Your writing life is the sum of all the writing-related choices you make. Choosing means to make a decision each time you come to a particular crossroads. Most decisions are not deliberate. Instead we unconsciously follow our habits, choosing what is easiest because it’s what we’ve done for years. We choose negative thoughts about our […]
Kristi Holl
Regain the Passion (Part 3)
(First read “Regain the Passion” Part 1 and Part 2.) How to Regain Lost Passion If you were passionate about your writing in the past, but haven’t felt that way for a long time, there is a definite sadness mixed in with the lethargy. It feels like falling out of love, and in a very real […]
Regain the Passion (Part 2)
(Read Part 1 of Regain the Passion first.) When does passion flourish? Under what conditions? First, a writer’s passion is generally at its highest point when life is going well. (Big surprise!) When relationships are smooth, health is good, there’s enough money to pay the bills, the writer is following a healthy diet and getting […]
Regain the Passion
Has this ever happened to you? You’re half-way through a short story revision, or the rough draft of your novel, or the research for a biography—and without warning, you lose your desire for the project. The passion evaporates. You feel lethargic, sad, and brain dead (or least oxygen deprived.) You put your writing away for […]
The Writing Season
My daughter’s expecting her second baby any day now, and it’s fun watching her during this “nesting” season. Today it struck me how much her preparations for a new life are like those plans made by writers who want to write for a lifetime. Having babies takes serious preparation. So does having a writing career. […]
Nourish Your Writer's Soul with Spontaneous Combustion
For the past month, I have been choosing what Nancy Butts calls “activities that nourish your writer’s soul” (from Spontaneous Combustion: A Writer’s Primer for Creative Revival by Nancy.) In fact, one of the activities I do each day, before I work on my novel, is to read half a chapter or so of Nancy’s book. […]
Journal Through the Summer (Part 2)
(First read Journal Through the Summer–Part 1) Journaling has many purposes and uses–and here are some more! ********************* Journaling Dreams Journal through your summer by exploring your dreams and daydreams. Give yourself free rein to imagine the kind of life you’d love to live. No restrictions. Journal about where you’d like to live, things you’d […]
Journal Through the Summer
I’ve received a lot of email from writers and blog readers about the difficulties of writing during the summer. Kids and grandkids are home from school, vacations are taken, company arrives. Is there a way to keep writing, despite all this? Yes. You can journal through the summer. I wrote this article (first part below, […]
How to Fix A Writer's Fragmented Life
I always blog on Tuesdays. Except yesterday. My grandkids had been here for a couple of days of hiking, water fights, reading and laughing. I had planned to blog last night, but I had a meeting at my house to plan and clean for. BUT the air conditioning went out (a big deal in summertime […]
The Scheduling Habit
Getting into the writing habit is difficult, especially in the early years of writing. We aren’t making much money at it, so it’s hard to justify taking the time. Our lives are full to overflowing already, so where can we possibly fit in some writing? How can we form a consistent writing habit when our […]