Soon my writing friend and I will Skype for a few hours about our 2013 goals. We’ll discuss what we’ve accomplished, what we’ve given up on, and what is still challenging (and defeating) us. Current State of Affairs In past years at these goal check-ups, I’ve been both pleasantly surprised and chagrined at my progress. This year […]
Kristi Holl
Weekend Gems
For your weekend reading pleasure, here are four articles I think you’ll find inspiring and practical. (We need both!) Bookmark them all, or save them to Evernote, and each time you need a break from your writing, read one of these articles. You’ll be glad you did! Here’s one of the best quick reference guides […]
Getting the Writing Done: Crunch Times
I have several deadlines to meet by the end of this month, including finishing an outlined NaNoWriMo novel. Crunch time! I reviewed my past “crunch time” behaviors, many of which set me back instead of moving me forward. (e.g. I often gave up eating healthy meals and grabbed caffeine-laden soft drinks and chocolate to get […]
Writer Imaging (Part 3)
(First read “Writer Imaging” Part 1 and Part 2.) Here are the final attributes of a happy writing life… 4. Staying focused on the positive. View your writing life as a series of opportunities and growth experiences, even though some experiences (like rejection slips) may involve pain. Daily there are good things to focus on […]
Writer Imaging (Part 2)
First read Writer Imaging: Your Vision of Success. According to our most reliable sources—happy writers—the “good writing life” is actually dependent on the following conditions: 1. Staying active, writing every day, even if it’s only a journal entry or your Morning Pages, as promoted by Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. 2. Staying organized. Many writers claim […]
Writer Imaging: Your Vision of Success
Picture this: you’re feeling strong and confident. Your writing is going well, you’re in the flow. That is, until you see her, that Famous Writer, on the cover of Writer’s Digest or being interviewed on the “Morning Show.” Rejection slips and cash flow crunches are just distant memories to her. Or maybe it happens closer to home. […]
Press On to Finish Strong
Typically, writing students are excited two times: at the very beginning of the writing course and again at the end (because they are graduating and/or being published.) Book writers are also excited at the beginning of a project (when their idea and characters are new) and at the end (when the final draft is complete or it’s […]
The Danger of Fuzzy Goals
How’s your focus? It’s a question I’ve dealt with this month as I’ve led two October writing challenges and am thinking about goals for 2014. I started out the month great, but I lost focus somewhere. I set out to discover why. My calendar was so full of very good things, but I was frequently exhausted and […]
NaNoWriMo Accountability Challenge: Sign Up Now!
Last week I posted some links and information about the National Novel Writing Month (November). I mentioned that I would do a November accountability challenge if enough interest was shown. I heard from plenty of you to have a good-sized group! Modified Children’s Writers NaNoWriMo As many of you know, NaNoWriMo has its own website with […]
Writing Boundaries: Thinking Like a Nine-to-Fiver
Time pressure and interruptions–they’re always with us. Right? To a certain extent, yes. I have several appointments coming up that will take three hours out of several different days and a couple of favors I didn’t have the nerve to say “no” to. I was bemoaning the chunk of work time that would be deducted […]