For me, it’s always about time. I used to feel very out-of-sorts and uncomfortable if I went for any period of time without writing. I’ve learned to understand that writing is the way I process and manage experiences and emotions. It feels like I can breathe better when I knowContinue Reading
How accurate are you when writing medical scenes? According to Dr. Natalie Dale, most writers make a lot of mistakes when it comes to medical topics. Fortunately, she’s written a guide to help you make sure you get it right in your next book! by Natalie Dale I see writersContinue Reading
by Christian Klaver I’ve been writing the last 30 years and only recently managed to get a contract from a major publishing house, so it’s been a long, rocky road. In that time, in addition to a few modest successes and countless, countless rejections, I’ve been accepted to a major magazineContinue Reading
Most of the time, I enjoy writing, and I especially enjoy getting boxes of new books! However, as with most writers, I do experience self-doubt, especially when I reach the middle of a manuscript. Is this working? Where is this plot going? Is my historical information interesting and accurate? TheContinue Reading
For me, the biggest emotional challenge of being a writer is also my biggest emotional challenge in general, which is perfectionism. My standards for myself are often unreasonably high, and the (obvious) inability to live up to these unrealistic expectations can lead to anxiety, depression, self-doubt, etc. This certainly spillsContinue Reading
I am by nature an eternally optimistic person, and I believe this has served me well as an author. That optimism, combined with my dogged determination to finish things I’ve started, seems to be the perfect storm for getting books written. So while I have had my low points asContinue Reading
As someone with anxiety issues, dealing with imposter syndrome and anxiety have been the hardest part of being an author. It’s easy for me to get caught up worrying that whatever step of the process I’m in won’t work out. I would worry that I wouldn’t find an agent, thenContinue Reading
I find writing itself to be incredibly therapeutic. Honestly, I work through problems I didn’t even know I had through my fiction. And to be clear, I am a fiction writer; none of my published work to date is autobiographical. And yet I find myself returning to particular themes andContinue Reading
The biggest emotional challenge of being a writer for me? Shyness. I’m not sure if that qualifies as mild anxiety or self-doubt. In my mind at least, many people become book people because stories offer them something they can’t find in the real world. A lot of us are turnedContinue Reading
Novel writing is an emotional rollercoaster. It begins with feeling overwhelmed. There is nothing as intimidating as a blank page. Then there is the feeling of excitement when ideas begin to flow. Then you feel the satisfaction of creating a world from scratch. Then there’s frustration when you’re hit withContinue Reading
I think that any good writer is emotionally challenged at some level. Otherwise, how could we create and write about the emotionally damaged characters in our stories? Readers expect authenticity in our characterizations. If we haven’t felt things like grief, anxiety, depression, love, and fear, then how can we createContinue Reading
For those who are Type A personalities like myself, it can be difficult to shut off and relax. When you’re a Type A personality and a writer, you often feel like downtime is wasted time. Any time that I’m not at work or sleeping is time that should be spentContinue Reading