7 Possible Motives for Villains

Every villain needs a motive, because here’s the secret: from their perspective they’re not the villain. They have reasons for doing what they’re doing. We can’t just have vague “evil villains” being bad just for the sake of giving our heroes someone to fight. Often a villain’s motivations can be remarkably similar to our heroes, […]

4 Steps For Deciding Which Story To Write

I’m in a weird place with my writing right now. I just finished up some revisions on a novel that I’m querying with agents and I haven’t started in on a new big project yet. It feels a bit odd to be between stories. There’s a bit of hesitation- I don’t want to jump into […]

Don’t Tell Me: Why To Keep Quiet About Your Goals

As the new year has been starting there’s been a lot of buzz (as always) about resolutions and setting goals. And in a lot of ways, that’s awesome! I love goals. I love setting them, thinking about them, evaluating them. (Yeah, I’m a bit of a geek.)  I talk about goals a lot on this […]

Perseverance: When We Don’t Feel Like Writing

Let’s be real. We’re not always going to “feel” like writing. We’re going to be tired. We’ll be busy and have other things to do. If you’re like me, you’ll realize it’s suddenly really important to wash the dishes and maybe reorganize something while you’re at it. (I’m never so motivated to do housework than […]

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Start Now: Why We Should Start Before We’re Ready

Starting is hard There’s something magical about a new notebook with its blank pages full of possibility- but there’s something terrifying about it as well. Where to begin? Are we really ready to start writing? What if we mess it up? When we have a new project to start it can be an exciting time […]

6 Reminders For When Writing Is Hard

6 Reminders For When Writing is Hard

People may argue over whether “writer’s block” is a real thing, but there is no denying that writing can be hard work. While being a writer is often glamorized, glorified, and sought after, writing can also be a challenging, messy, and downright miserable business. As Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith is credited with saying, “You simply […]

Why Write? Exploring Motivation to Better Our Writing

Our motivation for writing is vital to understand. Maybe you’ve heard the saying “Everyone has a book inside of them.” A quick google search shows upwards of 80% of Americans say they want to write a book. Each November finds hundreds of thousands of writers across the world hunkering down to write their novels through […]