Today I want to recommend that you become completely obsessed with Dani Shapiro's work. Why? Because she talks about the emotional side of the creative process in a way that I think every writer and artist needs to hear.
Dani Shapiro is the bestselling author of the memoirs Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage, Still Writing, Devotion, and Slow Motion, and five novels including Black & White and Family History. Dani was recently Oprah Winfrey’s guest on”Super Soul Sunday.”
In the conversation, we dig into so much, including:
It is difficult for many people to give themselves permission to be called a “writer.” How many writers can feel held captive by their own “inner censor,” which keeps shifting, morphing, and changing as your career progresses. How she engages with others in-person and online, even though she is an introvert. How she has been “practicing the word “no.” And not attaching the word “sorry” to it. I’m learning about what it means to set a boundary.” Why she encourages writers to find a “rhythm and ritual” to write, because without them, “The space [to write] will not magically appear. If I don’t make the space to get the writing done, then the rest of it doesn’t work at all.” Why an internet connection can be so corrosive to one’s writing: “The instrument on which we are composing can, with one click, take you completely elsewhere. Before you even know what you have done. That is what is so insidious about it. With the flick of your index finger, you can be somewhere else. Most writers I know struggle with it.” Why “Waiting for inspiration is a surefire way to ensure work does not get done. I think inspiration is a fallacy. The number of times I have sat down feeling completely uninspired and then had a good day’s work probably equal the number of time when I sat down thinking “I’ve got it!” then had to undo everything that I did in that state. We are very often not the best judges of when we will do good work. A rhythm establishes a way of taking that question off the table.” Why she concludes: “It is a great gift, and it carries with it real risks, to live a creative life.”Author Jon Acuff says this: “One of the cheapest, fastest ways to change your life is to read a book.” I strongly encourage you to read Dani’s book, Still Writing. Listen to the podcast. If you are wondering, “Gee Dan, how can I break through what is holding me back with my creative work,” I think you and your work will be changed by what she shares.
