Nothing comes from nothing. If you’re having trouble with creative OUTput, it could well be because you have little creative INput. I know–because that’s been my problem the past few months. I’ve been trying to fish from an empty pond. I’ve been trying to draw a drink of cool water from an empty well. The […]
Month: November 2011
Writing Dreams Fulfilled
Will 2012 be the year your writing dreams come true? This is the big weekend for putting up Christmas lights and (if you have the stamina) hitting the malls to start your Christmas shopping. Before you do that–while there is still a bit of sand left in the hour glass–let me suggest that you do […]
Critiqued? Cry and Throw Things
Your novel is done–or as “done” as you can make it–and you’re ready for it to be read. It’s both exciting and fearsome to turn it over to a fellow writer for a critique. You have high hopes. You want an honest critique so that it helps you along the path to publication. On the […]
Pacifiers or Catalysts: Your Choice
I’ve noticed one amazing thing about myself and other writers who claim to want to write more than anything else. Something odd takes over, and we fill the free time of our lives with all kinds of non-writing activities. We reach for things that make us feel good, that quell any anxiety we might be feeling, […]
Procrastination Tip: Jump In!
People often tell me that I’m very productive, so it was a shock recently to take a procrastination test and come out in the top 10% of procrastinators! It said I scored 80 out of 100 possible points and “when it comes to putting things off, you often do so even though you know you […]
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Work smarter, not harder has been my mantra for many years. When I find things (book, website, class, software) that help me do that, I like to pass them along to you. With that in mind, here are two websites to products I’ve been using recently that I love. The first one I’ve used for […]
Procrastination: Make It a Movie
Procrastination: the Movie? Yes…making a movie is one way to overcome the temptation to procrastinate and build good writing habits, day by day. Yesterday, on the first day of NaNoWriMo, I had such good intentions. But my novel idea looked overwhelming to me (and rather stupid, I must also admit). I dinked around, trying to get started, […]