So. Asking for help is hard. Asking for anything is hard. I’m not particularly good at it, and you know what? I’m not alone. This fear of asking overflows into our work as writers. The writing process involves creating stories and asking people to read them, to review them, to love them. When we are […]
Sometimes I catch myself being super negative, especially when I’m hungry or haven’t gotten enough sleep. It’s a dangerous, slippery slope because once I start being critical, suddenly I see fault in everything. Which is why it’s so powerful to practice thanksgiving. For a bit now I’ve been trying to regularly stop and take time […]
The writing cycle is the ongoing journey every writer is on and what we’ve been looking at in this Steps To Success novel writing series. Last month we talked about publishing our writing, which can seem like the “finish line” of sorts. Some may say we’ve reached the end of the writing journey. But really […]
It happens to all of us: we hear “Do you have a minute?” “Can you help with this?” or “What are you doing there?” Our writing gets interrupted. We have cats and small children climbing on top of our keyboards. Holiday events that are planned during our writing hours. There are things to do and […]
Life is busy and writing is hard, yet we have words to write and stories inside of us. So what do we do? Beyond learning the rules and craft of writing itself, these are several key writing beliefs that can help us succeed in our work. These mindsets can shape our attitude and approach to […]
It’s too easy to be busy. We have meetings, commutes, chores, errands, classes, and bills to pay. We have families and coffee dates. And somewhere in there we should probably shower, eat, and sleep. Now these aren’t bad things. In fact, they’re important and good. (Please don’t give up showering! 😉 ) The problem is […]
There are endless writing lessons for us to learn. As writers we are constantly practicing our writing, improving our stories, and honing our craft. The entire world is our teacher if we allow it to be! As Sivananda Saraswati said: “This world is your best teacher. There is a lesson in everything.” It can certainly […]
Being a writer is a strange and confusing identity. Sometimes writing is a hobby, sometimes it’s a lifestyle, and sometimes it’s something that sucks up all of our time and makes us frustrated. There are some days we love it and there are days we wonder why we ever started. Being a writer is sometimes […]
So you’ve finished the first draft of your story- Congratulations!! That is a very big deal. No matter what shape your story is in, I’m so proud of you! Getting those words down on a page and creating the start of your story is a huge accomplishment. Are you feeling excited? Proud? A bit exhausted […]
Sometimes we need to throw away our plans and forget our goals in order to dream. That hurt a bit even to write because I’m such a compulsive goal setter. I love having checklists and then crossing things off when I’m done. (Anyone else out there with me??) After all, goals are great! Goals are […]