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Gina Greenlee

Goodreads Author

Born

in New York, The United States

Website

http://www.ginagreenlee.com/

Genre

Fiction,Travel,Memoir

Member Since

December 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/ginagreenlee

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Hi! I've written 15 non-fiction books in the areas of travel, health and fitness, productivity, writing process and memoir. My first novel, Hush Life, is available on Amazon Kindle. ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Gina Greenlee I go to the work, vs. ruminating about the work.

Don’t Think, Ask

The primary reason why people who want to write struggle or don’t do it at all is bec…moreI go to the work, vs. ruminating about the work.

Don’t Think, Ask

The primary reason why people who want to write struggle or don’t do it at all is because they think too much. Thinking leads to anxiety. Though every person has their own brand of it, what creates anxiety in general is overwhelming ourselves with unproductive thoughts: we focus on the entire journey of writing a novel, script, memoir or dissertation rather than on one moment at a time; we ruminate on perceived limitations; we dread pitfalls ahead.

Basically, we scare the crap out of ourselves.

Instead, Ask the Work.

What do you mean, “Ask the Work”?

Simply go to the novel, script, poem, stage play. Toddlers do not stand outside a sandbox contemplating it and the number of buckets needed to build the castle of a lifetime. They plop in the sand and go to it. Your writing project is like the toddler’s sandbox.

Don’t think about your writing in an attempt to formulate a plan for next steps. Go to it. If the project is already underway, start reading. Three sentences in will tell you what needs to happen next – what to delete, revise, move.

That’s Asking the Work.

No Blank Pages…Ever!

Also, I never start with a blank page. I always have writing baking in folder or notebook – a spark, question, random thought – anything but white space. The next time I open a notebook or file for a project underway, writing is there to greet me. I dive right in and ask, “What’s next?”

Staring at a blank page is counterproductive; nothing to ground you. So I developed strategies for never looking at one.

Breakin’ It Down, Keepin’ It Real

Here’s how to start with a full, fluffy page of writing instead of a blank page:

• When you get an idea – even if only a title, image, dream snippet, a notion inspired by a line of a song or a smell that provokes a memory – grab it with your pen and notebook or mobile device. Get it down.
• Also, write down the catalyst for the idea. I’ve learned through practice that a writing idea with no connection to what sparked it presents as hieroglyphics 30 minutes later, let alone days or weeks afterward.
• Next, let a sentence or two organically flow from that idea. If you get on a roll and write for a paragraph or two or three – fabulous. Words beget more words – half-baked, quarter-baked, put something down, anything; keep the pen moving across the page, fingers cruising the keyboard or stylus skimming the screen. Transcribe what you see in your mind and what you feel in your heart.
• Close the file.
• The next time you revisit that idea, open your file and voila – you are starting with words on a page, not staring down a void.

Bullet-Train Productivity

Looking at a blank page or screen signals to the brain, “nothing is happening here.” That starts the anxiety snowball rolling. A few seconds of “nothing’s happening here” turns into minutes, then hours and then…nothing. The snowball you want is bullet-train productivity not towering anxiety. Filling the page with accumulated ideas is the way to do it. The next time you open that document you send this signal to the brain: “Sweet! I’ve already started!” With a Pavlovian cue to start writing, you’ve got momentum on your side.
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What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Gina Greenlee Playing with ideas and possibilities. Swimming in my imagination. That no-boundaries feeling that comes from asking “What if?” I’ve achieved this in m…morePlaying with ideas and possibilities. Swimming in my imagination. That no-boundaries feeling that comes from asking “What if?” I’ve achieved this in my writing practice by cultivating a relationship with the Muse:https://www.ginagreenlee.com/post/201...
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Gina Greenlee’s books

Average rating: 3.96 · 49 ratings · 17 reviews ·21 distinct works

	Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road 3.55 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2008 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Black and Blintzes: Growing Up Not Quite Jewish On The Lower East Side 4.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons From Solo Moments in New York 3.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2001 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Belly Up: Surviving and Thriving Beyond a Cruise Gone Bad 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Whole Person Guide to Your First Marathon: A Mind Body Spirit Companion it was amazing5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cheaper Than Therapy: How To Take Risks to Create The Life You Want 1.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hush Life liked it3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2015 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cheaper Than Therapy: How to Keep Life's Small Problems from Becoming Big Ones it was ok2.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2005	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Writer's Toy Chest: Don't Work at Writing Play with It! it was ok2.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Prolific Without Pain: Chillax Into Your Best Writing Ever 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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16 posts
Gina Greenlee's Blog

The Energy of Completion

Writing books takes time.

It needn’t take years but it will take months.

You are making progress but it will appear subtle.

Until you achieve a readable draft, the multiple iterations required to get there can discourage and frustrate you.

That’s when you need a simpler, more tangible project to complete in a day or even an hour or two. The energy of seeing it come to life, from inspiration to com Read more of this blog post »

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Published onOctober 01, 2019 14:54 • Tags: energy-of-completion,finish-something,getting-things-done,small-wins

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Gina is Currently Reading

Gina Greenlee is currently reading

The Business of Race: How to Create and Sustain an Antiracist Workplace―And Why it’s Actually Good for Business

byMargaret H. Greenberg(Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Sep 27, 2021 11:25PM

Gina Greenlee is currently reading

Saturday, The Twelfth of October

byNorma Fox Mazer

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Mar 14, 2020 09:18PM

Quotes by Gina Greenlee (?)

“What would happen if you gave yourself permission to do something
you’ve never done before? There’s only one way to find out.”
― Gina Greenlee, Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road

tags: choose-your-own-path, choose-yourself, comfort-zone, give-yourself-permission, go-for-it, just-do-it, motivational-inspirational, motivational-quotes, permission, permission-to-win, risk-it, risk-taking, self-transcendence, self-transformation, self-trust, trust, trust-yourself, try-something-new

19 likes

“What we seek when we wander usually leads us back home.”
― Gina Greenlee, Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road

tags: bliss, home, seeking, wandering, wanderlust

16 likes

“Tomorrow is promised to no one. Prioritize today accordingly.”
― Gina Greenlee, Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road

tags: carpe-diem, do-it-now, do-it-now-and-not-later, inspirational-quotes, life-is-short, live-for-today, procastination, the-power-of-now

15 likes

See all Gina Greenlee's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

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Grab a Book & Pla...: June 2018 Scavenger Hunt	43	29	Apr 24, 2019 03:47AM

Gina’s Quotes

“Do your fears warn of external dangers? Or, are they the kind that keep you from becoming more of your true self?”
― Gina Greenlee, Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road

tags: authentic-self, fear, overcoming-obstacles, true-self

1 likes

“Honoring your own boundaries is the clearest message to others to honor them, too.”
― Gina Greenlee, Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road

tags: boundaries, honoring-self, self-care, self-trust

15 likes

“What do you believe about who you are? About your capabilities? When was the last time you trusted yourself enough to test them?”
― Gina Greenlee, Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road

tags: belief-quotes, believe-in-yourself, capabilities-quotes, capable-of-more, enough, risk-it, risk-it-be-different, risk-taking, self-trust, you-are-enough

9 likes

“If we never challenge our shortcomings, we ensure that they remain our Achilles' heel.”
― Gina Greenlee, Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road

tags: challenge-and-attitude, challenges-quotes, dig-deep, dream-big, dream-bigger, live-your-dreams, overcoming-challenges, overcoming-obstacles, shortcomings

0 likes

“Name the fears that are holding you back. It's the equivalent of flooding the boogeyman with light.”
― Gina Greenlee, Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road

tags: boogeyman, do-it-anyway, don-t-hold-back, just-do-it, no-fear, out-of-the-box, out-of-the-dark

4 likes

More of Gina’s quotes…