The number one complaint from writers? “I don’t have enough time to write.” Writers dream of having uninterrupted months to attend solely to writing. If you’ve ever managed to grant yourself an extended weekend or even a week or two to write, however, you may have noticed—it doesn’t make itContinue 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
I’ve been writing for over 20 years now, and I did some reflecting recently. As they say, hindsight is 20/20, and I can see now where I made some important mistakes early on. I’m sharing those mistakes with you here, in the hopes of saving you from making the sameContinue 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
I had a dream to be the next Margaret Mitchell (Gone with the Wind), Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird), or J.D. Salinger (Catcher in the Rye). What do these three writers have in common? They wrote one spectacular novel and were able to live off the royalties for theContinue Reading
During tough times, it can be hard to stay motivated to write. All the bad news can drag you down, and if your routine’s been upended, it can be difficult to find or maintain any sort of writing rhythm. You don’t feel like writing, even when you have the time.Continue Reading
by Sharon Ledwith During my year-long stint as an animal care attendant, I learned so much about the procedures and daily routines of working in an animal shelter. Then, one day, I found myself wondering what the animals would say if they could talk? How they would act and sound?Continue Reading
Have you ever gone on a date with your writing? After you’ve been writing for a while, you can begin to look at it differently. You may start to see it as an obligation, and show up for sessions with an attitude of, “Hopefully things will go well today.” YouContinue Reading
Through conversations with other writers over the years, it’s become clear that issues including fear of rejection, occasional self-doubt and writer’s block simply come with the territory for novelists. I’ve experienced all of that, but for me, the biggest emotional challenge to writing on a regular basis is struggling toContinue Reading
My first sweet romance was self-published in March 2019. It’s exciting to have two books self-published already this year, but even though the books are doing well, I still struggle with self-doubt. I dabbled with writing in the past few years, but this year decided it was time to takeContinue Reading
Where were you as a writer 10 years ago? What was important to you then? And how does it compare to what’s important to you now? I got to thinking about this the other day after watching a TED talk by Dan Gilbert called “The Psychology of Your Future Self.”Continue Reading
Are you signing up to win NaNoWriMo this year? It’s a big challenge—write 50,000 words before November comes to an end. There are a lot of tips out there to help you rise to the challenge, but there’s one thing more than any other that will determine whether you succeed:Continue Reading