Reading time: Just over 4 minutes Do you get frustrated by what you can’t seem to achieve? Here are 13 ways to develop writing goals that work for you… Whenever my husband and I play a board game — like Rummikub or Bananagram — Eric always rolls his eyes at me. “You’re so competitive,” he says […]
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Reading time: Just over 4 minutes Is writing perfectionism something that troubles you? Here’s a list of practical tips to help you vanquish that unruly beast! Many clients tell me they don’t write because they’re perfectionists. They can’t start their writing, they say, because they know it won’t be good enough. As a result, they
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Reading time: Just over 4 minutes Is procrastination the thief of YOUR time? Here’s a clever and easy idea for how to beat procrastination…. Are you looking for a sure-fire way to stop procrastinating about writing? My tip may surprise you. I suggest that you write every day — or, at least, five days each
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Reading time: About 5 minutes Are you tired of being interrupted? A host of people — from needy children to noisy neighbours — can derail you if you don’t protect your writing from interruptions… As I write this column, a contractor sits in our front yard using a skill-saw. He’s rebuilding the railings and balusters
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Reading time: Less than 5 minutes Do you want to learn how to get better organized? I’m an imperfect person in so many different ways, but I do know a few helpful things about organization… I am the best organized person I know. I say this not to brag — more to confess a flaw.
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Reading time: Just over 4 minutes Have you ever struggled to figure out your best time for writing? Here’s how to calculate that total, scientifically… In an effort to make lemonade out of the big fat lemon that’s the COVID pandemic, let me suggest you try a small experiment related to writing. (BTW, I’m assuming
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Reading time: About 3 minutes Wouldn’t it make writing easier if you knew you were not required to complete the work? I was listening to a 2005 radio interview last week with the late Harold Bloom who died Oct 14 at the age of 89. A famous American literary critic, Yale University professor and prolific
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Reading time: Just over 4 minutes A whispered word, NaNoWriMo stirs equal measures of fear and interest in many writers. Why? And is the program a good idea? Do you want to write a book quickly? Say, in 100 days? Nothing strikes me as a crazier idea, although I’ve recently seen a number of posts promoting the
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Reading time: Just over 3 minutes The real problem with writing is not spelling or grammar. It’s persuading yourself to put enough words on the page…. I’ve been spending a lot of time on the internet reading what others have to say about writing. Too many of them sound like Julie McGuire who wrote in
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Reading time: Less than 5 minutes What writing lessons do you need to learn? Here are five I picked up when writing my soon-to-be published book…. My second book, Your Happy First Draft, went to the printers in September 2019. That month also marked another important occasion: The 700th issue of Power Writing, this weekly newsletter/blog that
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