I’ll keep this short, lest I violate the survival and writing rule I’m inventing / I discovered / I’m reporting to you here.
Tip #3: Man of action, man of action
When Yossi Ghinsberg gets lost, alone, in the Amazon, he starts to flip out. Who wouldn’t? I flip out when I miss my exit while driving in my air conditioned car, surrounded by privilege, on the Interstate. And then I curse the GPS for not telling me soon enough.
A little more warning next time, GPS.
He keeps himself going by pep talking himself. “I’m a man of action,” he thinks to himself, after he gets separated from his friend in a rafting accident, and probably some other part of his brain is saying, you’re gonna die, you idiot. But he continues. “Man of action, man of action.”
Be a writer of action. This is easier said than done…and it’s easier to pretend to do than it is to do. How many times have you stared at your blank computer screen, waiting for the words to appear instead of typing them yourself? How many times have you told yourself you were editing, but really you were just changing a word back and forth, over and over again?
People survive life-threatening situations by creating manageable steps for themselves, and then doing them. If you want to make it in this topsy-turvy world as a writer, you’ve got to do the same.
Be a writer of action.
Well, I hope you enjoyed my Tips for Writers from Survivors series, and keep your eyes peeled for the JR Pomerantz Survival Book Show, coming soon!
