Happy New Year! For me, the turning of the year is certainly a time of examining habits, renewing intentions, and creating plans. But more than setting goals for the coming year, I prefer to think about the lessons I have learned from the year that has passed. In my experience, goals all but just happen […]
December 7, 2020 by 74 Comments Writer's Help10 Best Books to Buy a Writer For Christmas
All the lists of Christmas gifts for writers are good at highlighting unique and fun (and sometimes useless) gift ideas. But the truth is: writers are easy to buy for. Just wrap up a bunch of books. Almost any book will do, but if you’re wanting to get specific (for yourself or a writer on […]
November 30, 2020 by 94 Comments PodcastWhat Is Dreamzoning? (7 Steps to Finding New Story Ideas)
Every writer knows a thing or two about daydreaming. But what about dreamzoning? What’s that—and how can it help you cultivate inspiration for your storytelling? Put simplistically, dreamzoning is basically just daydreaming on steroids. It’s purposeful, focused daydreaming. It’s intense. It’s fun. And if you’re a writer, it’s the mother lode of all story ideas. […]
November 23, 2020 by 116 Comments Podcast7 Steps to Stop Overthinking Your Writing
It’s a question I’ve received countless times from readers over the years—and one I’ve found myself asking of late as well: How do you stop overthinking your writing? Writers are often known as thinkers. Indeed, we’re often proud of the connotation. We spend a lot of time in our heads. We love to read. We […]
November 9, 2020 by 106 Comments PodcastAre You Growing as a Writer? (Here’s the Only Way to Tell)
Do you want to grow as a writer? I know you do, simply because you are a writer. I know because you are here reading this post, either because you subscribe to this blog and others like it as a way to mainline writing knowledge on a regular basis, or because you stumbled onto this post […]
July 6, 2020 by 77 Comments Writing InspirationHow to Get Stuff Done as a Writer (or How This INTJ Leverages Her Te)
Most days as a writer, I wake up excited to tackle everything on my to-do list. My big plans always include ROCKING my daily writing session. I’m always like, “Today is the day I’m going to write 5,000 words in one sitting! Rawr!” Then writing time rolls around. And… I’m still futzing around the house, […]
June 22, 2020 by 78 Comments Writing InspirationUsing All Four Cognitive Functions as a Writer
My heart is so full as I write this. So many things going on in the world right now—both good and bad. It makes me reflect, not for the first time, on the tremendous gift given to writers in the simple fact that we have a place to put not just our feelings, but every […]
June 8, 2020 by 70 Comments Writer's Help6 Writing Excuses Busted (Or How an 11-Year-Old Published Her First Novel)
Writing excuses are easy to come up with. Easy to justify. But to publish, you’ll need to learn how to avoid using at least six of them—maybe more. My goal is to help you avoid using these six writing excuses by showing you how I overcame them to publish my first novel shortly after my […]
June 1, 2020 by 104 Comments Writing Inspiration11 Exercises to Enhance Your Visual Thinking
Which comes first for you—images or words? For storytellers, both are important. We craft words on paper to communicate our visions to readers. We want them to see what we see, hear what we hear, experience what we experience. Concentrating on visual thinking is an exercise many of us can use to access our creativity […]
April 13, 2020 by 64 Comments Writing InspirationHow to Get Some Writing Done: Discipline vs. Enthusiasm
Sooner or later, most writers discover that the most difficult part of writing isn’t dreaming up characters or perfecting our sentences or learning story structure. No, the hardest part of getting some writing done is just… doing it. Procrastination is a hot topic (and a self-deprecating joke) among writers for the very reason that almost […]
