can happen simply by reading a book, but that's not what I was looking when I picked this up (after a friend suggested it to me). It's just, I guess, the fact that this seem very much directed to published or want-to-be-published authors, and does little to help the ones who are just here for the ride.
Still, some chapters were useful and I don't think this was a waste of time—it did help me think some things through.
March 25, 2018
This book gave me a lot to think about! Whew. Practically bookmarked the *entire* thing. I just bought a copy from Amazon, in fact, after checking it out from the library and putting little post-it notes all over it, because typing up all the useful factoids in this book would be unproductive, and would take too long, and ultimately, would probably be a procrastination measure best avoided, to follow Rettig’s advice.
Rettig is opinionated, to say the least, but I found a lot of what she said to resonate with me, and thus to be true at least for me. I would personally move the epilogue to a different part of the book, or try to end it on a more positive note. I found myself really jazzed by her very persuasive pitch for self-publishing as a tool for the 21st century writer towards the end of _7 Secrets_, but then the epilogue about academia’s exploitation of adjuncts and graduate students in the humanities was really a downer.... but, again, yeah...probably true.
Rettig is opinionated, to say the least, but I found a lot of what she said to resonate with me, and thus to be true at least for me. I would personally move the epilogue to a different part of the book, or try to end it on a more positive note. I found myself really jazzed by her very persuasive pitch for self-publishing as a tool for the 21st century writer towards the end of _7 Secrets_, but then the epilogue about academia’s exploitation of adjuncts and graduate students in the humanities was really a downer.... but, again, yeah...probably true.
January 14, 2025
I'm self-help-pilled! Not giving this 5 stars because every sentence is perfect - I think the most useful and insightful advice was concentrated in the first half of the book - but because I found it at just the time when I think it would be most useful to me. What Rettig does a spectacular job is really understanding and inhabiting the psychological / emotional aspects of procrastination, and combating that with advice to start slow and fall in love with the process, rather than the outcome (kind of similar to Atomic Habits). She very neatly identified some of the thorniest anxieties that have kept me from being able to write and managed to defuse them without a hint of condescension. There's a tone of intelligent, honest compassion here which I really enjoyed. Would recommend to anyone who's been struggling with procrastination! (I honestly think this book helped unblock me not only in my personal writing but also at work, too!)
April 6, 2018
This book came at a good time for me,
as I just finished my first book in 11 years. Not so prolific, I would say. But I have learned to celebrate and encourage myself, partly due to this book.
Rettig did a good thing with this work.
She has helped to identify the blocks in writing and to set up a schedule as well as supportive people. There are many helpful moments in this. I will keep referring back as I progress as a writer. The chapter on coming out as a writer is especially powerful. I guess it is the place that I did not expect to be, but it makes sense as this is a nervous thing - telling everyone I am a writer. Do I print business cards, do I put writer before my name?
I recommend this book as a necessary addition to the writer's reading list.
as I just finished my first book in 11 years. Not so prolific, I would say. But I have learned to celebrate and encourage myself, partly due to this book.
Rettig did a good thing with this work.
She has helped to identify the blocks in writing and to set up a schedule as well as supportive people. There are many helpful moments in this. I will keep referring back as I progress as a writer. The chapter on coming out as a writer is especially powerful. I guess it is the place that I did not expect to be, but it makes sense as this is a nervous thing - telling everyone I am a writer. Do I print business cards, do I put writer before my name?
I recommend this book as a necessary addition to the writer's reading list.
May 18, 2022
This book did what so many books on related topics promise to but can't do - it changed my procrastination by first changing my mind by first helping me understand what's happening and why. This was really eye opening for me and then the tactics make sense to address the root problem, I just never knew what i was up against and was blindly trying to force things - with some intermittent success followed by relapsing problems with procrastination in many areas. The other book that helped me after this one is "Deep Work" which continued the themes into even more applicable areas in my professional and business and life-management areas.
July 20, 2017
Excellent and informative book for aspiring writers
Excellent book. It was very well written, well organized, and informative. I would highly recommend this book to any new or struggling author. I particularly liked the author's suggestion of free flow writing to create many many low quality drafts to get ideas on paper, to avoid perfectionism, and to inspire more creativity. I'm sure I will refer back to this book again as I encounter any blocks in the future.
Excellent book. It was very well written, well organized, and informative. I would highly recommend this book to any new or struggling author. I particularly liked the author's suggestion of free flow writing to create many many low quality drafts to get ideas on paper, to avoid perfectionism, and to inspire more creativity. I'm sure I will refer back to this book again as I encounter any blocks in the future.
December 27, 2018
I read quickly, and it took me 20 months to finish. Not because the exercises were involved, or because it was too intense and had to be digested slowly. Because, as many have pointed out, the style is wordy and repetitive, like so repetitive, really more repetitive than I thought possible for a writing book. Repeating. Repetitively.
That said, I did get some useful pointers and will refer back to my book highlights someday.
That said, I did get some useful pointers and will refer back to my book highlights someday.
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