life

Don’t Tell Me You Don’t Think These Thoughts When You Write

/ Stuart Danker / 102 Comments

A woman with a beret lying down on a table

So you’re writing—which, if you’re me, means going down the YouTube rabbit hole for five hours—and you’re overcome by a bunch of emotions and thoughts that shouldn’t be part of the deal.

Sometimes, these thoughts discourage you from writing. Other times, they could even make you doubt your worth as a writer.

If you’re going through a similar thing right now, fret not because I have just the thing for you. Today we’re going to put these thoughts under the spotlight and help you realise that you’re not alone, and that it’s all just part of the process.

And perhaps we should start with the most common thought, which is…

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I Read Someone Else’s Journal And It’s Teaching Me How To Live Life

/ Stuart Danker / 132 Comments

A row of stone statues in a library

You know what I love more than journalling? Reading other people’s journals.

What’s with the look? You’ve probably done the same, or at least know someone who did. Anne Frank’s diary, perhaps? Leonardo da Vinci’s? Sylvia Plath’s?

Anyway, the journal in question (Meditations by Marcus Aurelius) is a couple thousand years old, so I doubt that there’s any invasion of privacy. Besides, Meditations is loaded with so much wisdom that it’d be a waste not to share it with the world.

Here’s my best takeaway to entice you to read more: No matter how separated we are by time and culture, we all still share the same fears, hopes, and desires.

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How Running Is Like Writing, And Why You Should Embrace Them Both

/ Stuart Danker / 105 Comments

Woman running on a foggy day

Six years ago, I wrote a post connecting the two wonderful worlds of writing and running, and a lot has changed since then.

For starters, I’ve actually maintained a steady schedule for more than a year now, compared to the sporadic posts I used to put up when I was ‘in the mood’. Also, I’ve started running a lot more.

That’s why I feel that I’ve garnered the necessary experience to revisit this topic, which means you get to be the judge on whether or not I’ve actually grown in the past six years.

So scroll ahead and enjoy version two of this post. Go on. Run along now.

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Just Some Writerly Things The Writer In You Will Understand

/ Stuart Danker / 168 Comments

A redheaded woman at a cafe with her laptop

So you’ve chosen to be a writer.

That means getting to know procrastination on a more intimate level. That means learning to doubt your work. Also, that means checking the word count after every couple of sentences.

But there are many other things that bind us all. We writers don’t need to stick together. We already do, through the weird things that make us uniquely ‘us’.

So how many of these writerly things apply to you?

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Here Are 3 Simple Perspective Shifts That Will Inspire A Better Life

/ Stuart Danker / 63 Comments

Girl laughing in front of graffitied wall

Do you ever feel differently towards a problem depending on your mood?

I have. Take, for instance, my writing process. My attitude towards the blank page changes along with my mindset, most prominently before and after exercising. Ditto pre- and post-alcohol as well.

But the circumstances themselves don’t really change, do they? Only your point of view does. It’s a miracle, really, how difficulties can change just with a slight shift in perspective.

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