Word count: 654 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Do you tend to criticize yourself while you write? This self-sabotaging behaviour can spell the beginning of writer’s block. Here’s how to nip it in the bud. One of my 17-year-old daughters sometimes slaps the side of her own head and says, “stupid, stupid.” I don’t think anyone — […]
5 ways to get your inner critic to shut up Read More »
Word count: 747 words Reading time: About 3 minutes Have you ever lost writing? I have and it’s painful! Let me give you some tips for recovering from the experience…. I once had an editor who didn’t like me very much. It wasn’t entirely his fault. He hadn’t hired me (his own boss had made
How to recover from lost writing Read More »
Word count: 694 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Are you one my subscribers who thinks I’m crazy to counsel AGAINST outlining? Read on to learn why I do this…. When I was a sullen high school student, many of my teachers demanded that we submit outlines with every essay. We fooled most of them by
Five reasons why you shouldn’t outline Read More »
Reading time: About 2.5 minutes According to St. Augustine, the world is a book — and those who don’t travel read only one page. My family took his advice to heart this summer and, funnily enough, I like to relate our trip to the act of writing. If you want some advice on how to
How to travel to Europe (or write a book) without breaking the bank Read More »
Word count: 752 words Reading time: About 3 minutes Are you generally able to write easily and freely? If not, you might want to consider working to develop “flow”…. I first heard about Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi about 15 years ago. The Hungarian psychology professor — now at Claremont, formerly at University of Chicago — is famous
How to bring “flow” to your writing Read More »
Word count: 585 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Do you ever struggle with finding new topics for your writing? If that describes you, consider these tips on how to get ideas for what to write about: “Writing is easy,” said Gene Fowler. “All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops
7 rousing ways to get ideas for what to write about Read More »
Word count: 578 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Here is another installment in my series of interviews with successful writers…. I’ve never met Anne Miller face to face -– although we did try to connect several times when I was in New York last autumn. But we’ve happily talked by phone, exchanged countless emails
A few words with Anne Miller Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you say negative things to yourself when you’re writing? If so, perhaps it’s time you went looking for a shoulder angel…. I was having coffee with a friend of mine recently and she started telling me about the “voices” inside her head. As soon as she described the
Why you should replace your shoulder devil with an angel Read More »
Reading time: About 2.5 minutes How can you write if you’re easily distracted by email? Even more challenging, how can you write in a coffee shop if you don’t have a laptop? My suggestion? Try the Neo Alphasmart…. I’m embarrassed to admit that my handwriting is so bad (and so physically discomforting for me) that
How the Neo Alphasmart helps you write for 700 hours on three AA batteries Read More »
Word count: 783 words Reading time: About 3 minutes If you’re looking for holiday reading, here is part one of my annual book list! I always set myself an annual target of reading at least 52 books and when I hit my total in 2010 (last November) I published a summary. Trouble was, some people would
Recommended books: Summer 2011 Read More »
