Like many of people writing fiction, I have a background writing non-fiction for my day job. Over the years I’ve written lots of business reports, market overviews and policy outlines for public bodies, some published, some very definitely for internal use only. I’ve always wanted to write fiction, but afterContinue Reading
The biggest physical challenge for me of being a writer is stopping long enough to do the things I know will improve my health. I get on tangents with stories and don’t want to take a break until I see how the scenes will unfold. If I’m not careful, theContinue Reading
For me self-doubt has been a major hurdle. It took me six years from the time I started writing my mystery Kat Out of the Bag to when I signed a publishing contract. For the first few years I kept it a dark secret that I was writing a book.Continue Reading
When I lost my job, got cancer and my mom died, it finally pushed me to pursue my dream of writing, but I had no idea if I was any good. I think that was one of my biggest emotional challenges as a writer. I know a lot of writersContinue Reading
Fear was always the biggest challenge. I keep a Fear Journal. Every time I can’t write fiction, I process the feeling by figuring out which of the fears are getting in my way today. Up until I got a chronic disease, I worked for and trained to be a researchContinue Reading
Creativity is such an amoebic thing. It moves and grows, shrinks, contracts, spins and warbles in a constant tidal motion. Fortunately, I’ve never suffered from writer’s block but have felt overwhelmed at times by a story. Not sure what to do, insecure about my ability to plot. Will people likeContinue Reading
I didn’t tell very many people I was writing for a long time because I didn’t want to have to talk about not getting an agent, not finding a publisher, not selling any books…admitting I wasn’t succeeding at my effort to become a published author. Then, when I finally didContinue Reading
Being in any of the arts—writing, theatre, painting, dance—is not for the timid. Because of the nature of the work, these pursuits are among the lowest paid unless you become a star in the field. So, emotionally, I didn’t consider making writing an occupation until I retired early from myContinue Reading
by Kris Maze Worried about your Writer Wellness? We can improve our writing productivity if we focus on improving our Writer Habits. It’s a pleasure to share the importance of balancing your writer life and not to neglect mojo-giving resources of exercise, proper nutrition, and sleep. One of the biggestContinue Reading
Writing is a solitary endeavor. Whether we, as writers, are in a bustling coffeeshop or sitting solo at the kitchen table, we are alone in it, submerging ourselves in a world of our own making. We choose our words with care, and then we backspace and type different ones, onlyContinue Reading
In the beginning – and I’m talking some 30 years ago – I basked in the attention of a literary agent and the advice from Cornerstones Editorial Services. Both of these institutions assured me I could write, but my early work needed tweaking. I learnt lots. I was always hopefulContinue Reading
by Barbara Linn Probst Like becoming a parent, becoming an author has been nothing like I imagined. There’s no end to the number of books out there telling us how to write, publish, and market our books. They’re all useful—and they’re all wrong. The Publication Journey Will Not Be LikedContinue Reading