In this section, Boice was at his most practical. He provides many concrete practices for his readers to follow in order to get in the regular practice of daily writing.
To me, Boice really has one goal in mind: to establish a sense of confidence in his writers. At first I was a bit skeptical (like many of the people he cites in the book) about the effectivness of the rules and interventions he lays out. I wondered to myself, what are all these steps aimed at building confidence doing for writers at all levels? But then it dawned on me, people who are taking the time to read this book (or take A Mindful Writing seminar during the summer session) are probably already good writers or they have the mind, eye, and ear to become one. Whether it be a college student, an aspiring creative writer, or a grad student caught in the doldrums of comprehensive exams, these people have been writing a long time and have read a sufficient amount to understand what it takes to be a good writer.
Therein lies the importance of confidence. What stands in the way of these writers from realizing their potential, and I think Boice would agree, is the understanding that you ARE a writer (and probably a good one), and that with these mindful, regular, mildly-happy practices, you can see the fruits of your labor coming out. Regular productivity provides the concrete proof of you as a writer, and therefore can only lead to increased motivation to write.
The rules and practices in this section, along with the ones from the previous sections, all lead me to think that Boice is trying to get his writers to see for themselves that they have something to say.
Mindfulness ----------> Confidence -----------> Motivation -----------> Production
It can be done. We just need to feel like it can.
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