I met a new friend for a chat today. She wanted to talk about writing and it's a subject that I'm always happy to discuss. We talked through the various basics of pitching and angles and the like, and then I said something that struck me as meaningful. It went something like this: "You can talk about writing as much as you like, but unless you have words on a page, you're not doing it."
Given my book manuscript with a deadline and my half-finished novel in dire need of resuscitation, this was timely advice for me. Too bad I don't appear to be taking it.
Do you take your own advice?
[image: love this upcycled notebook from This Page/etsy]
Not often enough, and not conistently enough.
ReplyDeleteI get asked "how to lose weight" type questions all the time, in real life and online.
I am good at telling other people what I know. I hear myself telling people what I SHOULD be doing every day....
conistently?! Errr, that would be consistently...
ReplyDeleteX
No. Yes. Sometimes. Never.
ReplyDeleteNever, always happy to give it though - oh that's a little bad isn't it. xxx
ReplyDeleteMmm, good question Allison! I hear myself say things after being asked something I actually know something about, and thinking, "Note to self: you KNOW this, perhaps you should follow through with it."
ReplyDeleteSo yes. Basically what you said. (Saw your interview on the Sydney Writer's Centre. Well done you. (And nice to see you chatting.) I feel like a know a little bit more about you!
xx
no I don't. I am pretty good at giving a pep talk. Then i go home, sit on the couch and feel happy that I might have motivated someone else! Ridiculous, really
ReplyDeleteGill xo
No - never. If I did, I reckon I could be quite successful actually!
ReplyDeleteHo hum x
Not as much as I should! As I get older I find I do but when I was much younger, most definitely not!
ReplyDeleteNo, I think I'm one of the biggest hypocrites I know! But, I will take your advice, Allison. I need to get those words on the page instead of time wasting and procrastinating... agh!
ReplyDeleteI am forever caning myself for not doing all the things I know I should be doing.
ReplyDeleteSo true about writing. There's a lot of books and websites dedicated to writing advice, but what it comes down to is bums in seats and words on the page. So simple. The actual act of doing this is far harder than any of us imagine from the outset.
No!!! Sometimes I hear myself giving advice to friends and think....good grief you need to do that yourself girl. Naughty me.
ReplyDeleteKeren
xx
That would be a "ditto" from me. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteNo I don't think I do. I am all over weight loss tips and parenting tips but if you could see me now you would see that less talk and more action is needed from this gal.
ReplyDeleteSo very rarely. In fact, I remain acutely conscious of the changes I should make in my life while simultaneously aware of how I don't make them. Shame!
ReplyDeleteI am great at giving advice, but taking my own? I just seem to forget all logic when i need some good advice.
ReplyDeleteThe tiny voice in my head just said, "See, you should be listening to your own advice!"
ReplyDeleteAs I've gotten older I try not to spout out advice to others with as much enthusiasm and know-it-allness I had in my youth. And I'm trying to be better to do what I know to be right.
Pretty hard thought when all I want to do is eat jam donuts and nap all day!
Not often! Funny how we are happy to give it & encourage others as best we know how, but rarely take our own very wise & useful advice...
ReplyDeleteOh I am most definitely all talk! I can dispense advice like it's going out of fashion but when it comes to taking my own? Not so much....
ReplyDeleteSometimes, it depends on how good it is!
ReplyDeleteIt's usually easier to give than receive.
x Felicity
I often hear myself say something "wise" only to subconsciously think "if only I would listen to myself"!!
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough, I have recently been wondering if I too could approach you to pick your "writer" brains, if you might have some spare time eventually? Its one of the things I've just learned from the fab Sydney Writers Course and you were the 1st person I thought of!
I am a great listener. I'm good at discernment, and can usually spot what isn't being said.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm great at helping people solve problems. So I tend to give great advice.
I almost NEVER take my own. I don't know why that is, but I think I'll blame pure stubbornness.