Writing from the Inside Out: Transforming Your Psychological Blocks to Release the Writer Within

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction 1

Part One THE WRITING LIFE

Writer’s Block 15

Your “Baby” 19

Inspiration 23

The Buddy System 26

It’s Alive! 29

Your “Precious Darlings” 32

Writing Begets Writing 35

Part Two YOU ARE ENOUGH

Simple, but Not Easy 45

What Really Happened. . . . 49

 “For I Have Done Good Work” 53

On the Couch 57

“You’re No John Updike!” 61

Part Three GRIST FOR THE MILL

Envy 69

Faith and Doubt 72

Fear 75

The Judge 79

Double-Barreled Blues 82

Myths, Fairy Tales, and Woody Allen 86

The Long View 91

Part Four THE REAL WORLD

The Pitch 101

Rejection 105

That Sinking Feeling 108

Reinventing Yourself 112

Deadline Dread 115

Three Hard Truths 119

Part Five PAGE FRIGHT

Gumption Traps 127

Procrastination 130

Patience 134

Perspective 138

In Praise of Goofing Off 141

Writing about Dogs 145

Going the Distance 148

Part Six THE REAL WORLD, PART II

Agents 159

Home of the Heart 163

The Unknown 167

Lately, I Don’t Like the Things I Love 171

Ageism 175

Part Seven HANGING ON

Commitment 185

News Flash: Writing Is Hard! 189

Burnout: A Modest Proposal 193

A Writer’s Library 197

A Stillness That Characterizes Prayer 201

Part Eight DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT

Phone Call from Paradise 211

The Idea Man 216

I’ve Come a Long Way on Paper 220

Loneliness 223

Larry: A True Story 226

Conclusion 239