I’m too old, I’m too tired, I can’t write for hours anymore… But something won’t let me quit writing! Is there a solution? Through a lot of trial and error, I found the solution for me: the 5-Minute Life. It didn’t just revolutionize my writing. You can also break a bad habit, or start a […]
discipline
Want a 40% Increase in Your Writing Energy NOW?
Lately, I’ve been short on energy, even when I had enough time to write. Like most “modern” writers, I take short (unproductive, but frequent) breaks to check email or social media posts. In a word, I multitask. Multitasking: the Energy Drain Yes, I’d heard that multitasking was bad, but I figured I must be the […]
Mastering Mood-Dependent Writing Stages
Several days this week I was tired and headache-y, yet I needed to get some writing done. I don’t know about you, but I find writing a grueling challenge on the rare days I feel rotten. That’s why I found one particular chapter in The Write Type by Karen E. Peterson very encouraging. The author […]
Compartmentalize to End Procrastination . . . But How?
When re-reading Getting It Done by Andrew J. DuBrin, PH.D., I came to a section on dealing with procrastination. One piece of advice is something I’d like your feedback on. I have struggled to compartmentalize as he suggested. Except for occasional months here or there, I haven’t acquired that skill. The author said you can […]
Writing Life: the Reality
“Life is difficult,” wrote M. Scott Peck in his famous book The Road Less Traveled. “This … is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it… Once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.” I’d like to amend Peck’s quote to say that “the writing […]
100% Is a Cinch!
“There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” (Ken Blanchard, author of the best seller The One Minute Manager) Without a 100% commitment to anything, you spend so much time (and […]
Talent, Passion, and Discipline
As a writer, don’t ever under-estimate the power of self-discipline. Talent, passion, and discipline are needed–but the greatest of these is discipline. Best-selling author Elizabeth George speaks to this point on the first day she faces her students in her creative writing classes. Study this quote from her book, Write Away–and read through to the zinger […]
Writing Strategy: Acting AS IF
(First re-read the last post: New Twist on the Thought-Feeling-Behavior Writing Cycle.) After three very busy weeks (two new grandbabies, lots of travel, a conference, two work-for-hire deadlines), I was finally able to sit down for a lengthy time yesterday and write on my novel. Or so I thought. I sat down all right, but once […]
Chop! Chop! Writing in 20-Minute Slices
Thirty years ago I read an article that said writing was like eating a salami. You’d choke if you tried to swallow the whole thing at once. Slice by slice, though, it was easy. Life has been hectic lately, with few large chunks of time to work. So I went back to creating 20-minute tasks […]
Drains in Disguise
I was wrong–again. For twenty years, I’ve told students and wannabe writers that you have to put the writing first! Do it before other things take over your day. Fight the impulse to clean your kitchen first, or straighten your office, or clean up the mess the kids made before leaving for school. “But I […]