Discipline & Motivation

Learn to Love Writing, Not “Having Written”

This is an old adage, but I wanted to circle back to it today, because it’s the beginning of the year, and we’re getting close to the point where most New Year’s Resolutions drop off a cliff. (Generally, that’s somewhere in February.) White knuckling your way through writing sessions, just hanging in there until you […]

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Let’s Pull Self-Discipline Off the Garbage Heap

I’ve had a long-running, on-again-off-again affair with self-discipline. I admire the iron discipline of dancers, and would love to have that sort of discipline myself. I’ve been working on it all my life. “Success” methodologies have been around since Victorian times, but my first introduction to the idea of creating one’s own success was in

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What to Do with Your Story Now NaNoWriMo is Done

Did you enter NaNoWriMo this year? Did you win?  Congratulations! What is NaNoWriMo? If you haven’t heard of this annual competition before, let me explain quickly; Every November, writers can set themselves the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in the 30 days of the month. NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month. The novel

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A Productive Indie Book!

A Productive Indie Book! Last month, I took a bit of a break, and also mentioned that I was working on something that I would tell you about soon. As the image, above, has probably told you, that something is the first PIFW book. I’ve been getting back to a more productive writing schedule, and

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Why You Should Pick Your Priorities

Why You Should Pick Your Priorities …and Stick With Them. Farnam Street have a post in their archives, “Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change” that is worth a slow read through. Seeking out novelty and noticing change was a survival instinct that doesn’t serve us in modern times, because everything is new and novel

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Ramp Up Your Creativity and Write Lots More With One Simple Hack

Actually, I lied.  This hack is simple in concept.  But it’s not simple to execute. But, man, is it worth the effort!  This hack will energize your writing and let you float through the day, no slogging, no groaning, no fighting to keep yourself at the desk. My story Three years ago, my DH was

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The Missing Factor That Demolishes Habit Building

The Missing Factor That Demolishes Habit Building And A System To Use It We fiction writers understand the power of tiny habits. We get that routine and “just starting” are key tools to get a lot of writing done. But there’s another factor involved in building small habits that is critical, yet is often overlooked. BJ Fogg,

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10 Unexpected Ways Writing Fiction Helps Readers

10 Unexpected Ways Writing Fiction Helps Readers It’s MUCH More Than Simply Entertainment If you’ve written and published a lot of fiction, there’s a good chance that somewhere along the way you’ve had a dark night of soul–where you’ve questioned why on earth you’re putting yourself through this torture day after day, only to hear

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How Fiction Writers Can Use The Discipline Of Dancers To Write Mega Heaps

Discipline tends to get a bad rap these days. In productivity circles, it is equated to white-knuckling your way through tasks with iron-jawed determination, which will naturally and absolutely end in failure. In diet circles, discipline is the same as holding your teeth together, sitting on your hands and mutely shaking your head “no” when

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The One Thing You Cannot Do When You Hit The Dip With Your Novel

The One Thing You Cannot Do When You Hit The Dip With Your Novel Do This Instead I’ve written (plus finished and published) over 120 novels, and this is a pattern I’ve detected. Around the one third mark, usually not long after you get into the second act, you’ll be convinced the story is garbage

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