Ever reached a point of writing your book and think “This book sucks like there’s no tomorrow”? Do you do that with a lot of your books? Do you have a pile of uncompleted manuscripts, because they all stink up the room? I’ve got some good news for you, and some bad news. The […]
This Book #%#*$!! Sucks! Read More »
I’ve been on a bit of a “down time” tear recently. That’s because I’ve had my nose poked by the marked difference in my mood and motivation to write after having six weeks off over Christmas. I’ve written one book since coming back to work in late January, and I’m just into writing the
The Lull Between Books. Should you? Read More »
I came to a realization, this week just past. It began as a niggling sense of pressure, even when I was relaxed. It showed itself by the mild irritation I felt even when I had completed a full day of work, with all priorities handled. It manifested via constant tweaks to my 2019 weekly schedule,
The Case for Writing LESS Read More »
I’m really tired. It has been three very long years of full time writing — six days a week (usually seven, actually), up to ten hours a day. In the last month, I have been trying to write as many blog posts and emails ahead of time as possible, so that I can take six
Prolific Idea Generation Read More »
Last week I suggested writing short stories as a way of reaffirming your love of writing, having fun, and maybe creating saleable content as a happy bonus…plus also teaching yourself to write fast, and write lots. Over at Anne R. Allen’s blog, Anne has suggested in her post “The Attention Economy: Shorter“, that indie
The first half of January, I find, is often a fallow season. Everyone is recovering from the frantic pace of holiday season celebrations and reflecting upon the upcoming year. Even if you don’t believe in new year’s resolutions — and growing research demonstrates that only a tiny fraction of people who set new year resolutions
The Power of Short Stories Read More »
I talk about willpower a lot on this blog — mostly indirectly, because I think that willpower on its own will never give you the discipline you want to be as productive as you want. Willpower brings to mind the idea of white-knuckling your way through chores you don’t want to do. I think writing
Willpower for Writers…and More Read More »
This is Part 1 of an informal series about Pen Names. See Part 1 or Part 2 or Part 3 or Part 4. There are many authors who write under one pen name (only) for privacy reasons. That is not the question I am answering here today, for privacy and security are very good reasons for writing under a different name.
Should You Use Multiple Pen Names? Read More »
I was tickled pink when James Scott Bell, writing guru and suspense author, and also one of my professional heroes, wrote a post a few days ago, “What I Wish I’d Known When I Started Writing”. He starts the post with: Next year will be my 24th as a professional writer. So I knew I
I’ve mentioned more than a few times here and there how damaging it is to your impetus if you let yourself click away from your manuscript, for any reason at all. I just haven’t formalized the idea as a strategy for getting more words down until now. Interruptions are the bane of modern offices. There’s
