Acting vs. reacting: What are you more likely to do in your writing career? If you’re like most writers, you’re spending far too much time reacting and not enough acting. Here’s the difference, and how you can start acting to create much more success for yourself. Acting Vs. Reacting forContinue Reading
Are relationship problems sapping your motivation to write? If so, you’re not alone. In a recent Writing and Wellness survey, several writers expressed their concern about this. Our relationships are important to us, and when there’s conflict or underlying stress, it’s often so pervasive that can quickly rob us ofContinue Reading
This year, I’d like to help you reach your writing goals. I know it’s not easy. See if this sounds familiar: You set a writing goal, go after it with lots of energy, then when life interferes (as it always does), you get sidetracked. Soon you’re making only sporadic (ifContinue Reading
Did you know that November is National Manatee Awareness Month? Me either! Until now, of course. And I’m excited to talk about it for a couple of reasons. First, we writers could learn a lot from manatees. I’ve got four important lessons they have to teach us below. Second, manateesContinue Reading
Usually, when we think of writing goals, we think about setting them at the beginning of the year. But here we are nearing the end of the year, and I’m challenging you to set some goals NOW—ones that you can accomplish before the end of the year. There are severalContinue Reading
As a writer, you’ve likely had one of those “my story is stupid” moments. Maybe more than one. Most of the time, we can get past it by stepping away for a little while, then going back to fix whatever may not be working. But other times, we can getContinue Reading
Overcoming self-doubt is your most important job as a writer. Don’t think so? Answer one question: Do you believe that with hard work, determination, and persistence, you can succeed in achieving your writing goals? Your answer determines your fate. You may not believe that. Success depends on other factors likeContinue Reading
Facing writing difficulties is something every writer must do. How you face them determines whether or not you succeed. No matter what struggles you may be having—and we all have them—one thing is true: If you want to make progress toward your writing dreams, you have to get clear onContinue Reading
Life is difficult in our world right now. We’re dealing with a global pandemic. Businesses are struggling to stay afloat. Parents are juggling work with homeschooling. And many of us are stuck at home more than we’d like to be. Amidst it all, we have the opportunity to write. TheContinue Reading
Here’s what we writers tend to do: We work super hard for long periods. We strive, push, try new things, spend our nights and weekends learning and writing and editing and publishing, take classes, go to conferences, write and write some more, blog, present, do public readings, and on andContinue Reading
Spend too much time away from writing, and it can be tough to get back into it. When you’re writing every day or at least every other day, you’re regularly working your creative muscles. Your brain learns how to deliver new ideas and gradually becomes more reliable at providing thoseContinue Reading
Have you made the “one decision” as a writer? For years, I worked on writing while in a state of indecision. I was committed. I stuck to a regular writing routine; read books, magazines, and online posts about craft; tore apart my stories to figure out structure; and hired aContinue Reading