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
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
I have always wanted to write novels, the seeds planted in my early childhood. What spurred my passion for writing? Reading. My parents always read to my older sister and me and I became immersed in the stories — whether they were fairytales or the witty musings of Dorothy ParkerContinue Reading
The biggest emotional challenge of writing? The waiting. So much of writing and the publishing process takes an immense amount of time. Months can go by with no movement, no change, and as a result, you can feel completely hopeless and out of control. What You Can Control While WaitingContinue Reading
My biggest emotional challenges of being a writer can change depending on where I am in the process. Overall, I would say it’s coping with depression as that has been a struggle most of my adult life. It affects so many areas, like whether I can talk myself into writingContinue Reading
by Pauline Wiles It’s an ideal time of year to freshen up both your writing habits, and how you show your work to the world. Your website is no exception: as the cornerstone of your writer marketing, it’s not something you want to neglect. Assuming you would rather spend yourContinue Reading
Welcome to the Writing and Wellness annual quote round-up! Below you’ll find the best quotes from the authors featured on the site this year. This is the seventh time I’ve put these together. They’ve all been popular posts and I love how they capture certain overarching themes in the writingContinue Reading
As is so common with writers, there were years and years of work with barely any acknowledgment, interspersed with plenty of self-doubt. Writing is such a lonely pursuit, which is why when you finally get writers together at a conference, we are all practically panting with excitement to be aroundContinue Reading
What’s the best investment you can make in your book? I’ll give you a hint: Not long ago, I handed in my third round of edits to my publisher for my new novel, The Beached Ones. This, after I put the book through my own edits countless times in preparationContinue Reading
[Photo caption: Author Jason Offutt and his wife Kimberly Offutt on a recent vacation at Rathbun Lake, Iowa. Yes, Iowa has lakes.] There are different levels of emotional stress that come with where a writer is in their career. Early on was rejection, until I learned that EVERY writer getsContinue Reading