Steven Barnes's Blog, page 65

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

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I watched “The Towering Inferno” a couple of weeks back, which is a hot mess (pun intentional) but also serious fun, probably my very favorite of the era’s “disaster movies”.  It has everything, including Paul Newman and Steve McQueen upstaging each other every chance they got.

 

Over the weekend I decided to watch my second favorite, “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972), and enjoyed it just as much as I ever did, right up to the moment, spoken of by my new friend David Gerrold at the time, whe...

“What if I write novels?”

“Hi Steve, I just watched your video on getting that first sale. It was a good video, except your advice on writing 100 stories and sending them out and you will get your first sale – well, I’m not sure it would apply in my case, because I write novels, not short stories. It will take me a lifetime to write 100 novels, to be honest. I have written 4 novels, self published three of them.”

I have heard countless variations on this theme, and my answer is always the same: if you haven’t publishe...

Winning the Inner War

A reader made a very reasonable  statement dealing with negative emotions: that even after you find the answers, you have to keep fighting every day.

 

I’d say yes…and no.   That the SPECIFIC issues you deal with can, once you’ve found the right approach, be subsumed under a larger category of “emotions” that you are guiding into a healthy balance. The specifics don’t need to come up again and again and again.

 

The trick is that you need a Daily Ritual.   It could be meditation, prayer, affi...

F.E.A.R. and Writing

[image error]Recently, Tananarive and I asked the Lifewriting community what you really wanted from us, to help you reach your dreams. And overwhelmingly, you said “help dealing with fear.”

And I get it. Fear, which manifests as depression, aversion/avoidance, writer’s block, despair, discouragement, self-loathing, and any number of other secondary emotions or states, has killed more careers than lack of ability ever could.

The first step is to admit that the problem is real. To be able to say: “I am afra...

Overview of the Soulmate Process

(a post from about 2007)

 

Let’s think some more about the heart, and how wounds to it manifest in other arenas. I’ve known heart chakra wounds to trigger suicide, and a loss of willingness to live. A dear friend was raped, and within a year contracted terminal cancer–It ate her alive within months. Fear, guilt, shame and anger cripple the sex drive, as well as resentments: I know several women who completely withhold their sexuality from their husbands, and several men no longer sexually act...

These two traits will kill your dreams

There are two things I’ve noticed which, in combination, doom dreams.   Together, they are a predictor of failure at a level of certainty that is scary.  Here are the two things:

Dishonesty Inability to keep your word.

 

Now, the two are obviously connected. “Dishonesty” means not only lying to others, but lying to yourself.   THESE are connected as well.  We lie to others because we tell ourselves: “it is better to be dishonest about X.   I will experience less pain and more pleasure if I...

What can I do for YOU?

One thing creators rarely consider is what the audience/customers want. Our attitude is often: “I’ll TELL you what you want.” That’s fine for the artist part of our personalities. But the BUSINESS part has to ask the opposite question: “what do YOU want?” and then provide it. When these circles overlap, you have both personal and professional success. If you find the right audience, what they want, and what YOU want to provide, fit each other very nicely. The sweet spot. I want to ask you guy...

If you can’t trust people, who can you trust?

(modified, from 2008)

 

We can’t predict the future behavior of others, but I remember something one of my teachers said: “Do not trust people. Instead rely upon them. Rely upon them to do whatever it is they consider to be in their own self-interest.” The only way to do that is to be able to determine what that self-interest is. And in my mind, the only way you can possibly do that is to know yourself. To look fearlessly at your own flaws and fuck-ups and take responsibility for them, to get...

Saving Yourself, Saving the World

Today I’m going to give you a core tool that will change you forever, if you listen carefully and take it seriously.

Real talk.

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Almost 30 years ago, I was teaching at UCLA, a “writer’s toolbox” class that ranged over flow-state management, organizing, brainstorming, researching, time management, and more.  It was a fun class!

But about 3/4 of the way through it, a student asked me a life-changing question.  “Mr Barnes,” he said.  “You’ve given us all these great tools, but I don’t think...

Review: John Wick 2

Hi,  Steven Barnes, here with a movie review

By the way, I really should be writing this from a hospital bed today.  Tissue elasticity is a wonderful thing.  Fell on the slippery pavement at the Arclight Pasadena, and if my left thigh socket hadn’t been flexible, the stress would have radiated down to my knee and probably torn tendons and ligaments.    Please practice your yoga and tai chi, or joint mobility at the least, and combine with balance work.

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Now…back to nice, comforting FANTASY...