Writing Hours Livestream

I wanted to make something that could hold me accountable to my writing and help me focus.

I’ve used the “Pomodoro Technique” where you set timers, going back and forth between working for 15 minutes and taking 5 minute breaks. After doing that 4 times you take a longer break.

It really does help me focus and keep me from checking my phone all the time.

It’s also been super helpful to use it with a friend over FaceTime. One one of us sets a timer. No talking, just working, using the breaks to catch up. That’s been a lot of fun.

I thought it would be cool to do it with everyone.

It’s a Focus Livestream. Every Tuesday on my Youtube channel. Anybody else who needs help setting aside time to write, read, chores, homework can do the Pomodoro Technique with me! We’ll all focus for 15 minutes and chat in the breaks. Keep it open on your laptop, phone, or TV and we can all get stuff done together!

Get Back On that Horse and Try to Fail

I’m afraid of how rusty I am.

I want to start writing again but I’m dreading getting back into it. I’m sure I’m too rusty. Writing? Again? Every day?! I tell myself Forget it, the rust is too much! So I do. I forget.

Until I remember. I really want to start writing again.

The cycle starts over. Forget, remember, forget, remember. Meanwhile nothing gets written and I feel stuck.

I used to write every day. Now that sounds like a huge accomplishment, but back then it was just routine. Same with running. Before training for a marathon, I felt like I deserved a parade any time I ran longer than a mile without stopping or crying or falling in a ditch. The more I did it, the easier it got. Toward the end of training I could see a 4 mile run on the schedule and be grateful that it was an easy day. AN EASY DAY?! Now look at me! If I tried to run 4 miles today, all my bones would crack like cornflakes.

Why is getting back into the swing of things harder than starting to swing the first time? Getting back on the horse feels like it takes more effort than the initial hop in the saddle. Why? It’s the same horse! I know this horse. We’ve met. We used to be great together. Why isn’t this easier?!

I’m dreading the effort it’s going to take to get things back to how they used to be. I’m not looking forward to how many times this used to be easier will fly across my thoughts. I’ll lecture myself, If you hadn’t given up you would be so much further along than you are now.

That’s the problem: if I’m actually going to start over, I have to forgive myself for quitting in the first place. If I can’t do that, I’m going to see every obstacle as some sort of punishment. This is what you get, idiot! If someone else talked to me that way all the time, I wouldn’t want to be around them much, would I? But because I’m my own bully, I’m stuck with this jerk sidekick in the back of my thoughts all the live long day.

Is that why I’m doom scrolling through Instagram? Am I avoiding myself? If I keep scrolling, I stay distracted. And if I’m distracted, I’m not saying mean things to myself about all the things I should be doing. My day becomes about how to keep my bully happy instead of actually doing the things I need to.

And the rust grows stronger. I’m stuck.

I wanted to find this really encouraging Willem Dafoe quote about getting over creative blocks. I can’t find it. Googling “Willem Dafoe” advice” gets you some interesting results, though.

Here are 4 headlines back to back from the first page of results:

How to act like Willem Dafoe

Why Willem Dafoe can’t slow down

Abandon Yourself: Willem Dafoe explains how he acts

Willem Dafoe: “I’ve thought of murder many times.”

If you put those all together you can see that the best actors rush, lose control, and think about murder. That’s not the advice I was looking for.

OH WAIT! I found it.

Abandon Perfection, Try to Fail!

Striving for perfection and worrying about failure will get you all locked up. “You’ve got to find ways to let you not worry and be free.”

It’s counterintuitive but that’s the point.

I want to write. I want it to be good. I’m worried about it being bad. That worry can choke my imagination and keep me from taking risks. And those risks are probably what will actually lead to good writing. I’ve got to get out of my own way!

It’s like Viktor Frank’s paradoxical intention from Man’s Search for Meaning.

Let’s say you’re anxious about a big job interview. You’re so afraid of how you’re going to come across that your nerves are shot. If you dig your heels in (mental, metaphorical heels) and walk into that interview saying to yourself DON’T BE AWKWARD! DON’T BE AWKWARD! Chances are, it’s going to have the opposite effect. The more you think about trying not to be awkward, the more awkward you’re going to be. The solution is to give yourself a paradoxical intention: imagine the thing you’re dreading is exactly what you want to happen. Walk into that interview telling yourself I’m going to show off just how awkward I can be. I’m going to be the most awkward job interview this company has ever seen. You’re freeing yourself when you do that. You’re giving yourself permission not to overanalyze every little thing you do for fear that it’s coming across as awkward. And the more you’re out of your head and in the moment, the less awkward you’ll actually be!

The more you try to be in control, the more you’ll fall apart. Give yourself some freedom.

It’s just like falling asleep or trying to impress someone: the more actively you’re trying to make it happen, the more it’s going to slip through your fingers. I can’t lay in bed screaming into my pillow “I NEED TO FALL ASLEEP RIGHT NOW!” And the worst social interactions I’ve had started with me thinking “I really need this person to like me.”

Is there a way to relate this to Jesus’ words in Luke 9?

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

The more we try to grasp, take, and control, the more we lose.

Let go.

BUT WHAT IF IT’S NOT PERFECT?!

The more that fear is in control, the more my life will be out of control.

Which, you know, is easier said than done.

Why I'm Writing Bad Poetry

On April 8th I watched Billy Collins’ Masterclass on reading and writing poetry. I had a lot to learn because I’m very bad at both of those things.

I’ve written at least one very bad poem every day since starting the class. They’re not bad on purpose. I’m really trying, I promise. I don’t just vomit out a few lines and call it a day. Some times I will spend a couple of hours rewriting. But it’s all so new to me so there’s no way they’re going to be any good.

But that doesn’t mean I should give up. The only way I’ll one day end up with a halfway decent poem is if I keep writing all these bad ones.

The same was true for my stand-up, sermons, and writings. Ira Glass talks about that frustration when you first start making stuff and your taste is better than what you’re making. You know what a great movie looks like so you’re painfully aware that the movie you just made is trash (or song, or painting, etc.). That can be so discouraging. You want to give up. But the only way to close the gap between your taste and your art is to keep working.

This is the main way I think about creativity: I’ve got 600 terrible poems living inside me, all piled up in the pit of my stomach, and underneath all those embarrassing poems is where the good ones live. The only way I can get to them is by letting the bad ones out. This saves me from getting discouraged every time I write a crappy poem. It’s more of a relief. Oh, thank God. I let another one out. We’re one step closer to getting to the good ones.

Here’s a video of me talking more about this:

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A post shared by Taylor Johnson (@taylordson) on Mar 23, 2020 at 1:09pm PDT

Do you know why I’m writing poetry in the first place?

Is this how I’m announcing to the world that I’m leaving behind comedy and speaking, moving to Paris, buying a cape, and becoming a SERIOUS POET? No ma'am. Not even close. I don’t want to share these with anyone. Honestly, there’s no good reason I’m doing it. I just want to see if I can.

Austin Kleon wrote about the wonders of having a good ol fashion hobby

"A hobby is something creative that’s just for you. You don’t try to make money or get famous off it, you just do it because it makes you happy. A hobby is something that gives but doesn’t take.”

It’s nice to do something creative that has absolutely no pressure on it. There’s no deadline. There’s nothing riding on it being successful. You’ll never make a dime from it, and you know that from the start, so it can remain a low stakes exercise for fun. Sure, there’s a chance sharpening this tool in my writer’s toolbox could one day come in handy, but I’m not doing it with that in mind. It’s just nice.

So, why not pick up a hobby? Start writing short stories about the secret adventures your pets go on and don’t tell anyone about it. Do it for the sake of doing it. But keep doing it even if it sucks, because who knows how good it could be one day.

4 Things You Must Do if You Want to Write a Book

Ever since my book came out people have been asking me for advice. There’s a lot of little things I learned along the way but they’re probably not going to be effective for everyone. It’s just what worked for me.

There are, however, 4 nonnegotiable things you must do if you want to write a book. In my mind, these are universal. No exception.

You want to write a book? Here’s what you have to do.

1. Read

You need to have time to read a lot. You can’t be a writer without being a reader. If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write. Read a wide variety of books. Don’t just read one author or one genre or you’ll end up sounding just like them. Spend time reading outside your comfort zone. Who knows what you can learn from books outside thee field you’re hoping to write in.

You know the old sayings. Leaders are readers. Writers are readers. Breeders are readers. Feeders are eaters.

Just go read.

2. Write Everyday

EVERYDAY. 1000 words a day. At least. If not, you’ll get rusty. You’ll lose your groove, your rhythm. You’ve got to build that muscle by working out every day.

3. Set Deadlines

Real deadlines. Reasonable deadlines but ones that still kind of scare you. That was the biggest help for me. Before I sat down to write I decided when I wanted my book to come out and then I worked backwards, setting all my deadlines. If I wanted it out on Sept 16, that meant I needed to have the text finished by this date. That means I’d need to finish my 4th draft by this date. That means I’d have to start my 4th draft by _______. You need to have clear and specific deadlines. Without them it’s so much easier to lose focus and give up.

4. Tell People!

You can’t keep it a secret. Tell people you’re working on a book because that way there’s some accountability. People will check up on you. They’ll encourage you. Hearing “I’m excited to read your book” is an incredible motivator.

The Origin of Most Bad Writing According to Stephen King

From Stephen King’s On Writing:

“I’m convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing.”

I get this. One of my greatest fears is being misunderstood. I don’t want anything I say to misinterpreted in some unflattering way. This fear manifests when I’m speaking or performing. It’ll cause me to ramble or repeat myself a million times over if I’m not confident that I got my point across.

For other comedians the fear manifests differently. You ever hear a comedian end every other sentence with “you know?” or “right?” That’s my biggest pet peeve with comedy. The comedian is insecure in their ability to set up their premise, right? And so they have to constantly check in, right? Stop it. Cut that word. If you’re so concerned with getting the point across, put more work into the material.

If you’re not confident with your first draft (no one is) view the rewriting process as a confidence building exercise. Don’t let fear take over. Don’t let it stop you from taking risks. Don’t let it force you to over explain.

Don’t let fear win. Fear gives thee worst advice.

Right?

Just Keep Going

There’s nothing worse than starting over.

When I finished the second draft of my book I took a little break from writing because I was so exhausted. When it came time to begin again, it felt like torture. All the momentum was gone. The muscles I had worked out from writing every day were weak again from lack of exercise.

It’s like a middle aged father watching his son, the high school quarterback, work out. His son is lifting some serious weight, pushing himself in the gym. The father can’t stop talking about what he could bench press back in his glory days. He wants to impress his son so he steps in to show him how it’s done. This dad hasn’t been physically active in a long time. He has no idea how much he can actually lift, but he tries for the weight he once maxed out at over 20 years ago. The dad goes to lift it. He can’t. It’s clearly too much. But he won’t give up. He used to be able to do this so easily! Come on! He tries again. And that’s when his body betrays him. He throws out his back. It’s violent and painful. He screams and falls to the floor. He’s humiliated. Did he cry? Yes. Like a little baby. Did he push himself so hard he pooped his pants? He’ll never tell. But yes. He totally did.

I get so mad at myself every time I go back to pick up a habit I abandoned. It’s frustrating because it used to be so easy for me to do this thing every day. Why is It not immediately easy again?! Because nothing can be done except little by little. I know it’ll eventually get easier but it sucks right now. It’s hard work. Like running a mile. The first day you do it is so much harder than the 8th day. After a month of doing it every day, you don’t even have to think about it anymore.

There’s something powerful about momentum. The snowball effect of work.

Why do I put myself through the frustration of starting again? If I just never stopped in the first place, I wouldn’t have to deal with this. If I stuck to writing, working out, reading my Bible, I’d never have to worry about that rusty stage again.

I should just keep going.

Starting My Second Draft

This is the first draft of my book.

Today I started writing my second draft.

It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

The first draft was easy because first drafts aren’t supposed to be good. You’ve just got to vomit up all your thoughts just to get them onto the page. You’ll edit and rewrite later so don’t even worry about the quality. Just get it out!

That was easy. That was fun.

But now I’m having to fix up all that word vomit.

I wish this was easier.

Deadlines

Deadlines. https://t.co/UbFXdE1xEd

— Brendan Reichs (@BrendanReichs) January 6, 2019

Douglas Adams on deadlines:

“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”

This last week I set deadlines for my book. I know when all four of my drafts need to be finished. I know when I need to send it off to get printed. I know when I need to make a decision about who’ll design the cover. It was a real relief to create that road map and know what exactly what needed to be done in the coming months.

But now I have to actually do the work?

Oh boy.

Daily Blogging Like Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon has always talked about why daily blogging has bee so important to him as a writer. I decided to try it back in November and I finally understood what he was talking about. I’ve been going strong for 65 days straight.

Sitting down to write has gotten SO much easier. A few posts I’ve written have turned into rough drafts of chapters for the book I’m working on. And I’ve seen a HUGE spike in the number of people visiting my website.

Whenever I try to convince someone else to join me in daily blogging I always point to Austin Kleon’s post “A Few Notes on Daily Blogging” because it’s so good and he’s absolutely right.

Are all 65 of my posts incredible pieces of writing that everyone should read? No. Absolutely not. Yesterday I was so drained, in such a bad mood, and DESPERATE for something to post that I wrote about a screenshot of Shaq in a General Insurance commercial. That’s…not great. But it’s something. I’m keeping it a daily habit.

I’ve heard Conan O’Brien talk about how he’s learned to not get too obsessive about the quality of every single episode of his show. He’s doing a new one every night. That’s hundreds of shows a year. You can’t waste any time beating yourself up about a show that aired three weeks ago. You’ve got to move on and focus on the one that’s airing tonight. He says he likes to think of it like a batting average in baseball. He knows that not every show is going to be amazing but he wants to make sure they have a really high average. More good shows than bad. When you look back on the year, sure not every hit was a home run, but what’s your batting average?

I try to have the same mindset with my posts.

The other thing that was really helpful when I was starting out was Austin Kleon’s 30 Day Challenge. I used that to get through November and now the habit has stuck. Even if it’s 2 am and I’m SOOOOO tired I’ll still make sure I post something before I go to bed.

It’s a new year. Maybe daily blogging is worth trying out?

42,951 Words Remaining

My goal is to finish the first draft of my book by January 31. I’ve been taking notes and writing little thoughts for a long time now but I thought I needed to finally commit to this thing and jump right in.

Wade Bearden told me the first draft of his book, Failing Faith,  was around 45,000 words, so I decided to use that as the target for mine.

I officially started tonight. The goal was to write 2,000 words before going to bed. I’m at 2,049. I’ve got 42,951 to go.