Final Boice

My biggest take away from Boice is that I am not alone when I struggle with writing.  Enough people are out there who feel the same as me that a book can be written and sold on ways to help.  This knowledge alone helps me to feel like I can work to improve my writing habits.

I found Boice's advice to be helpful.  In many ways it it sound advice for all kinds of behavior change.  I boil it down to:  slow down, do a little every day, think about life in the moments we are in, set goals, and celebrate success.  These are important skills.

One life skill that resonated with me is working on letting things just be.  I have actively tried to judge less-especially things I cannot change, and work on those moments in my life that I can change.

BDS

I wrote for 30 minutes, taking a break after each ten minutes.  I drafted, read, and then worked on a second piece.  The writing was a bit disjointed because I lost focus.  I tried to regain focus by switching projects.  Some days are like this.

Boice 153-161

This reading seemed like an extension of the previous readings.  Moderate your emotion, write daily, slow down a little.   My new take away was the acceptance of self in writing.   While Boice had written previously about this, I felt it was emphasized more in this reading.

To me, the skills in this reading are life skills.  Be yourself.  Listen to critics in moderation.  Don't identify yourself with the negativity.  Figure out who you are and show that to people.  These are all ways to navigate life authentically.  Boice's advice is helpful, yet hard because self acceptance is hard.  We are always told how to be better- rarely how to be satisfied with our uniquenesses.

I believe that part of the key to all of this is identifying positive people to be around.  This pertains to writing groups as well as peer groups.  People who are positive with each other help to to grow what Boice is describing.

Boice 144-151

Boice explains the depression piece a little more in this segment.  The study he described was interesting because so many writers had bouts of depression.  How do these numbers compare to the general population? Is this true of artists and musicians as well?  Why?

I found the reading interesting because I know people who turn to writing to help figure out problems.  For many writing an be therapeutic.  Is the added pressure of publication one reason why depression happens among writers?  I found his solution interesting.  To me, the number of things to think about during writing sessions it verging on overwhelming.  I'd rather not think about all these issues until problems arise.

Boice 138-144

Boice writes about the importance of maintaining an even emotional state during writing experiences.    I can understand the need for doing this.  I believe his behaviorist approach came through during this reading as he emphasized the value of medium happy.  I love, though, the feeling of euphoria  when I come up with an interesting turn of words or phrases.  I love the excitement when I share something I am proud of.  I don't want to give that up to maintain medium happy.  So, while I understand his perspective- that feeling of accomplishment is important in moving me forward.

BDS

I wrote for 30 minutes, taking a break after each ten minutes.  I worked on my literature review, drafting two pages.

Chapter 4

I think the best piece of advice from Boice during this reading was to form a writing group.  I have done this in the past with great success.  We met monthly for several years and it forced me to write more regularly.   My writing group wasn't focused on academic writing- which would have a different feel to it.  A weekly writing group would have increased intensity and production.

My writing group met on Friday nights over a bottle of wine.  We would read each others' work a variety of writing from poetry, to memoirs, to fiction.  We'd usually stay up late having fun.  Life got too busy to continue with the group- but I have great memories of the time we spent together.