What works for one writer may not work for other writers and that’s okay Every writer has a different method of writing. I know that because many of you tell me. Schedule Some write every day (like me) and others do not. Motivation Others wait for inspiration and some sit down and write regardless of […]
Too many novice writers don’t invest in the craft and expect seasoned authors to give them an easy button to publication I post on this blog, send out a writing newsletter, and speak at conferences because I want to give back to the writing community, to share with others what I have learned over the […]
When our carefully constructed world of work comes crashing down, follow these steps to reconstruct it Writers are often amazed at the amount of writing I do on a daily and weekly basis. They ask how I manage to consistently stay productive. Part of it is my stage of life, part of it is discipline, […]
To progress as an author requires hard work and diligent focus I’ve been writing my entire adult life. In the early years, my primary goal was to write faster, but for the past decade or so, my focus was on writing better. As I attended to learning the craft of writing, my writing has steadily […]
Writers need to guard against making unhealthy comparisons to other authors As writers we read the work of others, we look at their books, and we notice their successes. Though this happens in any profession, writing is a more public endeavor, so making comparisons is harder to avoid. Yet we should strive to sidestep assessing […]
I have a tendency to be a people pleaser. I like to help others, and I especially enjoy doing things for writers: to encourage them, support them, provide feedback, buy their book, and read their writing. Helping other writers is why I have my blog and a newsletter about writing and publishing. Both my blog […]
Are you fortunate to love what you do? In last week’s post, I said writing is fun. While acknowledging that some writers don’t like to write, I am the opposite: I love to write. A number of things contribute to my joy of writing: I see improvement in my writing Whenever I read my past […]
I’m a big advocate of writing critique groups. My group has moved me forward as a writer and improved the quality of my work. And everyone who attends regularly has improved, too. We encourage one another, celebrate our victories, and never have to struggle alone. Plus, they’re a great group to hang out with. However, […]
This blog is about writing. An important aspect of writing is marketing what we write, first to get it published and then to get it to read. I don’t talk much about promotion because, like many authors, I don’t like to do it. What do you think about when it comes to marketing your own […]
As writers, we write alone. Even if we compose our words with people around us—such as at a coffee shop or the kitchen table—writing is a solitary effort. Often we must isolate ourselves for progress to occur; we say “no” to social activities in order to move our work forward or meet a deadline. Our […]