Writing process

14

Feb'18

Overcome Your Writing Demons

Every writer faces challenges. Writers don’t face off against other writers. There is no enemy or other team to fight, so the most difficult adversary is often our own emotions. To write a good story, we have to deal with our own egos, insecurities, and weaknesses. Conquering our own emotional challenges can be far more difficult than decoding style manuals.

To help us onto the right track—and to remind us we’re not alone—Become a Writer Today has put together an infographic of how 11 great writers overcome their demons. ...

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17

Jan'18

Conquer the Writing Blues

In general, writing is not a particularly joyful occupation—not all the time, anyway. Writer’s aren’t circus clowns or cheerful mascots. A large portion of our job involves digging into painful emotions and memories.

Once that’s over, we get to take out our highlighters and edit those raw emotions. We put aside our humanity and shape them into something like literature, ignoring the fact that just moments ago we were bleeding them onto the page.

Then, after we’ve deluded ourselves into believing the worst is over, we submit those words for publication and allow others to judge them. Rejection is part of a writer’s daily life.

It’s no wonder the blues can sneak up on a writer and catch them in a stranglehold. Here are some tactics I’ve tried to stave off the blues (and some others that might just work). ...

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10

Jan'18

Organize Your Writing Space

Whether it’s the new year or time for spring cleaning, reworking your writing space is an easy way to improve your productivity and help you stay focused on writing. Decluttering your desk and office space removes distractions, and creating a dedicated area for non-computer work helps prevent burnout caused by sitting at a desk all day.

Check out this infographic from Omni Paper for tips to organize your work space so you can worry less about your desk and more about your work in progress. ...

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06

Dec'17

How to Write During the Holidays

It’s here. That time of year when everything seems to come before writing. There is shopping to be done, relatives to entertain, and food to eat. How are you supposed to have time to work on your manuscript? Here are three approaches to handling writing during the holiday season.

The Just Do It Approach

Thank you, Nike, for your words of wisdom. This approach is often taken by the writers who need to get their manuscript done, no matter what.

Make time.

It’s not going to be easy. You can’t wave a magic wand and suddenly have two extra hours in the day meant for nothing but writing. Making time means deciding that writing is more important than something else. Maybe it’s more important than the Christmas movie you want to watch or the cookies you want to make. Use that time to write. ...

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22

Nov'17

How to Research for Your Book

My favorite part is of the writing process isn’t crafting the perfect sentence, making a brilliant point, or polishing words. No, it’s research. That’s a good thing, because as a nonfiction author, I spend a great deal of time actively researching, even when not at work on another book.

Sometimes that work doesn’t look like traditional research (the kind that happens in a library). It may include creating blog posts on a topic, freewriting to clarify thoughts, looking for data, interviewing experts, or talking with others. It’s any activity involved in gathering thoughts, data, and insights on a topic.

Research is the fun part.

The writing recipe outlined in The Writer’s Process lists research as the first, discrete step in a multi-phase writing process. That’s true for small, self-contained projects.

But research doesn’t fit in a single box when you’re embarking on major projects like nonfiction books. ...

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08

Nov'17

Tips to Write Faster {Infographic}

We all want to see that word count increase, but sometimes writing feels like slogging through mud. If you’re out of ideas for boosting productivity and getting the words flowing, check out this infographic from Inc.com. They’ve listed twelve great ideas to make the most of the writing time you have. ...

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