International Fake Journal Month Tip of the Day: Keep Working and Don't Second-Guess Yourself

Left: the April 2 entry in my 2010 fake journal.

We're almost halfway through International Fake Journal Month 2010. My fake journal is bulging nicely. (I'll take a video of it this year too so you can see how deformed the notebook gets.) I've been able to keep up with my page-a-day-strategy, so far. Sometimes, however, it isn't easy to keep up the pace. Life interrupts us and eats up the time we've set aside for any art activity, not just fake journaling.

Something else can stop us too—indecision or a sense of vagueness. Or perhaps I should call it the "second-guessing yourself."

Maybe the story line you'd imagined (if you were hoping to have a narrative thread running through your fake journal) isn't coming together the way you thought it would. Maybe the images don't have the look that you thought they would? Maybe the ideas seem weaker than they did when you were planning for April?

If any of that is true, or other ways of second-guessing have popped up, take a moment to do a quick self-assessment. Is your internal critic calling for attention? That's the first order of business—get him to shut up by any means possible. "Laterizing" him is always a good method. "Hey, I'll deal with your comments later…" Do that enough and he'll get the message. You'll be left alone. It's worth the practice you get doing this when working on your fake journal.

If it isn't the internal critic that is stalling you look for other possible road blocks. Maybe you simply need a nap. (I can't take naps, but I know lots of people who do and naps always work for them, so I'm suggesting you try it.) Or maybe you need to avoid sugar to keep your energy levels up and even (I know I have to do this).

Whatever it is, take a moment to look into what is going on, take a couple deep breaths, and then KEEP WORKING. That's the absolute best cure for stalling and second guessing. Put yourself back in your character's mindset and get back to work, their work. Don't worry about creating a great piece of art on your page or page spread, just let your character get something about his day down that is honest. (Well, within the confines of "fake" of course.)

Keep working.