You’ve pulled your hair out. Bled on the page. Gone over your WIP six ways til Sunday. Maybe you’ve even put it through one of those AI editing programs or had someone read it. One last comb through for typos or other writing errors. Yeah. That’s it. Time to submit. You hit send, and then… Read more »
Many writers claim to have number phobia. They are happy to wrangle with words, but as soon as mentions of math slip into conversation, they bolt, desperate to return to safer terrain. I’m one of the math-loving few in the writing community. I’ve always been a numbers nerd, and I love looking at data in… Read more »
1. Pause A lot of folks claim the answer to overcoming burnout is to keep writing. The grit-your-teeth strategy may work for some people—indeed, there will be plenty of teeth-gritting no matter which path you take—but there’s a better way. Writers are performers. We’re professionals. We devote a tremendous amount of mental-emotional energy to our… Read more »
I mean, really, what’s the point of writing? “WTAF?” is a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately. What’s the point of crying, of protesting, of sharing my feelings online? What’s the point of trying to make my voice heard when it’s clear no one is interested in hearing it? With everything—and I mean,… Read more »
Summer break means warmer temps, later nights, barbecues, popsicles, fireworks, swimming … and kids spending more time at home. While kids may love summer free time, parents sometimes struggle to adapt to the new family dynamic. In particular, writers can find it challenging to maintain their writing life with kids—and extra noise—in the house. If… Read more »
I’ve always been a lover of inspirational sayings; through the years I’ve collected a wide variety of these words of encouragement to bolster my sometimes flagging attitude. One of my favorites is attributed to the 30th President of the U.S., Calvin Coolidge. The gist of it is that nothing in the world can take the… Read more »
I recently wrote about using the Enneagram to set your own goals as a writer, but you can also use this powerful tool to help develop your fictional characters. In this post, I’m going to show you three ways that the Enneagram can help you develop complex, relatable characters that the reader cares about. 1…. Read more »
For writers rebounding from illness or a family emergency, getting back on track is challenging. My recovery from the virus-that-shall-not-be-named is going at a snail’s pace. Writing time has all but disappeared. With my lack of stamina, anything I do has to be in short increments. At times I feel discouraged, but working in small… Read more »
I read a lot of nonfiction because I have an innate curiosity about the world and I enjoy learning things I didn’t know before. Whenever I want to learn how something works, I find a book. I especially love reading writers’ memoirs as a way of learning more about writing. While everyone is different and… Read more »
One of my favorite things about tarot cards is how rich in detail each card is, whether you know anything about the numerology or symbology layered into the card’s history or not. This makes using tarot as a writing tool extremely effective, since even the most novice of tarot readers can derive some meaning from… Read more »
