~Writing Well Wednesday Tip~ If you feel constricted when wearing a tie, it’s not all in your head. Turns out that those fashion accessories really do constrict blood flow, at least a little. According to a new study by German researchers, ties change how blood flows to the brain. TheyContinue Reading
Are you sabotaging your future success before you even begin? I’ve spoken at several writer’s conferences and events over the last few years, which means I’ve talked to a lot of aspiring and experienced writers. Many come to me with questions about one facet or another of their writing careers.Continue Reading
The key to my creativity is cultivating a positive and active brain. If I let in too much negativity (from social media, the news, and other people), I lose my creative energy. Likewise, if my brain is sluggish (from poor health, poor eating, or poor sleep), I’m incapable of creativity.Continue Reading
~Writing Well Wednesday Tip~ You know you need to be drinking lots of water during the warm summer days. Avoiding even slight dehydration also helps writers fight fatigue, reduce stress, and increase mental focus. (Read more on our post, “The Easy Way to Boost Brainpower and Energy for Writing.”) NothingContinue Reading
Would you like to simplify your writing life? Most writers struggle to manage all the activities involved with writing, editing, publishing, marketing, and keeping up with the rest of their lives. Few would turn down a chance to simplify somewhere, if only to make things a little bit easier. ThereContinue Reading
Completing my first crime fiction trilogy, the Tom Stone Detective Stories, has been a challenge and reward that follows decades of writing in different forms and working despite years of chaos based on the family that my wife and I chose to raise. We became foster parents to our fourContinue Reading
~Writing Well Wednesday Tip~ Writing and alcohol seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly, but recent research shows that writers may want to think twice about that second glass of wine. I know pretty much anytime I go to a writing event—conference, gathering, writer’s group, etc.—there’s alcohol involved.Continue Reading
Self-care is a popular buzzword these days, but are you doing it right? Everybody’s talking about self-care as a way to improve health and well-being. Writers need to be especially conscious about it because the writing life can lead to health issues like back pain, weight gain, burnout, and depression.Continue Reading
Writing, like growing old, isn’t for wimps. There’s always a new challenge, the next deadline, yet another hurdle to jump over. My most difficult challenge as a writer came early in my career. I Lost Control of a World I’d Created, and I Wasn’t Laughing It was an October morning,Continue Reading
~Writing Well Wednesday Tip~ If you’re in a room with a group of writers, you don’t have to go far to find one that’s stressed out. We have a lot of reasons to stress! Launching a book, reviewing edits or critiques, conducting a book signing, or waiting for word fromContinue Reading
Do you feel creatively fulfilled as a writer? A Writing and Wellness reader who commented on a former post (“5 Things Writers Can Do to Live Longer”) got me thinking about this. Mike was talking about his difficulty with getting enough sleep each night, not only because he likes toContinue Reading
by Rebecca Whitehead Munn I have always held a dream of writing a book; I just didn’t know what it would be about until I faced deep loss. I also did not ever imagine I would be facing a divorce with a two- and four-year-old when I learned my motherContinue Reading