Write a Letter to the Resistance

This post is by Jim Woods. Jim is a writer, blogger, and guitar shredder. On his blog, Unkown Jim, he delivers short bursts of inspiration and encouragement. You can also follow him on Twitter at @unknownjim. Today he's here to show us how to write a letter to our Resistance, stay disciplined, and get back on track with our creative process.

Dear Resistance,

I have known you all my life. You haunt me with every breath. I'm sick of the voices that feed me doubts and distractions. The constant fears and hesitations you cause are worse than nails on a chalkboard.

Your deception is often disguised as beauty. One moment you are a cup of coffee, or four seconds later a shiny new guitar. You know how to use a beautiful song or amazing speech to make me feel even more insecure.

Your ugly side is absolutely disgusting as you reach deep into your arsenal to give out headaches, illness, and stress. You love to make engines stall and tires go flat. You even wait for me in the mailbox on pages that say amount due.

I've tried to cope with you by any means necessary: alcohol, television, movies, money, music, sex, sleeping, excessive research, drugs, email, Facebook and Twitter. It doesn't matter. None of those things stop you. I know you really delight if I take refuge in those things.

It is only when I put in the hours doing the work you tell me not to do that you hide for a while.

I know in this never-ending war I will lose some battles. Since you attack first from within, you have many advantages. You maybe beat me tomorrow, but I will prevail today. Every word on the page is a chink in your armor. Every sentence is a jab to your gut. I am a writer. I am creative. Today I'm ready to fight. Today I'm ready to fight.

PRACTICE

Write your own letter to the Resistance. How has it held you back in the past? What are you going to do to keep it at bay in the future?

Write for fifteen minutes. When you're done, post your letter in the comments section.

Photo by Slava.

Joe Bunting

Website

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris, a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

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