-
Hopeful Strategies For When You Don’t Have Time For Your Dream
My dream is just out of reach. I realize this. But I also realize that each day that I do something toward it, it feels more real. Each time I give my dreams ten minutes, that big fluffy cloud of hope seems more like a reality. Every time I squeeze in a blog post there, or a few words there, that dream feels less like a mirage and more like something solid.
-
Writing What You Know (And You Know A Lot!)
But I don't believe that “writing what you know” necessarily means that, or at least it does not mean only that. Sure, if you've lived on a farm your whole life, it will be easier for you to tell the story of a farming family. If you've been a businessperson for the last thirty years, you will be able to write an office-place drama more easily than most other authors. However, you know a lot more than that. So do your readers. This is where you need to “write what you know”. And what do you know? Plenty.
-
How To Make Small Goals Work For You
As much as you'd like to think you can shoot for the moon, I think that the moon, as beautiful and romantic as it is, isn't even a little bit possible. At least for right now. It could be that in the season your life is in, to be a writer, we need to start small, we need to have low expectations.
-
Conquering Fear In 10 Minutes
You are joining a generational chorus of the anxious. Some of us have navigated this well and figured out ways to overcome it. Some of us attempt to drown it in alcohol. Too many of us have slipped into self-destructive darkness to silence it.
-
What Happened When I Stopped Complaining
I challenged myself to watch what I said and to stop complaining. I thought that by stopping the bad attitude was just a generally a good step in the direction of restraint. I had no idea that this would change nearly everything about my life.
-
Hacking Writer’s Block
Writer’s block is like a concrete barrier keeping your car from falling down to the next floor. Not all writers have this problem but when it hits, it’s a bitch.
-
10 Ways To Fight Writer’s Block
Writer's block is a frustrating and maddening wrestling match with your confidence and a treasure hunt for new words or new ideas. and putting only dull words on the paper. Writer's block can be blamed on our muse ignoring us, on our chest cold, on our own insecurities or on lies we've been told. Sometimes it's fear-based, energy-based, or we're just bored with our own ideas.
-
Dos & Don’ts for Writers Having An Existential Crisis
I have a feeling, however, that I am not the only one who feels like this. So, I’ve come up with a quick list of No-Nos for us who are doubting our writerly futures during difficult times.
-
Top 10 Reasons To Go Outside
I’ve been walking my whole life for exercise. I’ve noticed that if I’m troubled or upset that if I walk for at least 45 minutes, I feel noticeably better. What has troubled me isn’t gone, of course, but by the time I return I’m in a more confident state to face it.
-
Top Ten Exercises To Determine Your Raison D’Etre As A Writer
If you spend ten minutes a day thinking or writing on any of these, you might discover something about yourself. (But I can’t promise a miracle. ) Admittedly, these exercises are all very similar, but perhaps it will get you thinking, seeing yourself as a success or awaken a new idea.
-
Top 10 Ways To Find Local Inspiration If You Live In A Small Town
Have you checked out the resources that your town may have? You might find some intriguing ideas for a writing prompt, a seed of a story, or even just general observation.
-
10 Things I Can Do To Build Up My Confidence
I'm in a place where my expectations of what could have been are paralyzing my current choices. But if I'm going to go any further in what I do as a writer, I need to get over myself and grow in confidence.
-
Ten Ways To Be A Happy Writer
You’ve come home from a tiring day job. You try to sit down at your laptop and write a few words before relaxing for the evening. But the words won’t flow. Or maybe you’re one of those lucky people who get to write full-time for a living. You sit in your home office day after day pounding out the words. Are you a happy writer? Is it possible to be one?
-
How Champion Free Writers Combat The Blank Page
A free-write is also a brainstorm or stream of consciousness. It is the act of putting down a word -- any word -- and then another, another, and another. In a free write, you conquer the blank page by the simple act of just making it not blank. That effort can make a difference in your confidence and your momentum for the rest of your writing time.