First, before all things, we puke. 

Puking on the page

What does it mean when I ask you to "puke on the page?"

It means that you write.
You write to have a conversation with yourself.
You write to figure out what it is that you understand.
You write to refine your ideas.
You write for no one but yourself. 

TOOLS FOR PUKING

1. A notebook that no one looks at or in but you.
2. A pen that you trust (and other pens or pencils nearby)

This is my pen. There are many like it but this one is mine. I want you to make your own writing and creativity creed. Take a look at this clip from the movie "Full Metal Jacket"





This is my pen. There are many like it but this one is mine. 





Puking must take place on paper and not on a computer. You can re-write (which is where your real writing happens) on the computer but get used to puking with a writing utensil in your hand. 

HOW TO PUKE
You start to write and you do not stop for any reason. 
Hand cramp? 
Too bad! 
Roommate Drama? 
Lock yourself in your car.
Be Brave. 
You can say anything and only share what you want. The important thing is that you write it down. 

Read what one of my heroes says about doing creative work:

“Are you a born writer? Were you put on earth to be a painter, a scientist, an apostle of peace? In the end the question can only be answered by action.

Do it or don't do it.

It may help to think of it this way. If you were meant to cure cancer or write a symphony or crack cold fusion and you don't do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself,. You hurt your children. You hurt me. You hurt the planet.

You shame the angels who watch over you and you spite the Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts, for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimeter farther along its path back to God.

Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It's a gift to the world and every being in it. Don't cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you've got.” 

― Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles


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