Word count: 748 words Reading time: About 3 minutes Many writers tell me they don’t have difficulty writing — they just don’t know WHAT to write about. Here’s a creative solution if that nitty-gritty problem bugs you…. I once had to interview a neuroscientist for an article I was writing. Fortunately for me, a math-disabled […]
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Word count: 716 words Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you make new year’s resolutions every year? Do any of them relate to writing? Here’s my advice for turbo-charging your resolutions. I’ve never smoked. Even as a sullen, rule-breaking, hitchhiking teenager, I never even tried it. I say this not to brag – more
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you see yourself as a bad writer? Read on for advice on why and how you can reframe this problem. My 18-year-old daughter, Claire, last week announced she wanted to make a nosegay of Ferrero Roche chocolates as a gift for a friend who was performing a violin
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Word count: 753 Reading time: About 3 minutes Have you ever thought of “batching” your work? This is an exceptionally important tool for writers, students and anyone who works in the creative arts…. There’s a funny ad on TV right now about a guy named Dave. A red-headed man with a beard, he wanders into
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Word count: 758 words Reading time: About 3 minutes Do you think being a multi-tasker is a good thing? I’m not sure it’s even a possible thing… Back when my husband was young enough to wear short pants, his mother used to do the family ironing while talking to her mother-in-law, Phoebe, on the phone. I
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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 —
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Word count: 723 words Reading time: About 3 minutes Do you manage your writing time — or does it manage you? Here are five techniques I use to ensure that I get more writing done…. When my triplets — now strapping 17 year olds — were babies, I designed feeding charts for them using an Excel
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Word count: 592 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Do you make a commitment to write, and then fail to live up to it? Here are five ways to stop procrastinating…. A few weeks ago, my husband made a date for us. He agreed that we’d both meet some friends at a nearby mountain, snowshoe
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Beginning to lose your enthusiasm for your New Year’s resolutions? Here are some ways to make your writing ones stick …. I listen to the radio while I do my back exercises every morning and these days the airwaves are filled with nothing but talk about new year’s resolutions. While
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Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Mothers, doctors and engineers all benefit from charts. But it’s a strategy that many writers overlook. Have you ever thought of drawing up a writing record? Sixteen years ago, I spent much of my life feeding babies. Heck, in those days, I spent all of my life feeding babies. My
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