I am sure that Seth Godin (http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/) has had a major impact on millions of people’s lives – yes – I say millions. I am one of those people. I have read several of his books, I read his blog EVERY day and more days than not, I think his blog could read “Dear Gina.” He writes a blog every single day – you can count on it. And of course that’s not all he does but this is a tribute to him and to his never-ending words of wisdom. His words sustain me in ways that even I don’t understand.
Why post a tribute to Seth today? Well, one because it’s one very small way I can honor him & say thank you. And also because it’s New Year’s Day. It is a day that fills most people with hope, optimism and the possibility of change as needed. It’s a chance to either get a fresh start, commit to doing some things differently and for many of us, re-committing to things that we hope don’t fall through the cracks like they may have in 2012. I have recommitted to writing every day. I have been thinking about it for several weeks and decided to be gentle with myself during the last few weeks of 2012 and get that fresh start in 2013.
Imagine my surprise yesterday morning when I awoke to find this in my inbox. Talk about “Dear Gina!”
Writer’s block and the drip
Why do we get stuck?
Writer’s block was ‘invented’ in the 1940s. Before that, not only wasn’t there a word for it, it hardly existed. The reason: writing wasn’t a high stakes venture. Writing was a hobby, it was something you did in your spare time, without expecting a big advance or a spot on the bestseller list.
Now, of course, we’re all writers. We put our ideas into words and share them with tens or thousands of people, for all time, online. Our words spread.
With the stakes higher than ever, so is our fear.
Consider the alternative to writer’s block: the drip. A post, day after day, week after week, 400 times a year, 4000 times a decade. When you commit to writing regularly, the stakes for each thing you write go down. I spent an hour rereading Gary Larson‘s magical collection, and the amazing truth is that not every cartoon he did was brilliant. But enough of them were that he left his mark.
You can find my most popular posts of the year right here. My new collection, Whatcha Gonna Do With That Duck is now available at finer bookstores online and off. I could never, ever have signed up to write this book, never sat down to create it. But since I had six years to write it, it created itself.
You don’t launch a popular blog, you build one.
The writing isn’t the hard part, it’s the commitment. Drip!
Thank you Seth Godin. I am a part of your Tribe & I refer to you frequently on my green talk radio show – www.mrsgreensworld.com
Happy New Year!