Habits Writers Should Embrace
There are many habits a writer should develop. These are just a few. Let’s call them my top 15.
Breaking Through the Resistance: A Writer’s Constant Challenge (Part 2 of 2)
Not writing happens more than writing. Staring at the blank page. Struggling to get motivation to put words on the screen. We have all felt that way. It’s common. Its cause? Resistance.
Resistance keeps writers from writing. It stands in the way of every type of creative endeavor, whether its a painter who isn’t wielding her brush or a writer avoiding the page. It is the single biggest challenge in creating things that are whole and realized and finished.
Fighting Against Resistance: A Writer’s Constant Challenge (Part 1 of 2)
Stephen Pressfield wrote in his book The War of Art that “it’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is resistance.”
He is not wrong.
Holiday Gift Giving
Every year during the holiday season, I have offered up a list of gifts worthy of any writer on your holiday list, or for yourself, should you be the type to reward yourself with a treat at the end of the year. This year, with the tough times and pandemic, I have chosen a different route.
Common Reasons for Not Writing: No Focus (Part 4 of 4)
This series on writing obstacles has looked at three of the four main excuses writers use for not putting words on the page: no energy, no motivation, and no ideas. In our final installment, we’re going to look at lack of focus.
Common Reasons for Not Writing: No Ideas (Part 3 of 4)
This time, we’re focusing on a lack of ideas. This is a big reason why some people stop writing. It’s simply because they can’t think of what to write next. Here are some tricks to get around that:
Common Reasons for Not Writing: No Motivation (Part 2 of 4)
This series is exploring the many reasons writers come up with for not writing and the four main reasons for those excuses: no energy, no motivation, no ideas and no focus.
Today we are looking at a lack of motivation and offering tips to help boost yours:
Common Reasons for Not Writing and Ways to Circumvent Them (Part 1 of 4)
There are many reasons writers come up with for not writing. It’s amazing how many reasons there can be, ranging from being exhausted to needing to defrost the freezer to the absolute crisis of not having any caffeine in the house. As long as there are excuses to use, writers will find them. Heck, we’re the ones who make them excuses up in the first place. We’re writers! But excuses are not going to get your novel finished or get that client project turned in on time.
There are four major categories for these excuses: no energy, no motivation, no ideas and no focus. I’m going to tackle each one and offer solutions to overcoming your particular brand of excuse. First up: No Energy.
Write Faster (Part 2 of 2)
Last week, we talked about ways to write faster. The blog was filled with tips and tricks to get those 50k words for NaNoWriMo down more quickly. Though the tricks will work for any project at any time.
Writing faster is a valuable skill. As a professional writer, I know the faster I am able to write, the more I can produce, which means more money. Of course, faster can’t be more important than good, when it comes to clients. When it comes to first drafts, the words matter more. Get them down as fast as possible. You can worry about the quality later.
Write Faster (Part 1 of 2)
With NaNoWriMo in full swing, writing faster is a valuable skill. The good news is that it isn’t that hard to rack up words a bit faster than you usually do. Here is the first round of tips to get closer to that 50k word goal.
Tips for Participating in NaNoWriMo (Part 2 of 2)
Last week, we talked about strategies to take on NaNoWriMo, now let’s get into specific strategies you can use to up that word count.
Tips for Participating in NaNoWriMo (Part 1 of 2)
If you are one of many writers who have signed on to do this year’s NaNoWriMo, you are in luck. Here are my top tips for doing it right: