You wouldn’t think you’d have to teach a writer to learn how to daydream. After all, the reason you became a writer was likely a natural outgrowth of your daydreams. Too often, however, in the mad rush of life’s busy work, daydreams are relegated to the shadowy cellars of your mind. You’ll think about them “when you have time.” […]
January 10, 2010 by 79 Comments Writing InspirationWhy Word Count Goals Can Be Destructive
Word count goals are the trusted aids of many a writer. With the ever-present call of duties, relationships, and even just sweet inertia, it’s often comforting to have set word count goals every day. Write 1,000 words, write two pages, write one scene, one chapter—and you’re finished. You can abandon your writing for the day […]
December 23, 2009 by 5 Comments Writing Life10 Methods to Find More Time to Write
Time is a precious commodity in the life of a writer. Demands on our time come at us from every direction these days. We’re expected to market our work, hobnob on the Internet, maintain an active web presence, research, edit, clean the house, make meals, keep up with family and friends, buy groceries… and, oh, […]
September 6, 2008 by 44 Comments Plotting Your NovelThree Easy Ways You’ve Never Thought of to Keep Track of Time in Your Novel
Do you know, without looking, how much time your novel covers? If the question has just pushed you into the predicament of either scrunching up your face or staring at the ceiling in an effort to tally up your various scenes and arrive a reasonable figure of days, then the answer is probably an unqualified, […]
July 5, 2008 by 45 Comments Writing Life2 Rules for Making Time to Write
“‘It is only half an hour’—‘it is only an afternoon’—‘it is only an evening’—people say to me over and over again—but they don’t know that it is impossible to command oneself sometimes to any stipulated and set disposal of five minutes—or that the mere consciousness of an engagement will sometimes worry a whole day. These […]
