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 »
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
In the Part 1 of this post we covered the brainstorming part of plotting, where you capture everything you know, then fill in the blanks, amalgamate, then drop all that information into your favourite story structure. In Part 2, we looked at making a scene out of the beats, and time saving hacks for organizing
In the last part of this post we covered the brainstorming part of plotting, where you capture everything you know, then fill in the blanks, amalgamate, then drop all that information into your favourite story structure. This post, we sort that amorphous blob of information into a well-developed story outline that will speed your writing
I’m halfway through a series on plotting that I will finish next week. In the meantime, I have spent some time trying to explain to a pair of authors who wanted to know more, exactly, how I use Microsoft Word and why I am such a fan of it (as opposed to Scrivener, et al). It
How to Maximize Microsoft Word – Hacks to Write Your Novels Faster Read More »
Back in July, Rob asked me in comments: The place I currently get hung up when it comes to being more prolific is the plotting/planning stage. I can write fairly quickly and cleanly, but it takes me a while to plot out a new book, especially if it’s the first in a new series. All
This is a three-part series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | If you have followed along with Part One and Part Two of this blog post, then you will have all your prep work done and be ready to dive into building your first production schedule. So let’s go. Backwards or Forwards?
This is a three-part series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | How To Set Up Your Production Sheet Last week I went through the many reasons why building yourself a tailored production sheet pays some very nice dividends, both in the long and the short term. You can find that post here.
How to Build A Workable, Useful Production Schedule (and how to use it). Part 2. Read More »
This is a three-part series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Do you need a production schedule? If you are a writer, and you have any commercial ambitions at all, then yes, you do. A well-built production schedule will help you stop the overwhelm, restore your sanity, and give you a proper
How to Build A Workable, Useful Production Schedule (and how to use it). Part 1. Read More »
How do you decide when you’re going to write? Do you move through your day, hoping time will magically open up when you can sit and scribble a few hundred words on your current manuscript? Do you get to the end of your day and feel frustrated, because you never opened the manuscript at all?
How to Set Up Your Writing Schedule, Kill Stress and Get Things Done Read More »
