{"id":12068,"date":"2015-01-22T01:00:08","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T09:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=12060"},"modified":"2015-02-24T17:11:38","modified_gmt":"2015-02-25T01:11:38","slug":"leaps-walls-falls-baby-steps-deb-lund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/22\/leaps-walls-falls-baby-steps-deb-lund\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaps, Walls, Falls, and Baby Steps By Deb Lund"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BabySteps\"<\/a>Today we welcome a new guest writer to Writer\u2019s Fun Zone, Deb Lund who is stopping by to chat with us today about \u201cLeaps, Walls, Falls, and Baby Steps.\u201d \u00a0Enjoy!<\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Remember learning to walk?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course you don\u2019t, or if you do, you\u2019re among the very few. That \u201cnot remembering\u201d might be why, as a writer, we leap, hit the wall, and fall down a lot. We need to take baby steps.<\/p>\n

Two Truths:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Leaping, hitting the wall, and falling down are all part of the creative process.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Every writer, artist, dancer, musician, and actor I know hits the wall over and over.<\/strong> When you look at the creative work of others, you see the final product, not the process. You can only judge others from the outside and yourself from the inside. This means everyone else is talented and we\u2019re imposters. Guess what? We\u2019re all running around scared that we\u2019ll be found out!<\/p>\n

    And that judgment thing? Take my friend Christina Baldwin\u2019s advice and \u201cReplace judgment with curiosity!\u201d<\/p>\n

    Worse than hitting the wall is avoiding it, which happens not only to us mortals, but also for those who we\u2019ve decided were anointed by the gods with talent.<\/strong> Many of the \u201ctalented\u201d (definition: people for whom something comes easily\u2014who cares?) hit the wall and walk away. It\u2019s the people who not only pick themselves up, but also pick away at the wall who get through to the other side.<\/p>\n

    Leaps can work, and other times, we need to take baby steps.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Taking baby steps is part of the creative process.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u201cWrite a Novel\u201d is not a baby step. <\/strong>When you\u2019re working on goals, planning your to-do lists, setting out to turn your dreams into reality, you need to be bold, fearless, ready to conquer anything\u2014and then inch forward before the fear freezes you in place. This is where baby steps come in.<\/p>\n

      You can\u2019t run a marathon without working up to it. You need to exercise your muscles. Before you can run you must walk. Before you can walk, you crawl. Before that you learn to pick yourself up into a sitting position and push yourself up by all fours on the floor. Babies fall. A lot. Reread Truth #1 above.<\/p>\n

      We can\u2019t always know when it\u2019s best to leap or take baby steps. That\u2019s okay.<\/strong> You have to get in your quota of walls and falls, and you\u2019ll find them either way.<\/p>\n

      Let\u2019s say you\u2019re stuck. You can\u2019t move. What\u2019s the smallest baby step you can take? The very smallest\u2026<\/p>\n