In a blog post dated April 2013, about a month before his New York Times bestseller The Fifth Wave hit shelves, Rick Yancey listed four reasons not to be a writer. His second was “Failure is guaranteed.” Here’s what he had to say: “You have to come to terms with your own loser-ness. I do this by looking at… Read more »
Happy New Year! Time to start fresh and get a head start on marathoning those seasons on Netflix while actively avoiding your to-do list. Procrastination is the #1 reason that people don’t complete their New Years’ Resolutions (now that I think about it, that is kind of like saying that the #1 reason you ditched… Read more »
I’m an overachiever, so it I find it easy for me to get excited about a lot of different things and pursue them relentlessly. But sometimes I lose my way. Sometimes I feel like an overwhelmed workaholic who has spread herself too thin. But refocusing trims out the unnecessary so you can concentrate fully on the… Read more »
We’re T-minus two days from Thanksgiving. If the holiday hustle and bustle hasn’t started already, it’s about to. Writing time is about to get as scarce as a flat-screen on black Friday. If you’re not taking the next six weeks off from writing, but you still want to make time for family, friends and celebrating,… Read more »
It’s hard to find time to write. It’s hard to clear your mind, sit down, sit still and focus. It’s hard to tell family, friends and co-workers, “No. I can’t go to that party, no I can’t have another round, no I can’t marathon Orange is the New Black all weekend. I have to write.” And with the… Read more »
Structure. Constraints. Boundaries. Are you already withering up a little and looking for an escape? The idea of being fenced in by rules and structure can feel stifling, but it shouldn’t. Adding structure can actually be freeing. In one famous experiment, preschool children were observed playing at a playground without a fence around it, and later… Read more »
For the first article in this series, click here. After attending ThrillerFest, I decided to follow the advice of the pros and take a step back from my book. It was a tough call, and a scary one. I had spent so long with the characters and world, but I knew I needed clear head-space…. Read more »
